Marcos eyes freeze on CARP payments, condonation of agrarian reform loans

In this 2016 file photo, agrarian reform beneficiaries work on a farm in Leyte.

Philstar.com, file

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is eyeing a year-long moratorium on payments for land distributed under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and is asking Congress to amend the law so that agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) will no longer have to pay for land.

Marcos made the announcement during his State of the Nation Address as he talked about the agrarian reform program going beyond the acquisition of land. Under Republic Act 6657, the law on agrarian reform, ARBs need to pay 30 annual payments at 6% interest per year for land awarded to them. 

Marcos said he would issue an executive order to impose a one-year moratorium on agrarian reform payments, which, he said "will give the farmers to channel the resources in developing their farms, maximizing their capacity to produce and propel the growth of our economy." 

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/07/25/2197890/marcos-eyes-freeze-carp-payments-condonation-agrarian-reform-loans