Der Widerstand gegen die Resolution Nummer 19, mit welcher der Kongress Ende 2009 den schleichenden Ausstieg aus der Landreform CARP weiterführte, hält unvermindert an. Im Januar bezogen einmal mehr die katholischen Bischöfe Position mit einem offenen Brief:
POSITION PAPER ON JOINT RESOLUTION NUMBER 19
"We, the Bishops of the Catholic Church, are one in opposing Joint Resolution No.19 that was approved by Congress. The resolution was crafted not to extend the implementation of CARP for another six (6) months but to kill agrarian reform.
Joint Resolution No. 19 mandated the removal of the compulsory acquisition mode of land distribution which is the heart and soul of the agrarian reform program. The resolution covers only private agricultural lands whose landowners have offered their lands under the Voluntary Offer to Sell (VOS) and under the Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT).
Joint Resolution No.19 must be stricken down. It is clearly unconstitutional since the Constitution mandates that the State shall undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands. The said provision clearly commands the State to distribute and subject to agrarian reform all lands; not only those that will be covered under the voluntary schemes: Voluntarily Offer to Sell (VOS) and Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT).
Joint Resolution No.19 effectively cancels the distribution of 64 percent (64%) of new lands which are set to be covered by CARP as well as halts the distribution of all lands that are being processed for distribution under the compulsory acquisition mode. JR No.19 clearly discriminates against thousands of farmers who have currently pending application for coverage will not be acted on by government.
The resolution ends Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) under CARP as landowners are not expected to voluntarily offer their lands under CARP. These are mostly private agricultural lands owned by landowners who have been resisting the program for the past twenty (20) years. Landowners of landholdings currently under VOS and VLT are also expected to withdraw their application for VOS and VLT to altogether avoid CARP coverage.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) delivered the final blow on CARP by issuing the DAR Memorandum No. 09-01804. The memorandum is an operational directive that provides the guidelines in implementing the Joint Resolution No.19. However, it worsens the situation by ordering the deferment of the "processing of Compulsory Acquisition (CA) including landholdings already in the pipeline, and survey activities for lands under CA until further notice". Furthermore, the memorandum is prematurely issued because JR No.19 has yet to be signed into law.
Joint Resolution No.19 and DAR Memorandum No. 09-01804 could spark chaos in the countryside as the agrarian reform beneficiaries and landowners are bound to fight head on over the issue. This early, the Joint Resolution No.19 and Memorandum 09-01804 are already being used by landowners to block the distribution of all agricultural lands.
The Congress and the DAR subjected agrarian reform to the discretion of the landowners and removed the compulsion which is the essence of this social justice measure. Such act of emasculation committed by the Congress and DAR gauged against the relevant Constitutional provisions, amounts to a nullity.
We also call on the DAR to stick to its Constitutional mandate of continuing CARP until all agricultural lands are covered and scrap Memorandum 09-01804.
Finally, we call on the President to reiterate her support to CARP extension with reforms by re-issuing certification for HB 4077 and SB 2666 as urgent bills and by pro-actively campaign for the immediate passage of the CARP extension with reforms law."
Die Reform CARP Movement, eine Koalition aus Farmer-Organisationen, NGOs und verschiedenen Parteienlisten, bezogen in einem Positionspapier ebenfalls Stellung. Dabei forderten sie die unverzügliche Weiterführung der Landreform CARP und wiesen auf den Verfassungsbruch hin, der durch die Resolution No. 19 begangen worden sei:
"Joint Resolution No.19 must be stricken down. It is clearly unconstitutional since the Constitution mandates that the State shall undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands. The constitutional provision clearly commands the State to distribute and subject to agrarian reform not only those lands that are voluntarily offered to sell but all agricultural lands.
CARL does not set a deadline. DOJ Opinion No. 009, Series of 1997, and recently DOJ Memorandum dated 10 December 2008, state that the schedule of implementation is merely directory and not mandatory ... Joint Resolution No.19 effectively cancels the distribution of 64 percent (64%) of new lands which are set to be covered by CARP as well as halts the distribution of all lands that are being processed for distribution under the compulsory acquisition mode. Joint Resolution No.19 clearly discriminates against thousands of farmers who have currently pending application for coverage will not be acted on by government."
Durch den Passus der Freiwilligkeit beende die Resolution Landankauf und -verteilung unter dem CARP, da die Landbesitzer vermutlich nicht willens seien, ihr Land freiwillig abzugeben, lautet die Position der Koalition Pro Carp-Koalition weiter.
"We urge Congress and DAR to stop subjecting agrarian reform to the discretion of the landowners. We call on the DAR to exercise political will and stick to its Constitutional mandate of continuing to implement CARP until all agricultural lands are covered. It must rescind Memorandum 09-01804. And finally, we challenge Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to command her anti- agrarian reform partymates in Congress to support the passage of HB 4077."
