THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM LAW 5.
Article XIII, Section 5: The State shall recognize the rights of farmers,
Republic Act No. 6657, as amended
I. Introduction
A. Constitutional Basis
1. Article II, Section 21: The State shall promote comprehensive rural development
and agrarian reform.
2. Article XII, Section 1: x x x The State shall promote industrialization and full
employment based on sound agricultural development and agrarian reform, x x x
3. Article XIII, Section 3: x x x The State shall regulate the relations between
workers and employers, recognizing the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of
production and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns on investments, and to
expansion and growth.
4. Article XIII, Section 4: The State shall, by law, undertake an agrarian reform
program founded on the rights of farmers and regular farmworkers, who are
landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till or, in the case of other
farmworkers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof. To this end, the State
shall encourage and undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands, subject
to such priorities and reasonable retention limits as the Congress may prescribe,
taking into account ecological, developmental, or equity considerations, and subject
to the payment of just compensation. In determining retention limits, the State shall
respect the right of small landowners. The State shall further provide incentives for
voluntary land-sharing.
farmworkers, and landowners, as well as cooperatives, and other independent
farmers' organizations to participate in the planning, organization, and management
of the program, and shall provide support to agriculture through appropriate
technology and research, and adequate financial, production, marketing, and other
support services.
6. Article XIII, Section 6: The State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform or
stewardship, whenever applicable in accordance with law, in the disposition or
utilization of other natural resources, including lands of the public domain under
lease or concession suitable to agriculture, subject to prior rights, homestead rights
of small settlers, and the rights of indigenous communities to their ancestral lands.
The State may resettle landless farmers and farmworkers in its own agriculture
estates which shall be distributed to them in the manner provided by law.
7. Article XIII, Section 8: The State shall provide incentives to landowners to invest
the proceeds of the agrarian reform program to promote industrialization, employ-
ment creating, and privatization of public sector enterprises. Financial instruments
used as payment for their lands shall be honored as equity in enterprises of their
choice.
B. Declaration of Principles and Policies [Section 2]
It is the policy of the State to pursue a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP). The welfare of the landless farmers and farmworkers will receive the highest
consideration to promote social justice and to move the nation toward sound rural
development and industrialization, and the establishment of owner cultivatorship of
economic-size farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture.
 The State shall promote industrialization and full employment based on sound
agricultural development and agrarian reform, through industries that make full and
efficient use of human and natural resources, and which are competitive in both
domestic and foreign markets: Provided, That the conversion of agricultural lands into
industrial, commercial or residential lands shall take into account, tillers' rights and
national food security. Further, the State shall protect Filipino enterprises against unfair
foreign competition and trade practices.
The State recognizes that there is not enough agricultural land to be divided and
distributed to each farmer and regular farmworker so that each one can own his/her
economic-size family farm. This being the case, a meaningful agrarian reform program
to uplift the lives and economic status of the farmer and his/her children can only be
achieved through simultaneous industrialization aimed at developing a self-reliant and
independent national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.
To this end, the State may, in the interest of national welfare or defense, establish
and operate vital industries.
A more equitable distribution and ownership of land, with due regard to the rights
of landowners to just compensation, retention rights under Section 6 of Republic Act
No. 6657, as amended, and to the ecological needs of the nation, shall be undertaken
to provide farmers and farmworkers with the opportunity to enhance their dignity and
improve the quality of their lives through greater productivity of agricultural lands.
The agrarian reform program is founded on the right of farmers and regular
farmworkers, who are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till or, in
the case of other farmworkers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof. To this end,
the State shall encourage and undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands,
subject to the priorities and retention limits set forth in this Act, taking into account
ecological, developmental, and equity considerations, and subject to the payment of
just compensation. The State shall respect the right of small landowners, and shall
provide incentive for voluntary land-sharing.
As much as practicable, the implementation of the program shall be
community-based to assure, among others, that the farmers shall have greater control
of farmgate prices, and easier access to credit.
The State shall recognize the right of farmers, farmworkers and landowners, as
well as cooperatives and other independent farmers' organizations, to participate in the
planning, organization, and management of the program, and shall provide support to
agriculture through appropriate technology and research, and adequate financial,
production, marketing and other support services.
The State shall recognize and enforce, consistent with existing laws, the rights of
rural women to own and control land, taking into consideration the substantive equality
between men and women as qualified beneficiaries, to receive a just share of the fruits
thereof, and to be represented in advisory or appropriate decision-making bodies.
These rights shall be independent of their male relatives and of their civil status.
The State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform, or stewardship, whenever
applicable, in accordance with law, in the disposition or utilization of other natural
resources, including lands of the public domain, under lease or concession, suitable to
agriculture, subject to prior rights, homestead rights of small settlers and the rights of
indigenous communities to their ancestral lands.
The State may resettle landless farmers and farm workers in its own agricultural
estates, which shall be distributed to them in the manner provided by law.
By means of appropriate incentives, the State shall encourage the formation and
maintenance of economic-size family farms to be constituted by individual beneficiaries
and small landowners.
 The State shall protect the rights of subsistence fishermen, especially of local of Agrarian Reform,1 the Supreme Court held:
communities, to the preferential use of communal marine and fishing resources, both
inland and offshore. It shall provide support to such fishermen through appropriate
technology and research, adequate financial, production and marketing assistance and
other services. The State shall also protect, develop and conserve such resources. The
protection shall extend to offshore fishing grounds of subsistence fishermen against
foreign intrusion. Fishworkers shall receive a just share from their labor in the utilization
of marine and fishing resources.

The State shall be guided by the principles that land has a social function and land
ownership has a social responsibility. Owners of agricultural land have the obligation to
cultivate directly or through labor administration the lands they own and thereby make
the land productive.

The State shall provide incentives to landowners to invest the proceeds of the
agrarian reform program to promote industrialization, employment and privatization of
public sector enterprises. Financial instruments used as payment for lands shall contain
features that shall enhance negotiability and acceptability in the marketplace.

The State may lease undeveloped lands of the public domain to qualified entities for
the development of capital-intensive farms, and traditional and pioneering crops
especially those for exports subject to the prior rights of the beneficiaries under this Act.

C. Definition of Agrarian Reform

1. Agrarian Reform means the redistribution of lands, regardless of crops or fruits pro-
duced, to farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless, irrespective of tenurial
arrangement, to include the totality of factors and support services designed to lift
the economic status of the beneficiaries and all other arrangement alternative to the
physical redistribution of lands, such as production or profit-sharing, labor
administration, and the distribution of stock, which will allow beneficiaries to receive
a just share of the fruits of the lands they work. [Section 3(a) of RA 6657]

2. Distinguished from Land Reform

* Land Reform is the physical redistribution of land such as the program under
Presidential Decree No. 27. Agrarian reform means the redistribution of lands
including the totality of factors and support services designed to lift the
economic status of the beneficiaries. Thus, agrarian reform is broader than
land reform.

D. RA 6657 is Constitutional

In the case of Association of Small Landowners in the Philippines, Inc. v. Secretary

1 175 SCRA 343.

