THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM LAW

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.

5. Article XIII, Section 5: The State shall recognize the rights 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.
 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, sub-
ject 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, employment 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 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 produced, 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 of Agrarian Reform,1 the Supreme Court held:

"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 discretion is abused to the detri-

1 175 SCRA 343.

ment of the Bill of Rights.

"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 re-
quirements for a proper exercise of the power are: (1) public use and (2) just
compensation.

"[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 Constitu-
tion, 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 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
compensation."

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 AGRICULTURAL 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 Congress in the preceding paragraph;

c. All other lands owned by the Government devoted to or suitable for

agriculture; and

d. All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of the

agricultural products raised or that can be raised thereon.
 B. Exclusions from the Coverage of CARL

1. Under Section 102, excluded from the coverage of the CARL are lands
actually, directly and exclusively used for:

a. Parks;
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;
b. School sites and campuses including experimental farm stations
operated by public or private schools for educational purposes;
c. Seeds and seedling research and pilot production center;
d. Church sites and convents appurtenant thereto;

2 As amended by Republic Act No. 7881.

 e. Mosque sites and Islamic centers appurtenant thereto;
f. Communal burial grounds and cemeteries;
g. Penal colonies and penal farms actually worked by the inmates; and
h. Government and private research and quarantine centers.

4. All lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope and over which are not
developed for agriculture are exempted from the coverage of CARL.

* 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 rise.

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 classification of the word "agricultural." This
proposal, however, was not considered because the Committee
contemplated that agricultural lands are limited to arable and suitable

3 192 SCRA 51.

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 piggeries 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).

"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

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.
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 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 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.

C. Exceptions from the Implementation Phases

1. Land acquisition and distribution shall be completed by June 30, 2014 on

a 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 prov-
inces or regions as priority land reform areas, in which case the acquisi-
tion and distribution of private agricultural lands therein may be imple-
mented 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 consider-
ation 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
ii. Leasehold Tenancy

4 142 SCRA 136.

 2. Leasehold vs. Sharehold Tenancy

* 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 more of the items of contributions (such as farm
implements, work animals, final harrowing, transplanting), while in
leasehold, the tenant or lessee always shoulders all items of
production except the land. Under the sharehold system, the tenant
and the landholder are co-managers, whereas in leasehold, the tenant
is the sole manager of the farmholding. Finally, in sharehold tenancy,
the tenant and the landholder divide the harvest in proportion to their
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]

Sharehold Leasehold
Expenses of Produc- Tenant and Landowner Tenant
tion
Management Tenant and Landowner Tenant
Payment Tenant and landowner Tenant gets the whole
divide the harvest in produce with the mere
proportion to their obligation to pay rent.
contributions.

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
5 68 SCRA 90.
 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
properties
Attention and Culti- Tenant must personal- Lessee does not have
vation ly cultivate to personally cultivate
Purpose Agriculture only Any lawful purpose
Governing Law Special laws Civil Code

4. Purpose of the Leasehold Relation: To protect and improve the tenurial

and economic status of the farmers in tenanted lands. [Section 12]

5. Application [Section 12]

a. Tenanted lands under the retention limit; and

b. Tenanted lands not yet acquired under the CARL

B. Production Sharing Plan

1. Application [Section 13]

a. Any enterprise adopting the scheme provided for in Section 32;

b. Any enterprise operating under a production venture, lease,
management contract or other similar arrangement;
c. Any farm covered by Section 8 (Private agricultural lands leased by
Multinational corporations) and Section 11 (Commercial farming); and
d. Corporate farms pending final land transfer.

6 58 SCRA 590.
 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

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;

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.

VI. Private Land Acquisition

A. Retention Limit [Section 6]

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 produced, 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 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

contiguous, 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]

a. Must be submitted to the DAR within one year from effectivity of the
CARl;
b. Must not be less favorable to the transferee than those of the
government's standing ; and
c. Shall include sanctions for non-compliance by either party and shall be
 duly recorded and its implementation monitored by the DAR.
D. Only those submitted by June 30, 2009 shall be allowed.

