THE Department of Agrarian Reform is confident about the chances of getting the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program of the government extended beyond its 10-year legal life span that will expire in June 2008 based on stakeholders' response in recent consultations all over the country.

"There was an overwhelming support from all stakeholders," DAR undersecretary Gerundio Madueno enthused.

DAR has yet to finish implementing its mandate of acquiring and distributing 1,077,000 hectares of private agricultural land placed under CARP.

The department held two public hearings each in Luzon (Ilocos Sur and La Union) and in the Visayas (Dumaguete and Negros Oriental), and one in Mindanao (Davao del Sur).

Madueno said around 80-90 percent of those consulted favored the extension of CARP's life. "There were also those opposed, especially among the owners of sugarcane areas in Negros and Cebu," he added in Filipino.

Aside from the landlords, also opposed to the extension were peasant organizations like the Pambansang Ugnayan ng mga Lokal na Nagsasariling Organisasyon ng mga Mamamayan sa Kanayunan (Unorka) which noted the worsening conflict between landowners and peasants in the provinces.

Unorka projected a return of social unrest if CARP is extended without accompanying substantial reforms. "Malamang bumalik ang dekada 70 scenario, magulo ang kanayunan. Yung mga nagbalik-loob sa gobyerno, muli na namang hahawak ng armas," it said.

"If there is no CARP extension, we would be going back to square one. There is going to be further hesitance in the part of the investors to invest in the country," Madueno said.