AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee on Tuesday said agrarian reforms beneficiaries (ARBs) should be given the proper support to make farming a viable livelihood.

Lee made this suggestion amid fears that the more than half a million beneficiaries of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act would sell the land they have been tilling for decades after they acquire the titles and once the 10-year prohibition of selling the land is over.

“Naiintindihan natin ang pangamba ng ating mga civil society organizations (CSOs), ngunit bilang principal author ng New Agrarian Emancipation Act, nais kong klaruhin na ang layunin ng batas na ito ay bigyan ng sapat na suporta ang ating mga magsasaka para ang pagsasaka ay maging kumikitang kabuhayan para sa kanila, nang sa gayon ay hindi sila mamuhay na isang kahig, isang tuka (I understand the fears of our civil society organizations, but as principal author of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, I want to clarify that the purpose of this law is to give our farmers enough support in farming to make it a profitable livelihood for them, so that they won’t live under ‘one scratch, one peck’ [way of life],” Lee said.

Republic Act (RA) 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act recently signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. condones an estimated PHP57.56 billion in unpaid amortization amounts, interest payments, surcharges, and penalties of existing loans of some 610,054 ARBs.

“Good laws are only good or beneficial when they are properly implemented so this is what we must ensure—that the spirit of the law is what is being implemented,” Lee said.

“If our farmers are made to realize that farming is a profitable enterprise and they can make a decent living out of farming, then they would not be tempted to sell off the land that have been given to them. That is why aside from condonation, the New Agrarian Emancipation Act also provides that ARBs who have completed payment of their amortizations shall be given preference to credit facilities and support services,” he added. (PNA)