2. Compulsory Acquisition [Section 16]

a. Notice to acquire the land shall be sent to the landowner and the
beneficiaries. The notice shall also be posted in a conspicuous place
in the municipal building and the barangay hall of the place where the
property is located.
b. Within thirty (30) days from receipt of the written notice, the
landowner shall inform the DAR of his acceptance or rejection of the
offer.
c. If the offer is accepted, the LBP pays the landowner and within thirty
(30) days, the landowner executes and delivers a deed of transfer to
the Government and surrenders the Certificate of Title and other
muniments of title.
d. In case of rejection or failure to reply, the DAR shall conduct summary
administrative proceedings to determine the compensation. If he
does concur with the compensation determined by the DAR, he can
the matter to the Courts.
e. Payment of the just compensation as determined by the DAR or the
Court.
f. Registration with the Register of Deeds for the issuance of Transfer
Certificate of Title in the name of the Republic of the Philippines.
g. Standing Crops: The landowner shall retain his share of any standing
crops unharvested at the time the DAR shall take possession of the
land and shall be given reasonable time to harvest the same (Section
28).

C. Compensation

1. Determination of Just Compensation.

In determining just compensation, the cost of acquisition of the land,

the value of the standing crop, the current: value of like properties, its
nature, actual use and income, the sworn valuation by the owner, the tax
declarations, the assessment made by government assessors, and
 seventy percent (70%) of the zonal valuation of the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR), translated into a basic formula by the DAR shall be
considered, subject to the final decision of the proper court. The social
and economic benefits contributed by the farmers and the farmworkers
and by the Government t o the property as well as the nonpayment of
taxes or loans secured from any government financing institution on the
said land shall be considered as additional factors to determine its
valuation [Section 17].

2. Under EO 405 (1990), Land Bank of the Philippines shall be primarily

responsible for the determination of the land valuation and
compensation.

3. Mode of Payment [Section 18]

a. Cash under the following scheme:

i. For lands above 50 hectares : 25%

ii. For lands above 24 and up to 50 : 30%
iii. For lands 24 and below : 35%

* In case of VOS, the landowner shall be entitled to an additional 5%

cash payment. [Section 19]

b. Balance in any of the following:

i. Shares of stock in government-owned or controlled corporations,

LBP preferred shares, physical assets or other qualified invest-
ments;
ii. Tax credits which can be used against any tax liability;
iii. Land Bank of the Philippines Bonds which shall have the following
features:
* Market interest rates aligned with 91-day treasury bill rates;
* Ten percent (10%) of the face value of the bonds shall mature
every year from the date of issuance until the tenth year; and
* Transferability and negotiability
 c. Set-off

* All arrearages in real property taxes, without penalty or interest,

shall be deductible from the compensation to which the owner is
entitled. [Section 66]

D. Exemptions from Taxes and Fees

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 transactions shall also be exempted from the
payment of registration fees, and all other taxes and fees for the convey-
ance or transfer thereof; Provided, That all arrearages in real property
taxes, without penalty or interest, shall be deducted from the compensa-
tion to which the owner may be entitled. [Section 66]

2. All Registers of Deeds are hereby directed to register, free from payment
of all fees and other charges, patents, titles and documents required for
the implementation of CARP. [Section 67]

VII. Land Redistribution

A. Beneficiaries [Section 22]

Beneficiaries, in their order of priority, are:

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)];

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 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 or laborer in an agricultural enterprise or farm regardless of
whether his compensation is paid on a daily, weekly, monthly or
"pakyaw" basis. It 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 substantially equivalent and regular farm
employment [Section 3(g)].

3. 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)];

4. Other farmworkers: a farmworker who is not a regular nor a seasonal

farmworker [Section 3(j)];

5. Actual tillers or occupants of public lands;

6. Collective or cooperatives of the above beneficiaries; and

* 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 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)].

7. Others directly working on the land.

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)].

