About 400 farmers and agrarian reform claimants staged a three-day camp-in starting yesterday at the DAR Provincial Office, Barangay Bantayan, Dumaguete City , in support of moves to extend the agrarian reform program.

The farmers belong to the Negros Farmers Council, an organization of small farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, advocates and claimants in Negros Oriental with affiliate members in Vallehermoso, Guihulngan City , Bindoy, Manjuyod, Mabinay, Bais City , Siaton and Bayawan City .

They said they are aligning themselves with the Reform CARP Movement, and are supporting House Bill 1257.

They said Negros island still has a land acquisition and distribution balance of about 200,000 hectares, and that about 37,000 to 50,000 hectares are up for distribution in the Oriental, and 157,000 hectares in Negros Occidental.

The HB 1257 is a product of a one-year unity process among the broad coalition of farmers and civil society organizations under the Reform CARP Movement, they said, adding that it has nine key positions as its benchmark for reforms, foremost of which is the acceleration of land acquisition and distribution target.

The NFC pointed out that the remaining bills filed in Congress is to extend CARP without substantial changes in the inefficient, pro-landlord and pro-developer land acquisition and distribution tendencies of DAR.*RG

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