PGMA's Speech during the Awarding Ceremonies of the Gawad Saka and Gawak Pitak in Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Agricultural Land Reform Code and Launching of DAR Programs

Ceremonial Hall, Malacanang (08 August 2003)
Maraming salamat.

Maraming salamat, Secretary Pagdanganan at Happy Ruby Anniversary sa Department of Agrarian Reform.

Secretary Cito Lorenzo; President Gary Teves, at congratulations at Happy Ruby Anniversary sa Land Bank of the Philippines; P.A. Peping Cojuangco, ang ama ng Agrarian Reform communities; gusto ko ring batiin ang Chairman ng National Food Authority, si Lito Sarmiento batiin ko rin si Senator Biazon; at sana kompleto ang ng mga congressmen: Congressman Aquino, Congressman Tulagan, Congresswoman Dumarpa, Congressman Dimaporo, Congressman Umali, Congressman Espina, Congresswoman Punzalan.

Nandito rin si ARMM Governor Parouk Hussin; Governor Faustino Dy, ang dami mga tiga-Isabela nanalo, congratulations!; Mayor Cesar Dy, anak mo yata yung nanalo, pero fair and square raw, congratulations!; ay! Congressman Bojie Dy, nakalimutan sa pangalan, Congressman Bojie Dy. Sorry kung meron pang nakalimutan. Ha? Hindi, hindi. Hindi pa tayo tapos sa ano, sa governors. Tapos si Governor Dolfo Del Rosario, presidente ng ULAP; at saka si Governor Agbayani na kanina ay umakyat dito, tumanggap ng award kasama ng kanyang mga constituents.

I would also like to greet and congratulate our national treasurer, Sergio Edeza, for your new dividend of 300 million pesos. At siyempre gusto kong batiin yung ating mga tumanggap ng mga parangal ngayon. I would like to greet yung mga nagsimula ng pagpapatupad ng Republic Act 3844 na nagpunta dito kangina. At saka, I would like to greet also and thank our foreign partners, who had been funding agrarian reform all these years.

Siyempre yung ating mga Gawad Saka, congratulations sa inyo. At yung ating mga Gawad Pitak, congratulations din sa inyo. Itong lama cooperatives, Senador pa ako nagbibigay na ako ng premyo, ng awards ninyo bilang guest of honor ng ibat-ibang mga gawain hindi lamang sa Gawad Ppitak, lahat ng awards, lahat ng awarding institutions na nagbibigay ng award, may award parati ang LAMAC. Kaya kapat-dapat na nasa hall of fame na kayo. Excellencies of the diplomatic corps, members of the local government unit, aside from the governors, ladies and gentlemen:

Alam nyo, akoõy nagpapasalamat na kayo ay narito kasi itong araw na ito araw ng Gawad Saka awards. Ito anibersaryo, ruby pa naman, ng DAR. Anibersaryo, Ruby pa naman, ng Land Bank. Pero hiniling ko na sa halip na sa inyo't-inyong mga kagawaran gagawin itong pagdiriwang, hiniling ko gawin naman natin sa Malacanang. I ask you to have this jubilee celebration here in Malacanang dahil gusto kong i-alay itong espesyal na anibersaryo, 40th Anniversary, ng ating pagdidiriwang sa aking ama, si Diosdado Macapagal. Ang aking ama ang tanging anak ng mga tenant-farmer na naging pangulo. Siya rin ang ama ng batas ng reporma sa lupa 3844. Na noong panahong yon, apatnapung taong nakaraan ay -- alam ni Peping Cojuangco ang istorya dahil Congressman siya -- para sa tatay ko, yon ang kanyang political suicide na pinilit niyang pumasa yung batas na yon.

It was an exercise of political will, but that's the same political will that I inherited. It's the same political will that guides me in fighting poverty and terrorism, and in upholding the constitution.

I've taken an oath to protect the republic and the Constitution from harm. I shall carry out this oath with the full force of conscience and authority. I shall carry out this oath bearing in mind the supreme interest of the people. Any of my actions may be challenged before the Supreme Court, to which I commit obedience. But I shall not argue about these matters in the media.

There should be no doubt as to the willingness of the executive branch to help the senate and the house in their inquiries. It is only that closer consultations are needed to ensure the safety and security of the officers who are scheduled to give testimony. There is no need to stretch this into another propaganda charade. This is a matter of safeguarding lives and national security.

The government guarantees due process to everyone. This will be observed in all institutional hearings and investigations. While all these judicial and legislative processes ensue, it now behooves all our people to close ranks behind the pursuit of normalcy in our national life, and the pursuit of continuity in our socio-economic directions.