B. Disqualifications of Beneficiaries [Section 22]

1. Beneficiaries under Presidential Decree No. 27 who have culpably sold,

disposed of, or abandoned their land;

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)
hectares of agricultural land. [Section 25]

4. 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]

C. 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.

7 7 SCRA 812.
 6657, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of
1988.

3. Free Patents are issued for public agricultural lands.

* Under Section 15 of EO 229 (1987), all alienable and disposable lands

of the public domain suitable for agriculture and outside proclaimed
settlements shall be redistributed by the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR).
4. Certificates of Stewardship Contracts are issued for forest areas under
the Integrated Social Forestry Program.

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.

2. Payment shall be:

a. Thirty (30) annual amortizations (First 3 years may be at reduced

amounts);
b. Six percent (6%) interest per annum; and
c. First five (5) annual payments may not be more than five percent (5%)
of the value of the annual gross production.

E. Ownership Limitations on the Awarded Lands

 1. Transferability of Awarded Lands. - Lands acquired by beneficiaries may
not be sold, transferred or conveyed except through hereditary
succession, or to the government, or to the Land Bank of the Philippines,
or to other qualified beneficiaries for a period of ten (10) years. [Section
27]

* 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 eco-
nomic value for residential, commercial or industrial purpose. [Section
66]

VIII. Corporate Farms

A. Definition

* Corporate farms are farms which are owned or operated by corporations

or other business associations. [Section 29]

B. Distribution

1. Land Transfer (Voluntarily Offer to Sell or Compulsory Acquisition)

a. General rule: Lands shall be distributed directly to the individual

farmworker-beneficiaries.
b. Exception: However, if it is not economically feasible and sound to
divide the 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 members of the cooperatives shall be provided with home-
lots and small farmlots for their family use, to be taken from the land
owned by the cooperative. [Section 30]

2. Capital Stock Transfer [Section 31]

a. This is a non-land transfer. Corporations or associations which

voluntarily divest a proportion of their capital stock, equity or
participation in favor of their workers or other qualified beneficiaries
shall be deemed to have complied with CARL.
b. Amount to be divested: Corporations owning agricultural lands may
give their qualified beneficiaries the right to repurchase such
proportion of the capital stock of the corporation that the agricultural
land, actually devoted to agricultural activities, bears in relation to the
company's total assets.

* 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)].

c. Conditions of the Capital Stock Transfer.

i. The books of the corporation shall be subject to periodic audit by

certified public accountants chosen by the beneficiaries;
ii. The beneficiaries shall be assured of at least one (1) representative
in the board of directors, or in a management or executive commit-
tee, if one exists;
iii. Any share acquired by the beneficiaries shall have the same rights
and features as all other shares; and
iv. Any transfer of shares of stock by the original beneficiaries shall be
void ab initio unless said transaction is in favor of a qualified and
registered beneficiary within the same corporation.

d. Period for Compliance: If within TWO (2) YEARS from the approval of
CARL or 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 compulsory coverage of the CARL.

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;
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;
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]

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 Government, the Central Bank and other government
institutions and instrumentalities;
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 redemp-
tion 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]

X. Special Areas of Concern [Section 40]

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.

* 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.

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.

XI. Program Implementation

A. Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC)

1. Composition [Section 41]

a. Chairman: President of the Philippines

b. Vice-Chairman: Secretary of Agrarian Reform
c. Members:
i. Secretary of Agriculture;
ii. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources;
iii. Secretary of Budget and Management;
iv. Secretary of Local Government;
v. Secretary of Public Works and Highways;
vi. Secretary of Trade and Industry;
vii. Secretary of Finance;
viii. Secretary of Labor and Employment;
ix. Director-General of National Economic and Development Authori-
ty;
x. President of Land Bank of the Philippines;
xi. Administrator of National Irrigation Authority;
xii. Three (3) representatives of affected landowners to represent
Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; and
xiii. Six (6) representatives of agrarian reform beneficiaries, two (2)
each from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, provided that one of
them shall be from cultural communities.
 2. Functions and Duties [EO 229, 1987]

a. Formulate and implement policies, rules and regulations necessary to

implement the CARP;
b. Recommend small farm economy areas;
c. Schedule the acquisition and distribution of specific agrarian reform
areas; and
d. Control mechanisms for evaluating the owner's declaration of current
fair market value.

