New CARP Law to be signed on August 8
Posted on July 12th, 2009
The new Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) law is expected to be signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on August 8, as per announcement by the Malacañang. However, the Congress has yet to ratify a conference committee version approved shortly after legislators took a break in early part of June.
The palace is confident that the Senate and the House of Representatives would ratify the bill on July 27, the day that President Arroyo will deliver her last State of the Nation Address (SONA) before a joint meeting of Congress.
But House Majority Leader Arthur D. Defensor, Sr. said that the it would most likely be ratified the following day because Congress usually tackles only housekeeping issues on its first day of resumption of sessions.
“We cannot do that [ratification of land reform bill] on the opening day. The agenda of Congress is only the SONA,” he said in an interview.
Under the new CARP law, according to Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser C. Pangandaman, at least one million hectares would be distributed during a five-year extension period proposed.
The new CARP is said to get P150 billion in funding, and it will be retroactive to July 1 as a six-month provisional extension, passed by Congress after wrangling stalled approval of a new law, which expired last June 30.
Republic Act 6657, which was the original 10-year CARP was signed into law in 1988 by then President Corazon C. Aquino. It was extended to the end of 2008 by virtue of RA 8532.
