Akbayan voted “NO” to the Joint Resolution extending CARP without compulsary acquisition

Below is the Rep. Risa Hontiveros’ explanation of vote on the Joint Resolution extending CARP without compulsory acquisition:“To vote YES to the Joint Resolution would be to vote for the death of agrarian reform.

Compulsory acquisition is the heart and soul of the agrarian reform program. The 1987 Constitution commands the State to undertake the just distribution of ALL agricultural lands. The fact that all agricultural lands should be the subject of CARP tells us that acquisition should be compulsory and not at the option or whim of the landowner. I cannot, in good faith, sign my name on a Resolution manifestly unconstitutional and grossly illegal.

Huwag na po nating kumbinsihin ang ating sarili na an gating ginagawa ngayon ay para sa magsasaka. Huwag na po tayo maghugas ng kamay sa ating magiging pagkasala sa sambayanan.

There are 1.3 M hectares of land yet undistributed. These lands are in agrarian reform hotspots like Negros and Bondoc Peninsula, where landowner resistance has resulted not only in non-distribution but also in oppression and outright violence. These are the types of landowners who would never voluntarily give up their lands. If they have managed to circumvent the law under a policy regime of compulsory acquisition, how much more under a framework of optional agrarian reform?

Hinahamon ko ang mga ginagalang na kasama sa Negros at sa mga iba pang kasama na may lupa na boluntaryo ninyong ipasaklaw sa agrarian reform ang inyong mga lupa. Huwag natin gamitin ang Kongreso at ang ating posisyon upang ipagtanggol ang sarili nating interes. Ipamahagi ninyo sa loob nitong anim na buwan ang inyong mga lupa.

Ginoong Speaker, napakalaki na po ng utang ng kasaysayan sa ating mga magsasaka. Sa Joint Resolution na ito, tuluyan na natin silang papatayin.

Tonight, Ginoong Speaker, we have managed to obliterate an entire class. The countryside will never forget this moment. We have let our farmers down.

Akbayan votes no.”