President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed an executive order imposing a one-year long moratorium on the annual amortization and interest payments to help agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
This was announced by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in a press statement.
“The momentous signing of the executive order would spare agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) the burden of paying their annual amortization and interests while enabling them to use the money to purchase farm inputs and/or as starting capital for any business enterprises they may consider venturing into,” DAR said.
It shared that many farmer-beneficiaries and advocates have been calling for the suspension of amortization payments and loan interests as they are facing various challenges brought by the pandemic, calamities, and rising costs of farm inputs.
The amortization payments and loan interest are directives under Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.
Section 26 of RA 6657 declares that “lands awarded pursuant to the law shall be paid for by the beneficiaries to the Land Bank of the Philippines in 30 annual amortizations at six percent interest per annum.”
In July, Marcos first barred his plan the lifting amortization payments and loan interests for one year during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA).
According to Marcos in his SONA speech, this will maximize the "ability of farmers to channel the resources in their farms", and "capacity to produce and propel the country’s economic growth."
Last August, Agri party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee filed a bill seeking to free all farmer-beneficiaries from their payment obligations.
Under proposed House Bill No. 3490, Lee stated that the government will condone all “unpaid principal and interests, including penalties or surcharges, if any, due from loans used for land acquisition secured."
