Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's allies in the House of Representatives noted that she worked with Congress to pass the extension of the agrarian reform law when she was President, contrary to another privilege speech which accused her of trying to "kill agrarian reform."

Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said Mrs. Arroyo had twice certified as urgent the bill that extended the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) which resulted in the passage of the CARP Extension with Reforms (CARPER) law.

Mrs. Arroyo first certified as urgent the CARPER law in June, 2008, before the expiration of the CARP established by former President Corazon Aquino. Mrs. Arroyo repeated her certification of the CARPER law in her State-of-the-Nation Address (SoNA) in July, 2008, which resulted in the passage of the CARPER law two weeks after.

"Isn't it true that the heart and soul of agrarian reform is land acquisition and distribution? The CARPER law was to ensure that the heart and soul of agrarian reform would continue because it was about to expire," Lagman, who co-authored the CARPER law with then Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, said.

Lagman was interpellating Akbayan Rep. Kaka Bag-ao after she delivered a privilege speech on Tuesday night to accuse Mrs. Arroyo of trying to kill agrarian reform. Bag-ao later acknowledged that the heart and soul of agrarian reform had indeed been ensured with the CARPER law passed during Mrs. Arroyo's term and with her endorsement.

Bag-ao said the agrarian reform program under Mrs. Arroyo had failed to meet the Department of Agrarian Reform's (DAR) target on the number of hectares that would have already been acquired and distributed to farmers by the time that CARP expired last June 10, 2008.

But Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, Mrs. Arroyo's brother-in-law, said that the government was not able to meet the targeted number of hectares to be acquired and distributed because it did not have the money to give just compensation to the owners of these lands.