 "The case before us presents no knotty complication insofar as the question of
compensable taking is concerned. To the extent that the measures under challenge
merely prescribe retention limits for landowners, there is an exercise of the police power
for the regulation of private property in accordance with the Constitution. But where, to
carry out such regulation, it becomes necessary to deprive such owners of whatever lands
they may own in excess of the maximum area allowed, there is definitely a taking under
the power of eminent domain for which payment of just compensation is imperative. The
taking contemplated is not a mere limitation of the use of the land. What is required is
the surrender of the title to and the physical possession of the said excess and all
beneficial rights accruing to the owner in favor of the farmer-beneficiary. This is
definitely an exercise not of the police power but of the power of eminent domain.
"Classification has been defined as the grouping of persons or things similar to each
other in certain particulars and different from each other in these same particulars. To be
valid, it must conform to the following requirements: (1) it must be based on substantial
distinctions; (2) it must be germane to the purpose of the law; (3) it must not be limited
to existing conditions only; and (4) it must apply equally to all the members of the class.
The Court finds that all these requisites have been met by the measures here challenged
as arbitrary and discriminatory.
"Equal protection simply means that all persons or things similarly situated must be
treated alike both as to the rights conferred and the liabilities imposed. The petitioner
have not shown that they belong to a different class and entitled to a different treatment.
The argument that not only landowners but also owners of other properties must be
made to share the burden of implementing land reform must be rejected. There is a
substantial distinction between these two classes of owners that is clearly visible except
to those who will not see. There is no need to elaborate on this matter. In any event,
the Congress is allowed a wide leeway in providing for a valid classification. Its decision
is accorded recognition and respect by the courts of justice except only where its discre-
tion is abused to the detriment of the Bill of Rights.
"[T]he determination of just compensation is a function addressed to the courts of
justice and may not be usurped by any other branch or official of the government. EPZA
v. Dulay resolved a challenge to several decrees promulgated by President Marcos
providing that the just compensation for property under expropriation should be either
the assessment of the property by the government or the sworn valuation thereof by the
owner, whichever was lower.
"With these assumptions, the Court hereby declares that the content and manner of
the just compensation provided for in the afore-quoted Section 18 of the CARP Law is not
violative of the Constitution. We do not mind admitting that a certain degree of
pragmatism has influenced our decision on this issue, but after all this Court is not a
cloistered institution removed from the realities and demands of society or oblivious to
the need for its enhancement. The Court is as acutely anxious as the rest of our people
to see the goal of agrarian reform achieved at last after the frustrations and deprivations
of our peasant masses during all these disappointing decades. We are aware that
invalidation of said section will result in the nullification of the entire program, killing the
farmer's hopes even as they approach realization and resurrecting the specter of
discontent and dissent in the restless countryside. That is not in our view the intention of
the Constitution, and that is not what we shall decree today.
"Accepting the theory that payment of the just compensation is not always required
to be made fully in money, we find further that the proportion of cash payment to the
"It is worth remarking at this juncture that a statute may be sustained under the
police power only if there is a concurrence of the lawful subject and the lawful method.
Put otherwise, the interests of the public generally as distinguished from those of a
particular class require the interference of the State and, no less important, the means
employed are reasonably necessary for the attainment of the purpose sought to be
achieved and not unduly oppressive upon individuals. As the subject and purpose of
agrarian reform have been laid down by the Constitution itself, we may say that the first
requirement has been satisfied. What remains to be examined is the validity of the
method employed to achieve the Constitutional goal.
"Eminent domain is an inherent power of the State that enable it to forcibly acquire
private lands intended for public use upon payment of just compensation to the owner.
Obviously, there is no need to expropriate where the owner is willing to sell under terms
also acceptable to the purchaser, in which case an ordinary deed of sale may be agreed
upon by the parties. It is only where the owner is unwilling to sell, or cannot accept the
price or other conditions offered by the vendee, that the power of eminent domain will
come into play to assert the paramount authority of the State over the interest of the
property owner. Private rights must then yield to the irresistible demands of the public
interest on the time-honored justification, as in the case of the police power, that the
welfare of the people is the supreme law.
"But for all its primacy and urgency, the power of expropriation is by no means
absolute (as indeed no power is absolute). The limitation is found in the constitutional
injunction that "private property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation" and in the abundant jurisprudence that has evolved from the
interpretation of this principle. Basically, the requirements for a proper exercise of the
power are: (1) public use and (2) just compensation.
other things of value constituting the total payment, as determined on the basis of the
areas of the lands expropriated, is not unduly oppressive upon the landowner. It is noted
that the smaller the land, the bigger the payment in money, primarily because the small
landowner will be needing it more than the big landowner, who can afford a bigger
balance in bonds and other things of value. No less importantly, the government financial
instruments making up the balance of the payment are "negotiable at any time." The
other modes, which are likewise available to the landowner at his option, are also not
unreasonable because payment is made in shares of stock, LBP bonds, other properties or
assets, tax credits, and other things of value equivalent to the amount of just compensa-
tion."
II. Scope
A. Lands Covered
1. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover, regardless of tenurial
arrangement and commodity produced, ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AGRICUL-
TURAL LANDS as provided in Proclamation No. 131 and Executive Order No. 229,
including other lands of the public domain suitable for agriculture: Provided, That
landholdings of landowners with a total area of five (5) hectares and below shall not
 be covered for acquisition and distribution to qualified beneficiaries. [Section 4]
a. Agricultural land refers to land devoted to agricultural activity and not
classified as mineral, forest, residential, commercial or industrial land [Section
3(c)].
b. Agricultural activity means the cultivation of the soil, planting of crops,
growing of fruit trees, raising of fish, including the harvesting of such farm
products, and other farm activities and practices performed by a farmer in
conjunction with such farming operations done by persons whether natural or
juridical [Section 3(b)].
2. Specifically, the following lands are covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program:
a. All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or suitable
for agriculture. No reclassification of forest or mineral lands to agricultural
lands shall be undertaken after the approval of this Act until Congress, taking
into account ecological, developmental and equity considerations, shall have
determined by law, the specific limits of the public domain;

b. All lands of the public domain in excess of the specific limits as determined by b. School sites and campuses including experimental farm stations operated by
Congress in the preceding paragraph; public or private schools for educational purposes;
c. Seeds and seedling research and pilot production center;
c. All other lands owned by the Government devoted to or suitable for agriculture; d. Church sites and convents appurtenant thereto;
and e. Mosque sites and Islamic centers appurtenant thereto;
f. Communal burial grounds and cemeteries;
d. All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of the g. Penal colonies and penal farms actually worked by the inmates; and
agricultural products raised or that can be raised thereon. h. Government and private research and quarantine centers.

B. Exclusions from the Coverage of CARL 4. All lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope and over which are not developed for
agriculture are exempted from the coverage of CARL.
1. Under Section 102, excluded from the coverage of the CARL are lands actually,
directly and exclusively used for: * An eighteen percent slope is not equivalent to an eighteen degree angle.
Eighteen percent slope is obtained by having a 100 meter run and an 18 meter
a. Parks; rise.
b. Wildlife;
c. Forest reserves;
d. Reforestation;
e. Fish sanctuaries and breeding grounds;
f. Watersheds and mangroves.

2. Private lands actually, directly and exclusively used for prawn farms and fishponds
shall be exempt from the coverage of this Act: Provided, That said prawn farms
and fishponds have not been distributed and Certificate of Land
Ownership Award (CLOA) issued to agrarian reform beneficiaries under
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
In cases where the fishponds or prawn farms have been subjected to the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, by voluntary offer to sell, or commercial
farms deferment or notices of compulsory acquisition, a simple and absolute
majority of the actual regular workers or tenants must consent to the exemption
within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act. When the workers or tenants do
not agree to this exemption, the fishponds or prawn farms shall be distributed
collectively to the worker-beneficiaries or tenants who shall form a cooperative or
association to manage the same.

3. Likewise, execluded from the coverage the CARL are lands actually, directly and
exclusively used and found to be necessary for:

a. National defense;

2 As amended by Republic Act No. 7881.

 5. In the case of Luz Farms v. Secretary of Agrarian Reform,3 the Supreme Court has
excluded agricultural Lands Devoted to Commercial Livestock, Poultry and Swine
Raising from the coverage of CARL.

The Supreme Court said:

"The transcripts of the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission of 1986 on

the meaning of the word "agricultural," clearly show that it was never the intention of
the framers of the Constitution to include livestock and poultry industry in the
coverage of the constitutionally-mandated agrarian reform program of the
Government.

