House Speaker Prospero Nograles and his big landlord-cohorts should be held accountable if Congress fails to approve the passage of the CARP extension with reforms bill (or HB 4077) before funding for the program expires on June 10, 2008.

Just last Wednesday, the farmer groups became elated when House Bill (HB) No. 4077 was finally presented at the plenary level. Pro-farmer legislators such as Rep. Edcel Lagman, Rep. Eduardo Joson, and AKBAYAN Party-List Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel delivered their sponsorship speeches in support of HB 4077. The bill was earlier approved by the House Committee on Agrarian Reform as the consolidated version of the bills on CARP extension with reforms.

HB 4077 contains significant reform measures such as the provision of subsidized credit for ARBs, the recognition of women as program beneficiaries and the provision of gender-responsive support services, the recognition of the indefeasibility of EPs and CLOAs, upholding of DAR's exclusive jurisdiction on agrarian-related disputes, upholding of the legal standing and interest of ARBs, and the creation of a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. It was a product of a long and extensive process of consultations conducted by the Committee among the agrarian reform stakeholders. In all the regional consultations conducted by the House Committee on Agrarian Reform, farmers groups and other agrarian reform stakeholders showed overwhelming support for the passage of the CARP extension with reforms bills. The result of these consultations cannot be disregarded by anyone, least of all the unscrupulous members of Congress.

But the jubilation is turning out to be short-lived. For on the same day, a copy of HB 3972 was obtained by some of the farmer groups. HB 3972 contains various anti-social justice provisions that are obviously meant to obstruct the passage of HB 4077 and block the continued implementation of the agrarian reform program. HB 3972 was filed by Rep. Pablo Garcia along with other landlord-legislators such as Rep. Iggy Arroyo, Rep. Alfredo Maranon III, Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer, Rep. Philip Pichay, and Rep. Ramon Durano VI. Masquerading as a pro-farmer bill, the Garcia bill is actually promoting agricultural tenancy which has already been rejected a long time ago; as far back as the administration of the late former President Diosdado Macapagal. The Garcia bill is also pushing for the implementation of the Joint Venture Agreement, an agribusiness venture arrangement that would strengthen the big landlords control over their lands and reverse the gains already achieved under the agrarian reform program.

This Garcia bill seems to indicate that Congress, under the leadership of Speaker Nograles, has no sense of responsibility when it comes to issues affecting the most marginalized sectors of society. Nograles and his cohorts appear to have no appreciation of the social justice and social reform agenda. Instead of upholding a program that would benefit and uplift the lives of thousands of impoverished farmers, these supposedly honorable gentlemen seems to have chosen to merely protect the interests of a few, influential, big landowners.

In every step of the way and for each substantial reform gained towards the continued implementation of the agrarian reform program, the big landowners in Congress, led by Rep. Pablo Garcia have been putting up obstacles and hindrances. With a situation like this, the possibility of enacting the CARP extension with reforms bill is becoming more hopeless with each passing day.

Earlier, House Speaker Nograles promised the Catholic bishops and the farmers that he would help hasten the passage of the CARP extension bill and even include substantial reforms. But his failure to make good on his words shows that he has merely been politicking just to appease the swelling anger of the farmers.

We really do not know to what lengths this Congress would go to really pursue meaningful societal reform. But one thing we are sure of is that Speaker Nograles and his cohorts should be exposed for who they really are; whether they are agents of reform or merely envoys of the landlords.

What is even worse is that the leaders of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the very agency mandated to implement the agrarian reform program, did not even show up during the period of sponsorship and plenary debates. Neither the DAR Secretary nor the top officials of the agency were to be found during that day. Their absence speaks volumes about their low regard for the urgency of the proposed measures.

At this point, we are just hoping that the Senate would be vastly different from the landlord-dominated House of Representatives. We are hoping that the Senate would rise to the occasion and give hope to the remaining hundreds of thousands of landless farmers and farm workers who are still waiting for the day when they will be able to till lands that they could call as their own.

May God forbid that the situation at the Senate would be the same as that of Congress. Otherwise, the quest for social justice in the country would be a truly hopeless cause. But whatever happens to agrarian reform, we will be holding these legislators accountable.