We must now dispel the Oakwood syndrome and apply our full attention to the ever constant threat of terrorism. Once more, I must stress that our best defense lies in the vigilance of each and every citizen. We've stepped up intelligence gathering and sharing of information with our neighboring countries. The hunt for terrorists must involve all communities and territories across borders.

I commend the Armed Forces Southern Command for accounting another notorious terrorist. The long hand of justice will catch up with these characters one way or another. The AFP is directed to inform the public of the full circumstances of the slaying of Edris to obviate any reports questioning the rules of engagement.

We cannot forever be distracted by spectator politics. We've to willfully turn our attention to the priorities of vigilance against terrorism and against poverty.

Sabi nila, sa loob ng nakaraang siglo, ang pinakamahalaga at pinakamalawak na paraang nagawa upang mabahagian ang mga mahihirap sa yaman ng bayan ay ang reporma ng lupa na siyang pinagdidiriwang natin ngayon.

Ito ay bagamat isang problema ng tatay ko noon ay dahil sa matinding pagtutol ng mga kinatawan ng hari ng lupa sa Senado, hindi pinondohan ng Kongreso ang kaniyang batas. Salamat na lamang na meron tayong mga official development assistance. Pero meron pa akong kuwento tungkol sa ODA. Panahon ng tatay ko, palabas na siya, last year of his administration, nakakuha siya ng pondo sa World Bank, education fund para sa extension program ng mga magsasakang bagong laya. Noong wala na siya sa pwesto yung education fund ay nilagay sa Cultural Center of the Philippines. Kaya tuloy tinitingnan ko yung Cultural Center -- kahapon nanood ako doon -- masaya po din dahil may kultura pero nalulungkot ako pag naalaala ko yung nagawang reporma sa lupa sana noon pa kung yon ay nilagay talaga sa unang pakay at yon na nga sana ay land reform. Ganumpaman, magmula nang pinirmahan ng tatay ko ang batas reporma sa lupa, may halos anim na milyong ektarya na ang naipamudmod sa halos tatlong milyong magsasaka.

Ngayon, higit na mabibili ang nalalabing isang milyong ektaryang ipamamahagi sa mga magsasaka o di kaya matulungan maging leasehold na dahil ito ay mas magaan sa ilan sa ating magsasaka. Bakit natin nasasabing magagawa na natin ito, siguro sa mga nalalabing lupa ito ay dahil palagay ko bilang regalo ng panginoon sa Ruby Anniversary ng Land Reform, hinatulan na ng Korte Suprema ang kaso ng nakaw na yaman. Kaya ngayon ang pinakaimportanteng hamon ni Obet Pagdanganan ay pabilisin ang paglabas nitong pondong ito. Maraming legal red tape diyan, yan ang pinakahamon ni Obet Pagdanganan.

We will turn the misdeeds of the past into the seeds of hope for the future. The money that we have recovered will be applied to the continuing quest for social justice. I will return to the people what belongs to them. We must never again allow plunder to stalk our nation.

The greater part of the 38 billion freed by the supreme court will be allocated for DAR's current programs budgeted at 8 billion, with 22 billion more set aside for other obligations and proposals of the land reform program.

Ang Land Bank ay nilikha 40 years ago ng batas reporma sa lupa ng tatay ko para pondohan na nga itong reporma sa lupa. Kaya lang hindi nga nilagyan ng pondo ang Land Bank. Inaasahan ko na ngayon magagamit din ng Land Bank ang bahagi nitong pondo na linibre ng Korte Suprema para sa layuning pondohan na nga ang reporma sa lupa. At ito ay dagdag sa kanilang magandang trabaho na hiram diyan sa ibang mga ODA at iba pang pinanggagalingan na pinapahiram na puhunan sa mga magsasaka.

Malaki ang papel ng Land Bank sa programa ng aking administrasyong gumastos ng 20 billion bawat taon para sa modernisasyon ng agrikultura. Mayroon akong nakita sa telebisyon, binabatikos, bakit ko raw sinabing 20 billion ang ginagastos natin taun-taon. Hindi naman daw, kasi 12 billion -- ewan ko kung ilan -- ang lumabas daw sa budget. Eh itong 20 billion ay hindi lamang ôyung binibilang ng mga nanggagaling sa national budget dahil malaki sa 20 billion ay credit. Ang credit ay hindi nanggagaling sa budget. Itoõy nanggagaling sa mga pautang, at ang number one na pinanggagalingan ng pautang sa ating magsasaka ay ang Land Bank of the Philippines. At nasisiyahan akong malaman na so far, for the first half of the year, mga 7 billion na ang napautang ng Land Bank sa ating magsasaka. Lalo akong nasiyahan ng malaman na ang kabuohan ng pakay ng Land Bank ay magpahiram ng 17 billion pesos para sa modernisasyon ng agrikultura. Kaya, salamat, gary at mga taga-Land Bank.

