SILAY CITY -- President Gloria Arroyo yesterday said she would like to see a revised land reform law that will promote higher productivity, provide greater access to credit and address existing conflicts effectively.

She asked congressmen to submit an appropriate bill for study by all stakeholders, Presidential Adviser for Western Visayas Rafael Coscolluela said yesterday. The president made her position known in a brief meeting with Negros officials and sugar leaders at the Bacolod airport.

Arroyo pointed out that her father, President Diosdado Macapagal, was the father of land reform and she was not about to kill it, Coscolluela said.

Rep. Ignacio Arroyo Jr. (Neg. Occ., 5th district) said that while land reform extension will stay a priority of the President in her State of the Nation Address, it all depends on the Congressmen on how it will be tackled, and on whether it will push through or not. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program that expires next year is up for review in the House.

Governor Joseph Marañon and the Association of Chief Executives-Negros Occidental are calling for an audit and evaluation of the implementation of the CARP, to determine if it is successful or not.

Coscolluela said Arroyo yesterday also inquired about the status of land reform in the controversial Hacienda Velez Malaga in La Castellana.*CPG

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