Monday, April 30, 2007 CARP failed, Defensor reiterates By Antonieta B. Lopez
SENATORIAL hopeful Michael Defensor Saturday reiterated his earlier statement that the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) failed in achieving social justice.
In a meeting with sugar planters, the Team Unity candidate gave assurance that once elected, he will not play politics when the debate on the future of Carp starts.
"I will make the right decision even if it is not a popular one," Defensor said adding that "arguments will not be on the law's effectiveness but rather it will be a propaganda war."
The Carp implementation ends next year and there have been lobbies to extend it.
Defensor, the former chief of staff of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said the program failed to improve the lives of the farmers and has not addressed the vital issue on productivity.
"When the debate starts, I don't think it will be an emotional one. Legislators will be more sober and realistic," he said.
Defensor, who was accompanied by his wife Julie, also met with barangay officials and graced the Pasalamat Queen Pageant in La Carlota City late Saturday where opposition candidate Francis Escudero was also invited.
Meanwhile, Escudero said the law is not the problem but rather how the program was implemented.
"Under the Constitution, there should be no taking without just compensation," he said, adding that accomplishment should not be gauged on how many hectares were covered.
It must be measured on the level of success it has achieved, on whether it has benefited both the farmers and the landowners, he said. The program must also be assessed if it has helped the industry and the economy as a whole, Escudero said.
