Marcos signs moratorium on agrarian reform beneficiaries' payments

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday ordered a year-long moratorium on the annual amortization and interest payments of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

Section 1 of Executive Order No. 4 states that subject to the limitations and conditions provided under applicable laws and issuances, the implementation of the suspension of payment of the following is hereby directed:

• The total cost of the land under Presidential Decree No. 27, including interest at the rate of 6% per annum as provided under Section 6 of EO No. 228; and
• The principal value including the 6% annual interest of the 30-year land amortization of agrarian reform beneficiaries under Section 26 of Republic Act 6657, as amended.

According to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the EO is in preparation for another fulfillment of the Marcos administration's commitment, which is for Congress to pass a law that will condone the loans of ARBs with unpaid amortization and interest.

"We always think about the farmers’ welfare. The one-year moratorium and condonation of farmers’ loan payments will lead to the freedom of farmers from debts," DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III said in a press release.

The DAR said the moratorium on land amortization and interest payments aims to help unburden the ARBs from their debts, enabling them to use the money instead to develop their farms, maximizing their capacity to produce and propel the growth of the economy.

The Office of the President said around 654,000 ARBs are expected to benefit from the EO.

All concerned government offices and agencies, consistent with their respective mandates, are directed to render prompt and necessary assistance to fully implement the provisions of the EO.

It added that funds for the moratorium's enforcement, including monitoring and evaluation, would come from the DAR and the Land Bank of the Philippines' existing budgets, subject to existing budgeting, accounting, and auditing laws, rules, and regulations.

The DAR and the LBP are required to submit a joint report to the Office of the Executive Secretary regarding the implementation of the EO, including data on the number of ARBs actually covered and the impact of the moratorium.

At one of his Cabinet meetings last month, Marcos discussed with other officials how the national government could assist agrarian reform beneficiaries. 

Among the interventions discussed were crafting a measure on the condonation of payments for the amortization fees and interest on ARB loans, as well as providing legal help for land disputes. —VBL, GMA News