The Social Action Center of the Bacolod Diocese called on the government to start initiating moves for the review of the Comprehensive Reform Program before it considers the appeal from various sectors for its extension or abolition.

Fr. Aniceto Buenafe, DSAC director, said a review of the CARP should be given priority to evaluate its effectiveness and pave the way for a doable and conflict-free land reform program. The church he said wants CARP to be continued beyond 2008.

The provincial government is also commissioning a survey on CARP to determine if beneficiaries are still tilling the land given to them.

Governor Joseph Marañon said they will submit their findings to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, hopefully, by the third quarter of this year.

The study, to be conducted in coordination with the Department of Agrarian Reform, aims to determine if original beneficiaries are still benefiting from the land turned over to them.

Marañon said the survey will also find out if the beneficiaries are paying the necessary taxes and their obligations to the land bank. It will also determine the support services given by the government to the beneficiaries.

The lack of support services and the unclear implementing guidelines were the cause of the bloody land conflicts, Buenafe said.

He added that farmer beneficiaries whose Certificates of Land Ownership have been cancelled asked for assistance from DSAC.

Among those who sought assistance from the church were the farmers from Hda. Pampanga in Brgy. Ma-ao, Bago City. "The prevailing conflict is a result of a defective system of implementing the CARP," Buenafe said.

He added that the failure of DAR to peacefully implement the land reform program reflects the lack of sincerity of the Arroyo administration in addressing the plight of the landless farmers. With an economy that is largely dependent on agriculture, Buenafe said the government should give priority to this sector.*NB

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