Diokno: Condonation of farmers' debts won't affect government revenues

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Friday that the condonation of the unpaid amortizations of agrarian reform beneficiaries would not have an impact on the government's revenue.

At a press briefing after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s signing of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, Diokno said the amount that was condoned was not included in the estimation of the government's revenues.

"Wala pong impact ito sa fiscal picture ng gobyerno dahil naplano na namin over the next five years kung ano 'yung deficit target natin, ano 'yung revenues. Hindi po kasama ito sa computation," Diokno said.

(This will have no impact on the fiscal picture of the government because we have planned our deficit target in the next five years, including our revenues. This is not included in the computation.)

"So walang pong impact ito and it will benefit, as mentioned by the President, many agrarian reform beneficiaries. Pag nagpapatakbo po kayo ng gobyerno, hindi lang po efficiency ang inyong iniisip, social justice din po kasama diyan. So this will fall under social justice," he added.

(This has no impact and it will benefit, as mentioned by the President, many agrarian reform beneficiaries. If you run a government, you also think about social justice. So this will fall under social justice.)

The newly-signed law, Republic Act No. 11953, will benefit 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) as it writes off P57,557 billion of their loans.

These farmers were tilling a total of 1,173,101.57 hectares of agrarian reform lands.

"Upon the effectivity of this Act, the individual loans of ARBs, including interests, penalties and surcharges, secured under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) or from other agrarian reform programs or laws, are hereby condoned and written off by the government, thereby relieving them from the burden," the new law stated. —KBK, GMA Integrated News