Congress ratifies bicameral report condoning ARBs’ unpaid debts

The Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines ratified on March 22, 2023 the bicameral report on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 1850 and House Bill No. 6336, otherwise known as the New Agrarian Emancipation Act.

The bill condones the unpaid debts of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) or from other agrarian reform programs and laws. This includes all unpaid amortizations, interests, penalties, and surcharges.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno expressed his support for the measure saying, “The New Agrarian Emancipation Act is a win for our agrarian reform beneficiaries and an important step towards improving agricultural production. Condoning ARBs’ unpaid debts will allow farmers to focus their efforts on increasing the productivity of agrarian reform lands.”

ARBs are farmers or farmworkers who were granted lands under Presidential Decree No. 27, Republic Act Nos. 6657 and 9700, and who have outstanding loan balances payable to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and to private landowners as of effectivity of this law. The LBP has certified a total amount of PHP 57.6 billion for condonation.

The New Agrarian Emancipation Act is among the priority legislative measures presented by the economic team to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in a high-level discussion on solutions to mitigate high inflation on March 7, 2023.