"The Committee adopted the definition of "agricultural land" as defined under

Section 166 of RA 3844, as lands devoted to any growth, including but not limited to
crop lands, saltbeds, fishponds, idle and abandoned land (Record, CONCOM, August 7,
1986, Vol. III, p. 11).

"The intention of the Committee is to limit the application of the word

"agriculture." Commissioner Jamir proposed to insert the word "ARABLE" to
distinguish this kind of agricultural land from such lands as commercial and industrial
lands and residential properties because all of them fall under the general classifi-
cation of the word "agricultural." This proposal, however, was not considered because
the Committee contemplated that agricultural lands are limited to arable and suitable
agricultural lands and therefore, do not include commercial, industrial and residential
lands (Record, CONCOM, August 7, 1986, Vol. III, p. 30).

"In the interpellation, then Commissioner Regalado (now a Supreme Court

Justice), posed several questions, among others, quoted as follows:

xxx xxx xxx

"Line 19 refers to genuine reform program founded on the primary right of
farmers and farmworkers. I wonder if it means that leasehold tenancy is thereby
proscribed under this provision because it speaks of the primary right of farmers
and farmworkers to own directly or collectively the lands they till. As also
mentioned by Commissioner Tadeo, farmworkers include those who work in pig-
geries and poultry projects.
I was wondering whether I am wrong in my appreciation that if somebody
puts up a piggery or a poultry project and for that purpose hires farmworkers
therein, these farmworkers will automatically have the right to own eventually,
directly or ultimately or collectively, the land on which the piggeries and poultry
projects were constructed. (Record, CONCOM, August 2, 1986, p. 618).
xxx xxx xxx"

"The question were answered and explained in the statement of the then
Commissioner Tadeo, quoted as follows:

xxx xxx xxx

"Sa pangalawang katanungan ng Ginoo ay medyo hindi kami
nagkaunawaan. Ipinaaalam ko kay Commissioner Regalado na hindi namin
inilagay ang agricultural worker sa kadahilanang kasama rito ang piggery, poultry
at livestock workers. Ang inilagay namin dito ay farm worker kaya hindi kasama
ang piggery, poultry at livestock workers (Record, CONCOM, August , 1986, Vol.
II, p. 621).

3 192 SCRA 51.

 "It is evident from the foregoing discussion that Section 11 of RA 6657 which
includes "private agricultural lands devoted to commercial livestock, poultry and
swine raising" in the definition of "commercial farms" is invalid, to the extent that
the aforecited agro-industrial activities are made to be covered by the agrarian
reform program of the State. There is simply no reason to include livestock and
poultry lands int he coverage of agrarian reform. (Rollo, p. 21).
"PREMISES CONSIDERED, the instant petition is hereby GRANTED. Sections
3(b), 11, 13 and 32 of R.A. No. 6657 insofar as the inclusion of raising of livestock,
poultry and swine in its coverage as well as the Implementing Rules and Guidelines
promulgated in accordance therewith, are hereby DECLARED null and void for being
unconstitutional and the writ of preliminary injunction issued is hereby MADE
permanent."
III. Schedule of Implementation
A. Period for Implementation [Section 5]
1. The DAR, in coordination with the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) shall
plan and program the final acquisition and distribution of all remaining unacquired
and undistributed agricultural lands from the effectivity of this Act until June 30,
2014.
B. Priorities [Section 7]
1. Guiding Principle: In effecting the transfer, priority must be given to lands that are
tenanted.
2. Factors to consider in the Implementation
Phase Two: (a) Lands twenty-four (24) hectares up to fifty (50) hectares shall
likewise be covered for purposes of agrarian reform upon the effectivity of this Act. All
alienable and disposable public agricultural lands; all arable public agricultural lands
under agro-forest, pasture and agricultural leases already cultivated and planted to crops
in accordance with Section 6, Article XIII of the Constitution; all public agricultural lands
which are to be opened for new development and resettlement: and all private
agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings above twenty-four (24)
hectares up to fifty (50) hectares which have already been subjected to a notice of
coverage issued on or before December 1O, 2008, to implement principally the rights of
farmers and regular farmworkers, who are landless, to own directly or collectively the
lands they till, which shall be distributed immediately upon the effectivity of this Act, with
the implementation to be completed by June 30, 2012; and
(b) All remaining private agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate
landholdings in excess of twenty-four (24) hectares, regardless as to whether these have
been subjected to notices of coverage or not, with the implementation to begin on July 1,
2012 and to be completed by June 30, 2013
Phase Three: All other private agricultural lands commencing with large
landholdings and proceeding to medium and small landholdings under the following
a. Need to distribute lands to the tillers at the earliest practical time;
b. Need to enhance agricultural productivity; and
c. Availability of funds and resources to implement and support the program
3. Phases of Implementation
Phase One: During the five (5)-year extension period hereafter all remaining lands
above fifty (50) hectares shall be covered for purposes of agrarian reform upon the
effectivity of this Act. All private agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate
landholdings in excess of fifty (50) hectares which have already been subjected to a
notice of coverage issued on or before December 10, 2008; rice and corn lands under
Presidential Decree No. 27; all idle or abandoned lands; all private lands voluntarily
offered by the owners for agrarian reform: Provided, That with respect to voluntary land
transfer, only those submitted by June 30, 2009 shall be allowed: Provided, further, That
after June 30, 2009, the modes of acquisition shall be limited to voluntary offer to sell
and compulsory acquisition: Provided, furthermore, That all previously acquired lands
wherein valuation is subject to challenge by landowners shall be completed and finally
resolved pursuant to Section 17 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended: Provided, finally,
as mandated by the Constitution, Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, and Republic Act
No. 3844,as amended, only farmers (tenants or lessees) and regular farmworkers actually
tilling the lands, as certified under oath by the Barangay Agrarian Reform Council (BARC)
and attested under oath by the landowners, are the qualified beneficiaries. The intended
beneficiary shall state under oath before the judge of the city or municipal court that
he/she is willing to work on the land to make it productive and to assume the obligation
of paying the amortization for the compensation of the land and the land taxes thereon;
all lands foreclosed by government financial institutions; all lands acquired by the
Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG); and all other lands owned by the
government devoted to or suitable for agriculture, which shall be acquired and distributed
immediately upon the effectivity of this Act, with the implementation to be completed by
June 30, 2012.
schedule:
(a) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings above ten (10) hectares up to
twenty- four (24)hectares, insofar as the excess hectarage above ten (10) hectares
is concerned, to begin on July 1,2012 and to be completed by June 30, 2013; and
(b) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings from the retention limit up to ten
(10) hectares, to begin on July 1, 2013 and to be completed by June 30, 2014; to
implement principally the right of farmers and regular farmworkers who are
landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till.
The schedule of acquisition and redistribution of all agricultural lands covered by this
program shall be made in accordance with the above order of priority, which shall be
provided in the implementing rules to be prepared by the PARC, taking into consideration
the following: the landholdings wherein the farmers are organized and understand ,the
meaning and obligations of farmland ownership; the distribution of lands to the tillers at
the earliest practicable time; the enhancement of agricultural productivity; and the
availability of funds and resources to implement and support the program: Provided, That
the PARC shall design and conduct seminars, symposia, information campaigns, and other
similar programs for farmers who are not organized or not covered by any landholdings.
 Completion by these farmers of the aforementioned seminars, symposia, and other
similar programs shall be encouraged in the implementation of this Act particularly the
provisions of this Section.
The PARC shall establish guidelines to implement the above priorities and
distribution scheme, including the determination of who are qualified beneficiaries:
Provided, That an owner-tiller may be a beneficiary of the land he/she does not own but
C. Exceptions from the Implementation Phases
is actually cultivating to the extent of the difference between the area of the land he/she
owns and the award ceiling of three (3) hectares: Provided, further, That collective
ownership by the farmer beneficiaries shall be subject to Section 25 of Republic Act No.
6657, as amended: Provided, furthermore, That rural women shall be given the
opportunity t o participate in the development planning and implementation of this Act:
Provided, finally, That in no case should the agrarian reform beneficiaries' sex, economic,
religious, social, cultural and political attributes adversely affect the distribution of lands.
ii. Leasehold Tenancy

