ARCHBISHOP Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro has accused the President’s brother in law, Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo of Negros Occidental, of blocking the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) as he charged that most obstructionists in Congress are allies of the administration.

“He [Arroyo] has been mentioned by farmers organizations and other citizens [as the one blocking CARP’s extension],” said Ledesma, who is also the chairman of the Church-organized Second National Rural Congress that will be held this year.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) earlier backed CARP extension and charged the government of siding with landlord interests in its failure to distribute land to the farmers.

Without naming names in Congress, Ledesma, former CBCP vice president, said many of the anti-CARP extension legislators belong to the ruling coalition.

“We don’t really have all the names but I think legislators know who are those with landlord interests,” Ledesma said.

The peasant federation Task Force Mapalad earlier sought the help of progressive members of Congress to conduct an investigation into the role played by landowners in the CARP’s failure.

Ledesma appealed to legislators to set aside their business interests for the good of the common Filipino.

He added the CBCP is concerned that some legislators are colluding to block an extension of the agrarian-reform program beyond 2008, adding they are obstructing the move “without providing any meaningful alternative.”

He noted that the CARP could have been the saving grace for poor farmers if only it were implemented according to law.

Ledesma said the agrarian-reform law, which was enacted during the Aquino administration to bridge the wide economic disparity between the rich and poor, was “diluted by unscrupulous officials and by self-seeking individuals and corporate entities.”

Earlier, some farmers from Sumilao in Bukidnon were awarded a parcel of land by food giant San Miguel Corp. through the intervention of Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales of Manila.

Meanwhile, Bishop Vicente Navarra of Bacolod said while the Roman Catholic Church is for CARP’s extension, it wants to be assured that farmers would benefit from the program.

“[The] Church [leaders] are for extension, but they would like to see that the program will be for the benefit of the farmers,” he said.

Neither Ledesma nor Navarra mentioned the Church’s policy on its large landholdings.

Ex-PA chief: We didn’t seize Jonas Burgos

FORMER Army commander Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino on Tuesday denied that he or any of his men were involved in the disappearance of Jonas Burgos, political activist and son of press freedom fighter Jose Burgos Jr., almost a year ago.

THE Ombudsman have junked the administrative and criminal complaints against the 20  policemen assigned in Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in connection with the burning of a public elementary school during the May  2007 midterm election that resulted in the death of a teacher in Taysan, Batangas.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—A religious leader branded as an act of darkness the Sunday bombing at the Immaculate Concepcion Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown Zamboanga City.

THE Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the public-auction sale of the 18.4891-hectare “Payanig sa Pasig” property to the Pasig City government following the failure of its private owner to pay real-property tax in the amount of P389 million covering 18 years, or from 1987 to 2005.

BAGUIO CITY—A small but determined group of protesters gathered in front of the Supreme Court  (SC) mansion on Tuesday morning to press their appeal for the reversal of the SC decision on the question of executive privilege as invoked by former socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri on his conversation with President Arroyo.

ARCHBISHOP Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro has accused the President’s brother in law, Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo of Negros Occidental, of blocking the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) as he charged that most obstructionists in Congress are allies of the administration.

AMBASSADOR John Danilovich, chief executive officer of the United States’ Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) reminded Philippine government leaders that the political noise on corruption in the government is not in any way affecting Manila’s stake in qualifying for the multibillion-dollar grant, saying it is better to hear news on corruption than having a silenced media in the country.