Marami rin tayong agrarian reform communities -- yon nga ang sabi ko, yon ang batas ni Peping Cojuangco na hindi pa napopondohan. Ang ilang guerilla base na nabisita ko na, pag nagbibisita ako doon, ay nalaman ko ARC pala sila. Pero ARC ing walang pondo. ARCing mga pangakong nakapako. Kaya sabi ko rin kay Obet na gamitin din itong nakaw na yaman para pondohan itong mga ARCing ito, lalung-lalo na yung farm-to-market roads.

At isa rin, irigasyon. Irrigation is the single most vital component of agricultural modernization. In fact, it's suppose to fund... It's suppose to fund, what? 20 percent of our agricultural modernization budget. It is also the single most important source of increase in farmers' incomes.

I did a study of land reform beneficiaries. Kung ba't yung iba mayaman, ba't yung iba mahirap. Ang diperensiya, yung mga yumaman may irigasyon, yung nanatiling mahirap walang irigasyon. Kaya irigasyon ang number one na nagbibigay nang pagkakaiba. That's why I congratulate Cito Lorenzo that during my presidency, the NIA completed the Angat Afterbay Regulatory Dam, the Kabulnan Irrigation and Area Development Project, the Pampanga Delta Development Project, 52 smaller-sized communal irrigation projects or systems, all of which cover almost 63,000 hectares of farmland, more than the total hectare age covered in all the previous years combined in the history of the Philippines. Tama, 'di ba?

The Mal-Mar irrigation project is also now operating after more than a decade of delay. And I instructed NIA to restart as well the Lanao Del Sur irrigation program. Was it yesterday, Cito? When Cito... No, not yesterday. Two weeks ago, at the time when Salamat was ailing in the very same town. Cito Lorenzo was in Butig, at the gate of Camp Bushra, to groundbreak this Lanao del Sur project. The death of Salamat is the end of an era but that groundbreaking of the irrigation is the beginning of another era for the people of Muslim Mindanao. I also instructed Cito Lorenzo to build a dam system for the tobacco farmers of Ilocos using part of the funds of Republic Act 7171. Last year, they got very low prices for their tobacco because the rain flows straight from the mountains to the sea rather than irrigating their plant. And what they use to irrigate is water they draw from the ground but it's salty water. So, for two years now, two harvest now, therefore, the harvest has not been good and the buyers have to select the good pieces, and therefore they don't get the price they would have wanted. So, therefore, the solution is to leave that water on land and use it to irrigate. And so, this is what Cito will do next as far as irrigation projects are concerned.

I'm also instructing Oobet to use part of the expected proceeds of the coco levy funds to finance a leasehold program for the coconut farmers. Dahil marami sa mga mangnyu-niyog, sinabi nila sa akin, keysa bibilhin nila ang lupa, laking puhunan, uupa na lang sila sa lupa para magamit nila yung kanilang puhunan sa kanilang ikalawang produkto dahil hindi sapat ang kanilang kita sa isang produkto, niyog.

I also welcome the partnership forged by DAR with the state universities and colleges to extend modern technologies to the agrarian reform beneficiaries and also grant scholarships to their dependents. This is part of what I instructed since 2001. I said that we must spend 2 billion pesos a year on agricultural research, and part of that should be resources coming from the state universities and colleges. So this is in fulfillment of that. The other big part of the research money has gone to the development and propagation of the hybrid rice, which has doubled the income of many of our farmers. So the research and development component of our agricultural modernization program should be funded in great part by the state universities and colleges. I also commend the plan to set up agro-forestry resource centers, because reforestation is one of the programs that we must do in the holistic approach to fighting insurgency in the mountains.

When my father signed the Land Reform Code, R.A. 3844 -- you know, I could never remember what the number was. I would say, is it R.A. 3488? You know. But now... Now, I will remember because the 38 is the 38 billion for the poor. para yung Republic Act 7171 noong hindi rin ni-release noong araw, ang tawag nila Republic Act 7-awan-7-awan. But now Republic Act 7-adda-7-adda especially for irrigation. In any case, my father said that time, as Obet quoted: the time has come to abolish tenancy in our farms. We must give the tenants liberty from economic peonage, in which they have long languished, so that they will become free men who will share with dignity in the task of building the nation.

Ngayon, pagkatapos ng apatnapung taon, dahil sa hatol ng Korte Suprema siguro itong kanyang sinabing it is the time, will really be the time. Kaya pagtulungan nating itaguyod ang mga repormang magdadala sa atin sa isang maaliwalas na kinabukasan.

Happy Ruby Anniversary at congratulations sa inyong lahat.

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