1. Land acquisition and distribution shall be completed by June 30, 2014 on a 2. Leasehold vs. Sharehold Tenancy
province-by- province basis. In any case, the PARC or the PARC Executive
Committee (PARC EXCOM), upon recommendation by the Provincial Agrarian Reform
Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM), may declare certain provinces as priority land
reform areas, in which case the acquisition and distribution of private agricultural
lands therein under advanced phases may be implemented ahead of the above
schedules on the condition that prior phases in these provinces have been
completed: Provided, That notwithstanding the above schedules, phase three (b)
shall not be implemented in a particular province until at least ninety percent (90%)
of the provincial balance of that particular province as of January 1, 2009 under
Phase One, Phase Two (a), Phase Two (b),,and Phase Three (a), excluding lands
under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), have been successfully completed. PARC, upon recommendation of the
Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM), may declare
certain provinces or regions as priority land reform areas, in which case the acquisi -
tion and distribution of private agricultural lands therein may be implemented ahead
of schedule. [Section 7]

2. The PARC may suspend the implementation of CARL with respect to ancestral lands
for purpose of identifying and delineating such lands. [Section 9]

IV. Improvement of Tenurial and Labor Relations

A. Leasehold Tenancy

1. Tenancy in General

a. Definition: Agricultural tenancy is the physical possession by a person of land

devoted to agriculture, belonging to or legally possessed by another for the
purpose of production through the labor of the former and of the members of
his immediate farm household in consideration of which the former agrees to
share the harvest with the latter or to pay a price certain or ascertainable,
either in produce or in money, or in both [Section 3 of RA 1199, Guerrero v.
CA4]

b. Types of Tenancy Relation

i. Sharehold Tenancy; and

4 142 SCRA 136.

 * The two tenancy systems are distinct and different form each other. In
sharehold, the tenant may choose to shoulder, in addition to labor, any one or 4. Purpose of the Leasehold Relation: To protect and improve the tenurial and
more of the items of contributions (such as farm implements, work animals, economic status of the farmers in tenanted lands. [Section 12]
final harrowing, transplanting), while in leasehold, the tenant or lessee always
shoulders all items of production except the land. Under the sharehold system, 5. Application [Section 12]
the tenant and the landholder are co-managers, whereas in leasehold, the
tenant is the sole manager of the farmholding. Finally, in sharehold tenancy, a. Tenanted lands under the retention limit; and
the tenant and the landholder divide the harvest in proportion to their b. Tenanted lands not yet acquired under the CARL
contributions, while in leasehold tenancy, the tenant or lessee gets the whole
produce with the mere obligation to pay a fixed rental. [People v. Adillo5]
B. Production Sharing Plan

Sharehold Leasehold 1. Application [Section 13]

Expenses of Production Tenant and Landowner Tenant a. Any enterprise adopting the scheme provided for in Section 32;
b. Any enterprise operating under a production venture, lease, management
Management Tenant and Landowner Tenant contract or other similar arrangement;

Payment Tenant and landowner divide Tenant gets the whole

the harvest in proportion to produce with the mere
their contributions. obligation to pay rent.

3. Leasehold vs. Civil Lease

* There are important differences between a leasehold tenancy and a civil law lease.
The subject matter of leasehold tenancy is limited to agricultural lands; that of civil
law lease may be either rural or urban property. As to attention and cultivation, the
law requires the leasehold tenant to personally attend to, and cultivate the
agricultural land, whereas the civil law lessee need not personally cultivate or work
the thing leased. As to purpose, the landholding in leasehold tenancy is devoted to
agriculture, whereas in civil law lease, the purpose may be for any other lawful
pursuit. As to the law that governs, the civil law lease is governed by the Civil Code,
whereas leasehold tenancy is governed by special laws. [Gabriel v. Pangilinan6]

Leasehold Tenancy Civil Law Lease

Subject Matter Agricultural lands only Both rural and urban proper-
ties

Attention and Cultivation Tenant must personally culti- Lessee does not have to per-
vate sonally cultivate

Purpose Agriculture only Any lawful purpose

Governing Law Special laws Civil Code

5 68 SCRA 90.

6 58 SCRA 590.
 c. Any farm covered by Section 8 (Private agricultural lands leased by Multination-
al corporations) and Section 11 (Commercial farming); and
d. Corporate farms pending final land transfer.
2. Period for Compliance: Within ninety (90) days from effectivity of CARL
3. Scheme (Applies to those individuals or enterprises realizing gross sales in excess
of five million pesos per annum, unless the DAR sets a lower ceiling) [Section
32]
a. Three percent (3%) of the gross sales from the production of such lands;
b. Distributed within sixty (60) days of the end of the fiscal year;
c. Treated as additional compensation to regular and other farmworkers of such
lands;
d. During the transitory period (before the land is turned over to the farmworker-
beneficiaries), at least one percent (1%) of the gross sales shall be distributed
to the managerial, supervisory and technical group; and
e. If profit is realized, an additional ten percent (10%) of the net profit after tax
shall be distributed to the regular and other farmworkers within ninety (90)
days of the end of the fiscal year.
V. Registration
VI. Private Land Acquisition
A. Within 180 days from the effectivity of CARL, landowners, natural or juridical, shall file a
sworn statement in the assessor's office the following information:
a. the description and area of the property;
1. Five hectares is the retention limit. No person may own or retain, directly or
indirectly, any public or private agricultural land, the size of which shall vary
according to factors governing a viable family-sized farm, such as commodity pro-
duced, terrain, infrastructure, and soil fertility as determined by the Presidential
Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), but in no case shall the retention limit exceed five
(5) hectares.
2. Additional three hectares may be awarded to each child, subject to the
following qualifications:
a. That the child is at least fifteen (15) years of age; and
b. That the child is actually tilling the land or directly managing the farm.
3. Exceptions to the retention limit of five hectares.
a. Landowners whose lands have been covered by PD 27; and
b. Original homestead grantees or direct compulsory heirs who still own the
original homestead at the time of the approval of CARL, as long as they
continue to cultivate said homestead.
C. Provincial, city and municipal government ,units acquiring private agricultural
lands by expropriation or other modes of acquisition to be used for actual,
direct and exclusive public purposes, such as roads and bridges, public
markets, school sites, resettlement sites, local government facilities, public
b. the average gross income from the property for at least 3 years;
c. the names of all tenants and farmworkers therein;
d. the crops planted in the property and the area covered by the crop as of June 1,
1987;
e. the terms of mortgages, leases and management contracts subsisting as of June 1,
1987; and
f. the latest declared market value of the land as determined by the city or provincial
assessor. (Section 14)
B. The DAR, in coordination with the Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC) shall
register all agricultural lessees, tenants and farmworkers who are qualifies to be
beneficiaries under the CARL. These potential beneficiaries shall provide the following
data:
a. names and members of their immediate farm household;
b. owners and administrators of the lands they work on and the length of tenurial
relationship;
c. location and area of the land they work;
d. crops planted; and
e. their share in the harvest or amount of rental paid or wages received.
A. Retention Limit [Section 6]
parks and barangay plazas or squares, consistent with the approved local
comprehensive land use plan, shall not be subject to the five (5)-hectare
retention limit under this Section and Sections 70 and 73(a) of Republic Act No.
6657, as amended: Provided, That lands subject to CARP shall first undergo the
land acquisition and distribution process of the program: Provided, further,
That when these lands have been subjected to expropriation, the agrarian
reform beneficiaries therein shall be paid just compensation [Section 6-A].
4. Right to choose the area to be retained.
The right to choose the area to be retained, which shall be compact or contigu-
ous, shall pertain to the landowner. If the land retained is tenanted, the tenant shall
have the option to choose whether to remain therein or be a beneficiary in the same
or another agricultural land. In case the tenant chooses to remain in the retained
area, he shall be considered a leaseholder and shall lose his right to be a beneficiary
under this Act. In case the tenant chooses to be a beneficiary in another agricultural
land, he loses his right as a leaseholder to the land retained by the landowner. The
tenant must exercise this option within a period of one (1) year from the time the
landowner manifest his choice of the area for retention.
B. Procedure
 1. Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) [Section 20] 2. Compulsory Acquisition [Section 16]

