OCTOBER 11, 2006           

REP. VILLANUEVA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Your Honor. Before I interpellate, Mr. Speaker, may I just make a short manifestation regarding what happened yesterday. I just want to put on record that this Representation is ready to ask questions in any department and I am not here just to ask for a quorum. In fact, I will be interpellating even without enough warm bodies. But, Mr. Speaker, I just want to put on record that we have studied carefully the budget and we are ready to interpolate and even if all members of the Minority come here, we are not going to – we will never be able to muster quorum but we have half the members of the Majority, we already have a quorum.So Mr. Speaker, with that, let me know if the distinguished Sponsor, my good friend from Quirino, would yield to some questions. 

REP. CUA. It’s my pleasure, Mr. Speaker, Your Honor. 

REP. VILLANUEVA. Mr. Speaker, Your Honor, the Department of Agrarian Reform is one of the top ten departments with the highest budgetary allocation for 1007, is that correct, Your Honor? 

REP. CUA. That is right, Mr. Speaker,, Your Honor            

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Mr. Speaker, may I be informed if the proposed budget for the Department of Agrarian Reform is P15.6Billion.  Is that correct, your Honor?             

REP. CUA (J.).  That’s correct, Mr. Speaker. .             

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Your Honor,  may I be informed--is this  a general  breakdown of the proposed Pl5.6B budget of the Department of Agrarian Reform.               

REP. CUA (J).  Mr. Speaker, your Honor, let me provide you a  breakdown in terms of –in terms of a  major final output, Mr. Speaker,   or rather in terms of activity  for land acquisition and distribution- - 8.6Billion;  for program beneficiaries  development - - 858million; and  from its regular fund - -1.6Billion: foreign assisted  project - -3.7Billion;  or a total of 15.6Billion,  Mr. Speaker, your Honor.             

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Mr. Speaker, your Honor, doon po sa 8.6Billion  na land distribution, may I know, Mr. Speaker,  kung  ano po yong ilan, yong target nito na ma-distribute by the end  of the year.             

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker, ang naka-target pong  area  is  l30,000 hectares, Mr. Speaker.            

REP. VILLANUEVA.   130,000 hectares?            

REP. CUA (J.) .  Yes, Mr. Speaker.             

REP. VILLANUEVA.   Mr. Speaker, in the agrarian reform fund or  ARF,  under the  agriculture-fisheries modernization program  or  AFMA,  proposed  budget amounts to   4,587,96l,000, is that correct, your Honor?            

REP. CUA (J.)   Yes, Mr. Speaker.            

REP. VILLANUEVA.   Your Honor, Mr. Speaker, I notice that more than l/3 of this proposed amount shall  be spent for agrarian reform projects.   May I know from the distinguished Sponsor, if  you already  have a breakdown  of these projects including areas where these   projects shall be implemented.  I’m not  gonna ask you one by one – enumerate one by one all these  projects and then the breakdown but perhaps  if the distinguished Sponsor can give me a copy   of that list.  For example,  Mr. Speaker, under the  Tulay ng Pangulo Para sa Magsasaka Project.   I wanted to know, Mr. Speaker, your Honor, how many bridges  we intend to put up, the locations  where these bridges shall be built considering that the  department is proposing, if I am correct, Mr. Speaker,  1,095,926,000  for the said project  next year.             

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker, your Honor,  with respect to whether there is a breakdown, as a general question, meron pong breakdown po yon.   At we will provide you  with the details  of - - of  those projects, sapagkat medyo  mahaba po ….            

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Mr. Speaker, I   beg the indulgence of the distinguished Sponsor.  But let me  be more specific, for instance  in  Bulacan alon, how  many bridges  do we intend to put up ?  How many - - how much money are we allocating for this?             

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker,    doon po sa Bulacan ay may proposal na mga tulay,   pero dahil nasa proseso pa po tayo ng validation,   ay hindi pa po natin mai-specify  alin dong mga tulay na yon ang maisasama  at makwa-qualify sa programa. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  May I know, Mr. Speaker,   kung kailan po magiging ready ang ating Department  just for this Representation’s concern, Mr. Speaker.  I wanted to know because I am from Bulacan and I wanted to know if indeed we have projects.   Mr. Speaker, I also requested for this document because I am also bothered of the total proposed budget for projects under the ARF or Agrarian Reform Fund, which total to about P3,728,981,000 and I think, Mr. Speaker--I also wanted to ask because it appears--and please correct me, distinguished Sponsor--that 60% of this P3 billion plus shall be sourced from loan proceeds mostly from international banking institutions, mostly from IBRD, JBIC, IFAD and UK.  Of course we would like to ensure, Mr. Speaker, Your Honor, that the loans we acquire and we pay later from foreign source will have direct impact on improving the lives of our people especially those in the agrarian reform communities. 

