There are more than just 44 members of the House of Representatives opposed to House Bill No. 4296 that would extend the 27-year-old Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program for another two, Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said yesterday.

The Department of Agriculture has reportedly listed 44 congressmen, some of whom are from Negros Island, as among the those who will possibly oppose H.B. No. 4296.

If they vote on the bill now, and the President does not intervene, the majority in the House will oppose the extension of CARP, the governor said.

The land reform program in the Philippines has lasted more than 27 years, when will it end? he asked.

The governor pointed out that it only took Taiwan and Japan about five years to complete their land reform programs.

Government should instead concentrate on providing support services to agrarian reform beneficiaries already given land, he said.

They should also conduct an inventory of all CARP beneficiaries to see who still own the land given them, and how many have leased out what they received, he said.

The success stories from CARP cannot even reach 5 percent, he added.

He said that if government had given the more than P200 billion it used for CARP directly to the beneficiaries instead, and sent their children to school, they would have careers by now and already gotten rich, he added.

The governor said he supports the stand of the Negros solons opposed to the extension of CARP.

ISLAND REGION

Meanwhile, the governor said accusations by militant groups that the proposed Negros Island Region will further worsen the plight of the poor is exactly the opposite of the reality.

The proposed Negros Island region to be composed of Negros Occidental that is currently part of Western Visayas and Negros Oriental that is part of Central Visayas will, in fact, boost progress, he said.

As it is Negros Occidental should get 42 percent of the projects from the national government for Western Visayas since it covers 42 percent of region’s land area, population and income, he said.

But Negros Occidental sometimes gets only 13 percent, when a more acceptable figure should be 30 percent, he said.

He said the bishops of Negros Island are receptive to the Negros Island region plan.*CPG

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