a. Must be submitted to the DAR within one year from effectivity of the CARl; a. Notice to acquire the land shall be sent to the landowner and the beneficiaries.
b. Must not be less favorable to the transferee than those of the government's The notice shall also be posted in a conspicuous place in the municipal building
standing ; and and the barangay hall of the place where the property is located.
c. Shall include sanctions for non-compliance by either party and shall be duly b. Within thirty (30) days from receipt of the written notice, the landowner shall
recorded and its implementation monitored by the DAR. inform the DAR of his acceptance or rejection of the offer.
D. Only those submitted by June 30, 2009 shall be allowed.
c. If the offer is accepted, the LBP pays the landowner and within thirty (30) additional factors to determine its valuation [Section 17].
days, the landowner executes and delivers a deed of transfer to the
Government and surrenders the Certificate of Title and other muniments of
title. 2. Under EO 405 (1990), Land Bank of the Philippines shall be primarily responsible for
d. In case of rejection or failure to reply, the DAR shall conduct summary the determination of the land valuation and compensation.
administrative proceedings to determine the compensation. If he does concur
with the compensation determined by the DAR, he can the matter to the 3. Mode of Payment [Section 18]
Courts.
e. Payment of the just compensation as determined by the DAR or the Court. a. Cash under the following scheme:
f. Registration with the Register of Deeds for the issuance of Transfer Certificate
of Title in the name of the Republic of the Philippines. i. For lands above 50 hectares : 25%
g. Standing Crops: The landowner shall retain his share of any standing crops ii. For lands above 24 and up to 50 : 30%
unharvested at the time the DAR shall take possession of the land and shall be iii. For lands 24 and below : 35%
given reasonable time to harvest the same (Section 28).
* In case of VOS, the landowner shall be entitled to an additional 5% cash
payment. [Section 19]
C. Compensation
b. Balance in any of the following:
1. Determination of Just Compensation.
i. Shares of stock in government-owned or controlled corporations, LBP
In determining just compensation, the cost of acquisition of the land, the value preferred shares, physical assets or other qualified investments;
of the standing crop, the current: value of like properties, its nature, actual use and ii. Tax credits which can be used against any tax liability;
income, the sworn valuation by the owner, the tax declarations, the assessment iii. Land Bank of the Philippines Bonds which shall have the following
made by government assessors, and seventy percent (70%) of the zonal valuation features:
of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), translated into a basic formula by the DAR * Market interest rates aligned with 91-day treasury bill rates;
shall be considered, subject to the final decision of the proper court. The social and * Ten percent (10%) of the face value of the bonds shall mature every
economic benefits contributed by the farmers and the farmworkers and by the year from the date of issuance until the tenth year; and
Government t o the property as well as the nonpayment of taxes or loans secured * Transferability and negotiability
from any government financing institution on the said land shall be considered as
c. Set-off the compensation to which the owner may be entitled. [Section 66]

* All arrearages in real property taxes, without penalty or interest, shall be 2. All Registers of Deeds are hereby directed to register, free from payment of all fees
deductible from the compensation to which the owner is entitled. [Section and other charges, patents, titles and documents required for the implementation of
66] CARP. [Section 67]

D. Exemptions from Taxes and Fees VII. Land Redistribution

1. Transactions under CARL involving a transfer of ownership, whether from natural or

juridical persons, shall be exempted from taxes arising from capital gains. These A. Beneficiaries [Section 22]
transactions shall also be exempted from the payment of registration fees, and all
other taxes and fees for the conveyance or transfer thereof; Provided, That all Beneficiaries, in their order of priority, are:
arrearages in real property taxes, without penalty or interest, shall be deducted from
 1. Agricultural lessees and share tenants;
2. Regular Farmworkers: a natural person who is employed on a permanent basis by
an agricultural enterprise or farm [Section 3(h)]; 3.
a. Farmer refers to a natural person whose primary livelihood is cultivation of land
or the production of agricultural crops, livestock and/or fisheries either by
himself/herself, or primarily with the assistance of his/her immediate farm
household, whether the land is owned by him/her, or by another person under 4.
a leasehold or share tenancy agreement or arrangement with the owner
thereof [Section 3(f)].
b. Farmworker is a natural person who renders service for value as an employee 5.
or laborer in an agricultural enterprise or farm regardless of whether his
compensation is paid on a daily, weekly, monthly or "pakyaw" basis. It 6.
includes an individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of, or in
connection with, a pending agrarian dispute and who has not obtained a
* Cooperatives shall refer to organizations composed primarily of small
agricultural producers, farmers, farmworkers, or other agrarian reform
beneficiaries who voluntarily organize themselves for the purpose of pooling 4.
land, human, technological, financial or other economic resources, and
operated on the principle of one member, one vote. A juridical person may be
a member of a cooperative, with the same rights and duties as a natural person
[Section 3(k)].
substantially equivalent and regular farm employment [Section 3(g)].
Seasonal farmworkers: a natural person who is employed on a recurrent, periodic
or intermittent basis by an agricultural enterprise or farm, whether as a permanent
or an non-permanent laborer, such as "dumaan", "sacada", and the like [Section
3(i)];
Other farmworkers: a farmworker who is not a regular nor a seasonal farmworker
[Section 3(j)];
Actual tillers or occupants of public lands;
Collective or cooperatives of the above beneficiaries; and
hectares of agricultural land. [Section 25]
Beneficiaries whose land have been the subject of foreclosure by the Land Bank of
the Philippines. [Section 26]
* Under the CARL, the LBP may foreclose on the mortgage for non-payment of
the beneficiary of an aggregate of three (3) annual amortizations. [Section 26]

7. Others directly working on the land.

C.
Before any award is given to a farmer, the qualified children of the landowner must
receive their three hectare award.
Rural women refer to women who are engaged directly or indirectly in farming
and/or fishing as their source of livelihood, whether paid or unpaid, regular or seasonal,
or in food preparation, managing the household, caring for the children, and other similar
activities [Section 3(l)].
Awards
1. Emancipation Patents (EPs) are issued for lands covered under Operation Land
Transfer (OLT) of Presidential Decree No. 27.
2. Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) are issued for private
agricultural lands and resettlement areas covered under Republic Act No. 6657,
otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988.

