'Asset swapping' tendered as CARP land compensation

The Department of Agrarian Reform has offered the "asset swapping" scheme as a form of compensation to landowners whose lands will be included in the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Under the scheme, the government-sequestered lots and fixed assets would be offered to landowners as payment for their CARP-covered properties.

DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman said that to determine the values of the properties involved in the swap, the government-sequestered property should follow the prevailing market value, while that of the landowners' on the assessed value of the Land Bank of the Philippines.

He said that another option being considered is to make liquid the sequestered assets through the issuance of security bonds.

"Issuing security bonds is another option we are looking at so that we can advance the equivalent amount corresponding to the property," Pangandaman said.

However, Pangandaman said these proposals still need approval from the Presidential Commission on Good Government.

"Hopefully the PCGG will take our proposals seriously. After all the proceeds of these properties now up for sale will go to the agrarian reform fund," he said.

DAR is expecting P23-billion out of the proceeds of the ill-gotten fixed assets the PCGG had sequestered from known cronies of the late former president Ferdinand Marcos.

The LBP has estimated that CARP needs P62-billion more funds to acquire and distribute the remaining 700,000 hectares of agricultural lands.

DAR, however, raised this estimated funds to P100-billion, which would cover other support services such as farm-to-market roads, bridges, post-harvest and irrigation facilities, among others. - Gregg M.Rubio