MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday wrote off $1.04 billion in land-related debt owed by more than half a million farmers, a move aimed at boosting food production.
The “New Agrarian Emancipation Act” he signed into law waived all property-related debt owed by farmers who had been given land on 30-year payment terms under a 1988 land reform program, but had been unable to pay.
“We know these farmers do not have the means to pay this huge debt. So putting it under the government’s tab is the right thing to do,” Marcos said at a signing ceremony at the presidential palace.
The writing off of the loans, which were issued by government banks, meant “we are doing everything in order to feed our people,” he added.
Under a law passed in 1988, about 4.8 million hectares (11.9 million acres) of plots were distributed to almost three million landless farmers.
The total was equivalent to 16 percent of the country’s land area.
Congress passed the new legislation because nearly 1.2 million hectares of redistributed farmland had gone unpaid for, with the farm sector’s contribution to the country’s economic output shrinking.
The write-off will benefit more than 610,000 land reform beneficiaries but will cost the government $1.04 billion (57.65 billion pesos), Marcos said.
The government will spend another 206 million pesos to compensate landowners whose properties were transferred to tenants, he added.
“We need to revitalize the agriculture sector,” said Marcos, who is also the agriculture minister.
After his election last year, the archipelago nation was wracked with shortages and soaring prices of farm commodities, including onions and sugar, while imports of rice, a food staple, also surged.
Philippines writes off $1 billion in farmer debt to boost food production
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Philippines writes off $1 billion in farmer debt to boost food production
- New Agrarian Emancipation Act waives all property-related debt owed by farmers who had been given land on 30-year payment terms under a 1988 land reform program, but had been unable to pay
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