3. Free Patents are issued for public agricultural lands.

B. Disqualifications of Beneficiaries [Section 22]
* Under Section 15 of EO 229 (1987), all alienable and disposable lands of the
1. Beneficiaries under Presidential Decree No. 27 who have culpably sold, disposed of, public domain suitable for agriculture and outside proclaimed settlements shall
or abandoned their land; be redistributed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR).
2. Beneficiaries guilty of negligence or misuse of the land or any support extended to
them;

* The mere fact that the expected quantity of harvest, as visualized and
calculated by agricultural experts, is not actually realized, or that the harvest
did not increase, is not a sufficient basis for concluding that the tenants failed
to follow proven farm practices. [Belmi v. CAR7]

3. Beneficiaries with at least three (3) hectares of agricultural land; and

* Under the CARL, a beneficiary is landless if he owns less than three (3)

7 7 SCRA 812.
 4. Certificates of Stewardship Contracts are issued for forest areas under the government, or to the Land Bank of the Philippines, or to other qualified beneficia-
Integrated Social Forestry Program. ries for a period of ten (10) years. [Section 27]

D. Manner of Payment [Section 26]
1. Lands awarded shall be paid by the beneficiaries to the LBP in thirty (30) annual
amortizations at six percent (6%) interest per annum. The payments for the first
three (3) years after the awards may be at reduced amounts as established by the
PARC: Provided, That the first five (5) annual payments may not be more than five
percent (5%) of the value of the annual gross production as established by the DAR.
Should the scheduled annual payments after the fifth year exceed ten percent (10%)
of the annual gross production and the failure to produce accordingly is not due to
the beneficiary's fault, the LBP may reduce the interest rate or reduce the principal
obligation to make the repayment affordable.
* If the land is sold to the government or to the LBP, the children or the spouse
of the transferee shall have a right to repurchase within a period of two (2)
years.
2. Conversions of Lands. - An application for conversion may be entertained only
after the lapse of five (5) years from the award, when the land ceases to be
economically feasible and sound for agricultural purposes or the locality has become
urbanized and the land will have a greater economic value for residential,
commercial or industrial purpose. [Section 66]
VIII. Corporate Farms

2. Payment shall be:

A. Definition
a. Thirty (30) annual amortizations (First 3 years may be at reduced amounts);
b. Six percent (6%) interest per annum; and * Corporate farms are farms which are owned or operated by corporations or other
c. First five (5) annual payments may not be more than five percent (5%) of the business associations. [Section 29]
value of the annual gross production.

B. Distribution

E. Ownership Limitations on the Awarded Lands 1. Land Transfer (Voluntarily Offer to Sell or Compulsory Acquisition)

1. Transferability of Awarded Lands. - Lands acquired by beneficiaries may not be a. General rule: Lands shall be distributed directly to the individual farmworker-
sold, transferred or conveyed except through hereditary succession, or to the beneficiaries.
b. Exception: However, if it is not economically feasible and sound to divide the whether natural or juridical [Section 3(b)].
land, then it shall be owned collectively by the farmworker-beneficiaries
through a workers' cooperative or association. [Section 29]
c. In case the land is transferred to a cooperative or association, the individual c. Conditions of the Capital Stock Transfer.
members of the cooperatives shall be provided with homelots and small farm-
lots for their family use, to be taken from the land owned by the cooperative. i. The books of the corporation shall be subject to periodic audit by certified
[Section 30] public accountants chosen by the beneficiaries;
ii. The beneficiaries shall be assured of at least one (1) representative in the
2. Capital Stock Transfer [Section 31] board of directors, or in a management or executive committee, if one
exists;
a. This is a non-land transfer. Corporations or associations which voluntarily iii. Any share acquired by the beneficiaries shall have the same rights and
divest a proportion of their capital stock, equity or participation in favor of their features as all other shares; and
workers or other qualified beneficiaries shall be deemed to have complied with iv. Any transfer of shares of stock by the original beneficiaries shall be void
CARL. ab initio unless said transaction is in favor of a qualified and registered
b. Amount to be divested: Corporations owning agricultural lands may give their beneficiary within the same corporation.
qualified beneficiaries the right to repurchase such proportion of the capital
stock of the corporation that the agricultural land, actually devoted to d. Period for Compliance: If within TWO (2) YEARS from the approval of CARL or
agricultural activities, bears in relation to the company's total assets. from the approval of the PARC of the plan for stock distribution, the stock
transfer is not made or realized, the agricultural land shall be subject to
* Agricultural activity means the cultivation of the soil, planting of crops, compulsory coverage of the CARL.
growing of fruit trees, raising of fish, including the harvesting of such
farm products, and other farm activities and practices performed by a
farmer in conjunction with such farming operations done by persons IX. Support Services