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker, Your Honor, ang inyo pong tinutukoy ay iyong Foreign-Assisted Projects mga … 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Yes, Mr. Speaker. 

REP. CUA (J.).  … tulay, mga irigasyon, mga kalsada, post harvest facilities at ilan pang mga programa na nakapaloob sa programa ng--Program Beneficiaries Development, ano.  Ito po iyong mga support services na kinakailangang maipagawa para iyon namang paglilipat ng lupa sa mga magsasaka ay magkaroon ng kabuluhan at maging efficient. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Yes, Mr. Speaker, and that is beside the request that I mentioned earlier and I was asking how long I will … 

REP. CUA (J.).  Yes. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  … be waiting for that list--just in the province of Bulacan.  I think it is not that tedious to prepare.  

REP. CUA (J.).  Siguro po sa loob po siguro ng mga apat, limang buwan  maaaring ma-validate na ho lahat iyan. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Four to five months, Mr. Speaker? 

REP. CUA (J.).  Siguro ho o maaaring mas maigsi.   

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Well, Mr. Speaker, I am also concerned--you mentioned awhile ago about the projects for ARCs and I am also concerned with the sustainability of these projects.  Another example, Mr. Speaker, is the Solar Power Technology Support project or SPOTS.  And may I know, Mr. Speaker, how much is intended for this project, for 2007. 

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker, Your Honor, ang naka-propose po sa budget for 2007 ay P793,952,000 for the Solar Power Technology Support project to ARCs or SPOTS. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Well, Mr. Speaker, in this--under SPOTS or the Solar Power Technology Support project, I notice that it is comprised of three components:  the solar electrification, agriculture, rural enterprise development and institutional development.  Mr. Speaker, I want to know when the installation of the solar panels in the agrarian reform communities are completed, may I know how does the Department of Agrarian Reform intervene to ensure other components particularly, Mr. Speaker, this so-called “institutional development.”  How do you ensure--how does the Department intervenes to ensure that these institutional developments are met? 

REP. CUA (J.).  Well, Mr. Speaker, when a project is installed, it has to be operated and maintained; it has to be a sustainably-operating project.  And so, to be able to do that, it is necessary to organize the community, develop their capability to manage the project so that at the end of the day, the project pays for itself, ano, and sustains itself. So, the DAR, under this project, will have to do community organizing activities, train the people who will be managing the project, and at the end of the day ensure that they are fully equipped to make the project operate sustainably, Mr. Speaker, Your Honor. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.  For  2007 , may I know how many agrarian reform communities  shall benefit from this so-called  solar power technology support project, in terms, Mr. Speaker, of improvement, of farm productivity, household  income perhaps, and  the general lives, Mr. Speaker, of the members of the agrarian reform  community. 

REP. CUA (J.).   Mr. Speaker, Your Honor, what is targeted to be  beneficiary ARCs is about  49 ARCs, Mr. Speaker. 

REP. VILLANUEVA. Forty-nine ARCs, Mr. Speaker.. 

REP. CUA (J.).  That is correct, Mr. Speaker. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Well, Mr. Speaker,  if this  budget for all these  foreign-assisted projects will be approved, may I also  know  what is the time frame of the  implementation of these projects. 

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker, Your Honor, every foreign-assisted project, such as the ARISP, ARCP, they have different timetable, Mr. Speaker.  In the case of  ARCP, which is funded by the Asian Development Bank, the  duration  is from July 1999 up to June 2007.  In the case of  the ARISP or Agrarian Reform   Infrastructure Support Project, Phase II, the project started in March 2000 and is due to expire by March 31, 2007.  These are the major foreign-assisted projects,  Mr. Speaker, Your Honor. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Thank you very much for that, Mr. Speaker.Let me go to another matter.  For the fund requirements, Mr. Speaker, of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, may I know  how much is being proposed for this  particular program, for this 2007. 

