CARP at 18

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) turned 18 this month. The program originally runs for 10 years but was extended for another 10 years through the enactment of Republic Act 8532. CARP was first implemented in 1998 under the Aquino Administration.

CARP is the debutante this year.

At age 18, a person is formally presented to the society. It is the transition of people to womanhood or manhood. A time often called in legal parlance as the entry to legal maturity.

As in every debut celebration, it is welcomed with a great feast – sumptuous foods, overflowing drinks and a never-ending merriment.

After 18 years, should we hold a party tantamount to the feast we prepare in every debut of our loved ones?

Of course, we should!

Debut celebration signifies independence. CARP debut also indicates independence. If not to all, it is for many Filipino people who are recipients of this program. An independence from the choking hands of the capitalists. An independence from the bondage of soil. An independence from the grip of poverty.

This month, it is not the CARP implementers who celebrate the founding of this program. This is a celebration of farmers and fisherfolks for the economic liberty they have achieved through the CARP program.

It is an understatement to judge that the program has failed to deliver its true purpose to the people. It is an understatement to say that the program has deeply buried the poor into poverty instead. It is an understatement to contend that apparently the program has favored the rich, influential landlords. It is an understatement to claim that the program is used just to access the wealth of the Marcoses.

Truly the success of CARP doesn’t lie on the hands of the implementers. Program implementers sweat blood to deliver the services to people even to outskirt places only accessible by foot. They have traversed rough seas, climbed mountains and hike, uphill and downhill, three to five kilometers just to bring the needed services.

The program success deeply resides on the values and acceptance of the beneficiaries. It flourishes in areas where people have developed a heart for their economic undertakings.

I am grateful that I became part of the program, as a CARP implementer, in our province. It is heartwarming to see big smiles on the faces of our beneficiaries. It is overwhelming to experience that somehow we have become one of the instruments for their economic independence. It is amazing that these people have hundreds of thousands or millions of pesos gross annual income and we only earn a meager amount.

Indeed, the 18th Anniversary of CARP is worth celebrating.

Happy 18th Anniversary CARP implementers and beneficiaries! Mabuhay tayong lahat! Mabuhi kita tanan!