A. General Support and Coordinative Services [Section 35]
1. Irrigation facilities;
2. Infrastructure development and public works projects in areas and settlements that
come under agrarian reform;
8. Undertaking research, development and dissemination of information on agrarian
reform and low-cost and ecologically sound farm inputs and technologies to
minimize reliance on expensive and imported agricultural inputs;
9. Development of cooperative management through intensive training;
10. Assistance in the identification of ready markets for agricultural produce and training
in other various aspects of marketing; and
11. Administration, operation, management and funding of support service programs
and projects including pilot projects and models related to agrarian reform.
B. Support Services to Beneficiaries [Section 37]
1. Land surveys and titling;
2. Liberalized terms on credit facilities and production loans;
3. Extension services by way of planting, cropping, production and post-harvest
technology transfer, as well as marketing and management assistance and support
to cooperatives and farmers' organizations;
4. Infrastructure such as access trail, mini-dams, public utilities, marketing and storage
facilities; and
5. Research, production and use of organic fertilizers and other local substances
necessary in farming and cultivation.
C. Support Services to Landowners [Section 38]
X.
1. Investment information, financial and counselling assistance;
2. Facilities, programs and schemes for the conversion or exchange of bonds issued for
payment of the lands acquired with stocks and bonds issued by the National
A. Subsistence Fishing: Small fisherfolk, including seaweed farmer, shall be assured of
greater access to the utilization of water resources.
B. Logging and Mining Concessions: Subject to the requirement of a balanced ecology
and conservation of water resources, suitable areas in logging, mining and pasture areas,
shall be opened up for agrarian settlements whose beneficiaries shall be required to
undertake reforestation and conservation production methods.
* Certificates of Stewardship Contracts are issued for forest areas under the
Integrated Social Forestry Program.
C. Sparsely Occupied Public Agricultural Lands: Sparsely occupied agricultural lands
of the public domain shall be surveyed, proclaimed and developed as farm settlements for
qualified landless people.
* Agricultural land allocations shall be made for ideal family-size farms.
3. Government subsidies for the use of irrigation facilities;
4. Price support and guarantee for all agricultural produce;
5. Extending the necessary credit;
6. Promoting, developing and extending financial assistance to small and medium scale
industries in agrarian reform areas;
7. Assigning sufficient numbers of agricultural extension workers to farmers'
organizations;
Government, the Central Bank and other government institutions and instru-
mentalities;
3. Marketing of LBP bonds, as well as promoting the marketability of said bonds in
traditional and non-traditional financial markets and stock exchanges;
4. Other services designed to utilize productively the proceeds of the sale of such lands
for rural industrialization;
5. Incentives granted to a registered enterprise engaged in a pioneer or preferred area
of investment as provided for in the Omnibus Investment Code or granted by the
PARC, the LBP or other government financial institutions for those who invests in
rural-based industries; and
6. Redemption by the LBP of up to thirty percent (30%) of the face value of the its
bonds for landowners who will invest the proceeds of the redemption in a BOI-
registered company or in any agri-business or agro-industrial enterprise in the
region where they have previously made investments.
D. Funding
* At least twenty-five percent (25%) of all appropriations for agrarian reform shall be
immediately set aside and made available for support services. In addition, the DAR
shall be authorized to package proposals and receive grants, aid and other forms of
financial assistance from any source. [Section 36]
Special Areas of Concern [Section 40]
* Uncultivated lands of the public domain shall be made available on a lease basis to
interested and qualified parties. Priority shall be given to those who will engage in
the development of capital-intensive, traditional or pioneering crops.
D. Idle, Abandoned, Forecloses and Sequestered Lands: Idle, abandoned, foreclosed
and sequestered lands shall be planned for distribution as home lots and family-size
farmlots to actual occupants. If land area permits, other landless families shall be
accommodated in these lands.
E. Rural Women: All qualified women members of the agricultural labor force must be
guaranteed and assured equal rights to ownership of the land, equal shares of the farm's
produce, and representation in advisory or appropriate decision-making bodies.
F. Veterans and Retirees: Landless ware veterans and veterans of military campaigns,
their surviving spouses and orphans, retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and
the Integrated National Police, returnees, surrenderees and similar beneficiaries shall be
 given due consideration in the disposition of agricultural lands of the public domain.
1. Composition [Section 41]
G. Agriculture Graduates: Graduates of agricultural schools who are landless shall be
assisted by the government in their desire to own and till agricultural lands. a. Chairman: President of the Philippines
b. Vice-Chairman: Secretary of Agrarian Reform
c. Members:
i. Secretary of Agriculture;
XI. Program Implementation ii. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources;
iii. Secretary of Budget and Management;
iv. Secretary of Local Government;
A. Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) v. Secretary of Public Works and Highways;
vi. Secretary of Trade and Industry;
vii. Secretary of Finance; 4. PARC Secretariat [Section 43]
viii. Secretary of Labor and Employment;
ix. Director-General of National Economic and Development Authority; a. A PARC Secretariat is established to provide general support and coordinative
x. President of Land Bank of the Philippines; services such as inter-agency linkages, program and project appraisal and
xi. Administrator of National Irrigation Authority; evaluation and general operations monitoring for the PARC.
xii. Three (3) representatives of affected landowners to represent Luzon, b. Composition: The Secretariat shall be headed by the Secretary of Agrarian
Visayas and Mindanao; and Reform who shall be assisted by an Undersecretary and supported by a staff
xiii. Six (6) representatives of agrarian reform beneficiaries, two (2) each from whose composition shall be determined by the PARC Executive Committee.
Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, provided that one of them shall be from
cultural communities.
B. Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM)
2. Functions and Duties [EO 229, 1987]
1. Composition (Section 44)
a. Formulate and implement policies, rules and regulations necessary to
implement the CARP; a. Chairman: an appointee of the President upon recommendation of the PARC
b. Recommend small farm economy areas; EXCOM;
c. Schedule the acquisition and distribution of specific agrarian reform areas; and b. Executive Officer: Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer;
d. Control mechanisms for evaluating the owner's declaration of current fair c. Members:
market value. i. Representative from the Department of Agriculture;
ii. Representative for the Department of Environment and Natural
3. Executive Committee (EXCOM) of the PARC [Section 42] Resources;
iii. Representative for the Land Bank of the Philippines;
a. There shall be an Executive Committee of the PARC which shall meet and iv. One representative each from existing farmers' organizations, agricultural
decide on any and all matters in between meetings of the PARC: Provided, cooperatives and non-governmental organizations in the province;
however, That its decision must be reported in the PARC immediately and not v. Two representatives from the landowners, at least one of whom shall be a
later than the next meeting. producer representing the principal crop of the province;
b. Composition: The Secretary of Agrarian Reform shall be the Chairman and its vi. Two representatives from farmers and farmworker beneficiaries, at least
members shall be designated by the President, taking into account Article XIII, one of whom shall be a farmer or farmworker representing the principal
Section 5 of the Constitution (Rights of farmers to participate in the planning, crop of the province; and
organization and management of the CARP).
vii. In areas where there are cultural communities, there shall be one repre- operations previously established by the PARC, in every case ensuring that
sentative from them. support services are available or have been programmed before actual
distribution is effected. [Section 45]
2. Functions and Duties b. Provide information on the following:
i. Provisions of the CARP;
a. Coordinate and monitor the implementation of the CARP in the province; ii. Guidelines issued by the PARC; and
* The PARC shall provide the guidelines for a province-by-province iii. Progress of the CARP in the province.
implementation of the CARP. The ten-year program of distribution of
public and private lands in each province shall be adjusted from year to
year by the province's PARCCOM, in accordance with the level of C. Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC)
 1. Composition [EO 229, 1987] * The BARC shall have the following functions:

* The BARC shall be operated on a self-help basis and will be composed of the a. Mediate and conciliate between parties involved in an agrarian dispute;
following: b. Assist in the identification of qualified beneficiaries and landowners within the
barangay;
a. Representatives of farmer and farmworker beneficiaries; c. Attest to the accuracy of the initial parcellary mapping of the beneficiary's
b. Representatives of farmer and farmworker non-beneficiaries; tillage;
c. Representatives of agricultural cooperatives; d. Assist qualified beneficiaries in obtaining credit from lending institutions;
d. Representatives of other farmer organizations; e. Assist n the initial determination of the value of the land;
e. Representatives of the Barangay Council; f. Assist the DAR representative in the preparation of periodic reports on the
f. Representatives of non-governmental organization (NGOs); CARP implementation;
g. Representatives of landowners; g. Coordinate the delivery of support services to beneficiaries;
h. Department of Agriculture official assigned to the area; h. Participate and give support in the implementation of CARP; and
i. Department of Environment and Natural Resources official assigned to the i. Perform such other functions as may be assigned by the PARC and DAR.
area;
j. DAR Agrarian Reform Technologist assigned to the area; and
k. Land Bank of the Philippines representative.

2. Functions [EO 229, 1987 and Section 47]

D. Others ii. Exercises functional supervision over the RARADs and PARADs

1. No injunction, restraining order, prohibition or mandamus shall be issued by the b. Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (RARAD)
lower courts against the DAR, DA, DENR and DOJ in their implementation of CARP. i. Executive Adjudicator in his region
[Section 68] ii. Receives, hears and adjudicates cases which the PARAD cannot handle
because the latter is disqualified or inhibits himself or because the case is
* This does not apply to the Supreme Court. complex or sensitive

2. The PARC, in the exercise of its functions, is hereby authorized to call upon the c. Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD)
assistance and support of other government agencies, bureaus and offices, including
government-owned or controlled corporations. [Section 69] 3. Exclusive Jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agrarian Reform

* Matter involving strictly the administrative implementation of the

XII. Administrative Adjudication CARP and agrarian laws and regulations shall be the exclusive prerog-
ative of and cognizable by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform

A. Jurisdiction
B. BARC Certification Requirement
1. The Department of Agrarian Reform is hereby vested with primary jurisdiction to
determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters and shall have exclu- 1. The DAR shall not take cognizance of any agrarian dispute of controversy unless a
sive original jurisdiction over all matter involving the implementation of certification from the BARC that the dispute has been submitted to it for mediation
agrarian reform, except those falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the and conciliation without any success of settlement is presented. [Section 53]
Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources. [Section 50] * Failure to present a BARC certification is not a ground for dismissal of the
action. The complainant or petitioner will be given every opportunity to secure
2. DAR Adjudicator the BARC certification. [Rule III, Section 1(c) of the DARAB Rules]

a. Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) 2. Exceptions to the BARC Certification Requirement:
i. Exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction
a. Failure of the BARC to issue a certification within thirty (30) days after a matter non-existence or non-organization of the BARC or the impossibility of
or issue is submitted to it; convening it. A certification to that effect may be issued by the proper agrarian
b. The required certification cannot be complied with for valid reasons like the reform officer in lieu of the BARC certification; [Rule III, Section 1(b) of DARAB
 Rules]
c. The issue involves the valuation of the land to determine just compensation;
[Rule III, Section 2 of DARAB Rules]
d. The parties reside in different barangays, unless they adjoin each other;
* Where the lands involved in the dispute straddles two or more barangays,
the BARC of the Barangay where the biggest portion lies, shall have the
authority to conduct the mediation or conciliation proceeding.
e. One of the party is a public or private corporation, a partnership, association or
juridical person, or a public officer or employee and the dispute relates to the
performance of his official functions;
f. The issue involves merely the administrative implementation of agrarian reform
law, rule, guideline or policy; and
g. The issue is beyond the pale of mediation, conciliation or compromise, as
determined by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform.
C. Rules of Procedure
1. It shall not be bound by technical rules of procedure and evidence but shall proceed
to hear and decide all cases, disputes or controversies in a most expeditious
manner, employing all reasonable means to ascertain the facts of every case in
accordance with justice and equity and the merits of the case. [Section 50]
1. Any decision, order, award or ruling of the DAR on any agrarian dispute or on any
matter pertaining to the application, implementation, enforcement or interpretation
of the CARL and other pertinent laws on agrarian reform may be brought to the
Court of Appeals by certiorari within fifteen (15) days from receipt of a
copy thereof. [Section 54]
2. The findings of fact of the DAR shall be final and conclusive if based on substantial
evidence.
3. Notwithstanding an appeal to the Court of Appeals, the decision of the DAR shall be
immediately executory. [Section 50]
XIII. Special Agrarian Court
A. Jurisdiction [Section 57]
1. The Special Agrarian Courts (Regional Trial Courts) shall have original and
exclusive jurisdiction over:
a. All petitions for the determination of just compensation to landowners; and
b. The prosecution of all criminal offenses under the CARL.
2. The Special Agrarian Courts, upon their own initiative or at the instance of any of the
parties, may appoint one or more commissioners to examine, investigate and
ascertain facts relevant to the dispute, including the valuation of properties and to
file a written report thereof with the court.
2. Responsible leaders shall be allowed to represent themselves, their fellow farmers,
or their organizations in any proceedings before the DAR [Section 50]
3. To discourage frivolous or dilatory appeals from the decision or order on the local or
provincial levels, the DAR may impose reasonable penalties, including but not limited
to fines or censures upon erring parties. [Section 52]
D. Enforcement Powers
1. It shall have the power to summon witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony,
require submission of reports, compel the production of books and documents and
answers to interrogatories and issue subpoena, and subpoena duces tecum and to
enforce its writs through sheriffs or other duly deputized officers. It shall likewise
have the power to punish direct and indirect contempt in the same manner and
subject to the same penalties as provided in the Rules of Court. [Section 50]
2. The DAR has executed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippine National
Police, in order that the latter may assist the DAR in the enforcement of its orders.
E. Judicial Review
B. Appeals
1. Appeal from the Decision of the Special Agrarian Court
* Within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the decision of the Special Agrarian
Court, an appeal may be taken by filing a petition for review with the Court of
Appeals.
2. Appeal from the Decision of the Court of Appeals
* Within a non-extendible period of fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the
decision of the Court of Appeals, an appeal may be taken by filing a petition for
review with the Supreme Court.
XIV. Prohibited Acts and Omissions
A. Prohibited Acts and Omissions
1. Section 73. The following are prohibited.
a. The ownership or possession, for the purpose of circumventing the provisions
of CARL, of agricultural lands in excess of the total retention limits or award
ceilings by any person, natural or juridical, except those under collective
ownership by farmer-beneficiaries.
b. The forcible entry or illegal detainer by persons who are not qualified
beneficiaries to avail themselves of the rights and benefits of the CARP.
c. The conversion by any landowner of his agricultural land into non-agricultural
uses with intent to avoid the application of CARL to his landholdings and to
dispossess his tenant farmers of the land tilled by them.
e. The sale, transfer, conveyance or change of the nature of lands outside of
urban centers and city limits either in whole or in part after the effectivity of
CARL.
i. Upon the effectivity of CARL, any sale, disposition, lease, management
contract or transfer of possession of private lands executed by the original
landowner in violation of CARL shall be null and void; Provided, however,
that those executed prior to CARL shall be valid only when registered with
the Register of Deeds within a three (3) months after the effectivity of
CARL. [Section 6]
* Exception: Banks and other financial institutions allowed by law to hold
mortgage rights or security interests in agricultural lands to secure loans
and other obligations of borrowers, may acquire title to these mortgaged
properties, regardless of area, subject to existing laws on compulsory
transfer of foreclosed assets and acquisition as prescribed under Section
16 of CARL [Section 71]
ii. Disposition of private lands is in violation of CARL if it is over the retention
limit.
iii. The date of registration of the deed of conveyance in the Register of
Deeds with respect to title lands and the date of the issuance of the tax
declaration to the transferee of the property with respect to untitled lands
shall be conclusive for this purpose.
f. The sale, transfer of conveyance by a beneficiary of the right to use or any
other usufructuary right over the land he acquired by virtue of being a
beneficiary, in order to circumvent the provisions of CARL. [Refer to VII(E) of
a. After the lapse of five (5) years from its award, when the land ceases to be
economically feasible and sound for agricultural purposes, or the locality has
become highly urbanized and the land will have greater economic value for
residential, commercial or industrial purposes, the DAR, upon application of the
beneficiary or the landowner, may authorize the reclassification or conversion
on the land and its disposition: Provided, That the beneficiary shall have fully
paid his obligation. [Section 65]
b. Grounds for conversion
i. Five (5) years had lapsed from the award of the land;
ii. The land ceases to be economically feasible and sound for agricultural
purposes, or the locality has become highly urbanized and the land will
have greater economic value for residential, commercial or industrial
purposes; and
iii. Beneficiary shall have fully paid his obligation.
c. Administrative Order No. 20, Series of 1992 [Took effect on 30 December
1992]
XV. Relation to Other Laws
* President Fidel V. Ramos directed the observance by all agencies and local
d. The willful prevention or obstruction by any person, association or entity of the
implementation of the CARP.
this Outline]
2. Any person who knowingly or willfully violates the provisions of CARL shall be
punished by imprisonment of not less than one (1) month to not more than three
(3) years or a fine of not less than one thousand pesos (P 1,000.00) and not more
than fifteen thousand pesos (P 15,000.00), or both at the discretion of the court.
If the offender is a corporation or association, the officer responsible therefor shall
be criminally liable.
B. Conversions
1. Authority to Allow Conversion of Agricultural Land for Non-agricultural Uses
a. Under Executive Order No. 129-A, Series of 1987, the Department of Agrarian
Reform is authorized to:
i. Approve or disapprove the conversion, restructuring or readjustment of
agricultural lands into non-agricultural uses; [Section 4(j)]
ii. Have exclusive authority to approve or disapprove conversion of
agricultural lands for residential, commercial, industrial and other land
uses as may be provided for by law. [Section 5(l)]
b. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law provides that the DAR ... may
authorize the reclassification or conversion on the land and its disposition.
[Section 65]
2. Conversion
government units the following interim guidelines on agricultural land use
conversion.
i. All irrigated or irrigable agricultural lands shall not be subject to and
non-negotiable for conversion;
ii. All other agricultural lands may be converted only upon strict
compliance with existing laws, rules and regulations.
3. Disturbance Compensation
* Section 36(1) of Republic Act No. 3844, as amended provides: the agricultural
lessee shall be entitled to disturbance compensation equivalent to five years
rental on his landholding.
* Displaced farmers are entitled to disturbance compensation which varies
depending on the agreement between the farmers and the landowners.
 A. Suppletory Application: The provisions of Republic Act No. 3844, as amended,
Presidential Decree Nos. 27 and 266, as amended, Executive Order Nos. 228 and 229,
both Series of 1987; and other laws not inconsistent with this Act shall have suppletory
effect. [Section 75]

B. Repealing Clause: Section 35 of Republic Act No. 3844, Presidential Decree No. 316, the
last two paragraphs of Section 12 of Presidential Decree No. 946, Presidential Decree No.
1038, and all other laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, issuances or
parts thereof inconsistent with CARL are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

XVI. Effectivity

* CARL takes effect immediately after publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of
general circulation. CARL was printed 15 June 1988.

Prepared by: Atty. Ferdinand M. Casis