REP. CUA (J.).  Which project, Mr. Speaker? 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  The fund requirements being allotted  for Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

REP. CUA (J.).  Well, the total appropriation for the whole department which will take care of  the Agrarian Reform Program is  P15.6 billion, Mr. Speaker, Your Honor. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Yes, but it says here, Mr. Speaker,  and correct me if I am wrong, distinguished colleague, is that being proposed here for Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program is  P8,656,883,000.  Is that correct, Mr. Speaker?  Because, Mr. Speaker,  I believe that  transparency in the use of fund as huge as the one mentioned is imperative for us to deal with accountability later on.  But unfortunately, there is just one item  in the General Appropriations Bill  indicating the utilization of this  fund, and that is why I am asking that question. 

REP. CUA (J.).   Well, Mr. Speaker, Your Honor, I think what is being referred to is the agrarian reform fund, and this agrarian reform fund is the source of funding for major activities of the department, including land acquisition, program beneficiaries development, delivery of agrarian justice and support services, Mr. Speaker.  So, there is a breakdown for this.  But for simplification in the presentation in the General Appropriations Act, it is just one-line item, Mr. Speaker.            

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Well, Mr. Speaker, I notice for personal services alone, the huge allocation amounting to P1.8 billion makes me think of the number of people under the department or under the plantilla of the Department of Agrarian Reform.            

May I be informed of the number of personnel employed right now, Mr. Speaker, by DAR?  And out of this number…  I remember seeing an article in the newspaper saying that we even have foreign consultants in the department.  Is that correct, Your Honor?            

REP. CUA (J.).  Yes, Mr. Speaker.  There are about 15,000 people employed in the department.  And in some foreign-assisted projects, like the ones that I have mentioned—ARCT and ARISP—the loan contract specified for the employment of…            

REP. VILLANUEVA.  …Foreign consultants.            

REP. CUA (J.).  …foreign consultants are…            

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Do we have a rough estimate, Mr. Speaker, as to how many foreign consultants we are supposed to hire this year?            

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker, Your Honor, we do not have the data now as to the exact number of consultants, but what we have here is the breakdown of consultancy services companies.  There are one, two, three, four, five…  So there are three consulting companies, Mr. Speaker, being employed at the moment to implement foreign-assisted projects.            

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Mr. Speaker, I know this is…  I don’t know if it is possible, but let me raise this anyway.  Is it possible to get the ratio, Mr. Speaker, of personnel per hectare of land set for acquisition or distribution?  Is the department doing such thing like this?           

REP. CUA (J.).  Well, certainly, that ratio can be computed, Mr. Speaker.  But, unfortunately, at this point in time, we don’t have it yet.  But we will do the computation and send it to your office, Mr. Speaker, Your Honor.            

REP. VILLANUEVA.  Thank you.  Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.  I appreciate it.              

Now, Mr. Speaker, for 2007, how much is the proposed MOOE that will go to landowners compensation?            

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker, it’s 4.3, Mr. Speaker, Your Honor. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  …Agrarian Reform Program or CARP expires on 2008 and it appears, Mr. Speaker, that iyong pace po ng ating departamento, it looks like it’s going to be an impossible dream to finish everything by 2008 and that’s why I wanted to know, Mr. Speaker, how many thousand hectares does the Department intend to distribute next year and would the distinguished Sponsor, of course, agree with me that the backlog may be impossible to cover by the time the program expires in 2008.  I also wanted to know what is the plan being contemplated by the Department of Agrarian Reform to ensure that by 2008, if you still believe that you will be able to accomplish our goals under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. 

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker, what is intended to be transferred or redistributed next year is about 130, 000 hectares.  As to whether we will be able to finish fully or completely implement the coverage of the law up to 2008, I think, I agree with you that it will not be possible.  And so, there is a need for legislating the extension of this program and what is being suggested by the Department is to finish all of these within a period of five years. 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  So, after five years, do you think, Mr. Speaker, -- you are confident that we’ll be able to achieve our goals under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program? 

REP. CUA (J.).  Mr. Speaker, it is possible for as long as the money is there, the budget is there.  It is possible to finish it.  So, our… 

REP. VILLANUEVA.  I will take the word of the distinguished Sponsor and thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Your Honor.  And on the part of the Minority – thank you, Mr. Speaker. 

THE PRESIDING OFFICER (Rep. De Guzman).  The Honorable Gozos, the Majority Leader, please.