Sunday, June 01, 2008 Iggy, Marañon tagged Carp 'executioners'
TWO of the province's legislators were among those officials tagged by militant farmers in the country as Carp (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program) "executioners".
According to Task Force Mapalad (TFM), both Negros Occidental Representatives Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo, Jr. (5th District) and Alfredo Mara¤on, III (2nd District) are among those who are considered Carp "killers" in Congress.
"Their counterparts in the Senate are Senators Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri, Joker Arroyo and Juan Ponce-Enrile," said TFM president Jose Rodito Angeles.
Sun.Star Bacolod tried but failed to contact both Negros lawmakers as of press time Friday night.
TFM farmers, together with some of their counterparts from other parts of the country have trooped in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Central Office in Quezon City, where they had been holding camp since last month to push for the passage of a law extending Carp.
They also wish to prompt DAR to hasten the resolution of pending land cases before Carp ends on June 10.
The farmers prepared effigies of these lawmakers whom they perceived as the ones blocking the extension of Carp.
"We want to show to the public the faces of these anti-Carp legislators so the public may know them one by one," Angeles said in a media interview.
He also said the effigies represent their disgust over continuing efforts by some lawmakers to block Carp extension and prevent the distribution of the CARP backlog of 1.1 million hectares, mostly private agricultural lands 60 hectares and above.
He also said both Arroyo and Marañon are really exerting efforts in order to kill Carp.
Cebu's Pablo Garcia was also hit for being anti-Carp.
Angeles said Carp is perceived as failure because of their efforts to sabotage its implementation.
TFM however cannot accept the claim that CARP is a failure.
Angeles said, "There may have been a few cases of failure due to problems of implementation by the government, but Carp in general is a success."
This as he stressed, "That majority of beneficiaries have actually succeeded in increasing their income and improving their lives despite lack of government support."
He even invited those who want to see for themselves to go to Negros Occidental and visit their Carp areas.
Angeles also said that thousands of pending land cases throughout the country "which include the landholdings of the Zubiris in Mindanao and of the Arroyos in Negros Occidental" could trigger renewed social unrest if left unresolved because of non-extension of CARP.
"What will happen to the thousands of farmers if their petitions for land distribution are left unresolved? Where will they turn to for help if the government does not provide them the legal means to pursue their grievances," said Angeles.
He said non-extension of CARP, or extension of CARP without the land distribution component, will further marginalize at least half a million poor farm households. (EASD)
