In a Press Conference for House Bill 4296 of which Cong Teddy is a principal author. _______ Press Release Pro CARP solons appeal for Pamasko from House leaders and members: Deliberate bill to continue with Notice of Coverage issuance for Christmas At the start of Simbang Gabi, House Committee on Agrarian Reform chairperson Teddy Brawner Baguilat led a group of representatives today asking for a Christmas gift from Speaker Sonny Belmonte and Senate Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales II to tackle House Bill 4296 that allows the continued issuance of Notices of Coverage under the CARP before the Christmas break. Joining the Ifugao solon in the press conference today to support the Christmas appeal were Representatives CresentePaez and Anthony Bravo of Coop- NATCCO, Noel Villanueva of Tarlac 3rd district, Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands, Lennie Gerona-Robredo of Camarines Sur 3rd District, Walden Bello and Ibarra Gutierrez of AKBAYAN party-list. “We take courage, on behalf of landless farmers in the country, tobeseech our esteemed Speaker Sonny Belmonte and Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales II to include HB 4296 in the plenaryagenda on the last days of Congress for 2014. It would be a timely Christmas gift to farmers who still do not own lands they have tilled for years,” urged Baguilat. This appeal comes after there has been no progress following a dialogue of farmers and the solons with the Speaker last November 19 to have the bill scheduled for 2nd and 3rd readings. It was certified as urgent by President Noynoy Aquino and mentioned in his 5th State of the Nation Address. Paez, Bravo and Baguilat filed HB 4296 in April 2014,which gives the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) renewed authority to issue NOCs and continue with land acquisition and distribution under CARP until June 30, 2016. Rep. Bag-ao urgently appealed to Sec. Gonzales to already deliberate the pending bill on the floor today or tomorrow, before Congress takes its Christmas break. “Potential farmer beneficiaries of the CARP deserve a fitting Christmas gift after years of tilling the land. They too are engines of development and much more, of this nation’s food security,” Bag-ao stressed. Rep. Paez shared,“We co-authored HB 4296 because it aims to fulfill a Constitutional promise to implement and complete agrarian reform in the name of social justice. Some of Coop NATCCO’s successful members are agrarian reform cooperatives and CARP beneficiaries. So it’s not true that CARP is a total failure at alleviating poverty.” “I am a son of agrarian reform through P.D. 27, a predecessor of CARP. I would not be here today in Congress if not for the efforts of my father as a beneficiary of land reform when we were young. It is definitely a program that would reduce poverty given the right complement of support services,” said Rep. Villanueva. Bravo said that it is not true that CARP ended last June 30, 2014 as per R.A. 9700.“Only the program’s acquisition and distribution of unacquired and undistributed agricultural lands ended last June 30, 2014 as per Sec. 5 of R.A. 9700, which amended the CARP. Pending cases and proceedings for acquisition and distribution as of June 30 will proceed until finality, based on Sec. 30 of the same law.” Rep. Robredo, Rep. Bello and Rep. Gutierrez emphasized it is also important to pass the “twin bill” of HB 4296, which is House Bill 3745 that seeks to create an Agrarian Reform Commission to investigate circumventions in CARP implementation.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 04:49:02 +0000