3. Executive Committee (EXCOM) of the PARC [Section 42]

a. There shall be an Executive Committee of the PARC which shall meet

and decide on any and all matters in between meetings of the PARC:
Provided, however, That its decision must be reported in the PARC
immediately and not later than the next meeting.
b. Composition: The Secretary of Agrarian Reform shall be the Chairman
and its members shall be designated by the President, taking into
account Article XIII, Section 5 of the Constitution (Rights of farmers to
participate in the planning, organization and management of the
CARP).

4. PARC Secretariat [Section 43]

a. A PARC Secretariat is established to provide general support and

coordinative services such as inter-agency linkages, program and
project appraisal and evaluation and general operations monitoring
for the PARC.
b. Composition: The Secretariat shall be headed by the Secretary of
Agrarian Reform who shall be assisted by an Undersecretary and
supported by a staff whose composition shall be determined by the
PARC Executive Committee.

B. Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM)

1. Composition (Section 44)

 a. Chairman: an appointee of the President upon recommendation of
the PARC EXCOM;
b. Executive Officer: Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer;
c. Members:
i. Representative from the Department of Agriculture;
ii. Representative for the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources;
iii. Representative for the Land Bank of the Philippines;
iv. One representative each from existing farmers' organizations,
agricultural cooperatives and non-governmental organizations in
the province;
v. Two representatives from the landowners, at least one of whom
shall be a producer representing the principal crop of the province;
vi. Two representatives from farmers and farmworker beneficiaries, at
least one of whom shall be a farmer or farmworker representing
the principal crop of the province; and
vii. In areas where there are cultural communities, there shall be one
representative from them.

2. Functions and Duties

a. Coordinate and monitor the implementation of the CARP in the

province;
* The PARC shall provide the guidelines for a province-by-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 operations previously established by the PARC, in every
case ensuring that support services are available or have been
programmed before actual distribution is effected. [Section 45]
b. Provide information on the following:
i. Provisions of the CARP;
ii. Guidelines issued by the PARC; and
iii. Progress of the CARP in the province.

C. Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC)

1. Composition [EO 229, 1987]

* The BARC shall be operated on a self-help basis and will be composed

of the following:

a. Representatives of farmer and farmworker beneficiaries;

b. Representatives of farmer and farmworker non-beneficiaries;
c. Representatives of agricultural cooperatives;
d. Representatives of other farmer organizations;
e. Representatives of the Barangay Council;
f. Representatives of non-governmental organization (NGOs);
g. Representatives of landowners;
h. Department of Agriculture official assigned to the area;
i. Department of Environment and Natural Resources official assigned to
the 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]

* The BARC shall have the following functions:

a. Mediate and conciliate between parties involved in an agrarian

dispute;
b. Assist in the identification of qualified beneficiaries and landowners
within the barangay;
c. Attest to the accuracy of the initial parcellary mapping of the
beneficiary's tillage;
d. Assist qualified beneficiaries in obtaining credit from lending
institutions;
e. Assist n the initial determination of the value of the land;
f. Assist the DAR representative in the preparation of periodic reports on
the CARP implementation;
g. Coordinate the delivery of support services to beneficiaries;
h. Participate and give support in the implementation of CARP; and
i. Perform such other functions as may be assigned by the PARC and
DAR.
 D. Others

1. No injunction, restraining order, prohibition or mandamus shall be issued

by the lower courts against the DAR, DA, DENR and DOJ in their
implementation of CARP. [Section 68]

* This does not apply to the Supreme Court.

2. The PARC, in the exercise of its functions, is hereby authorized to call

upon the assistance and support of other government agencies, bureaus
and offices, including government-owned or controlled corporations.
[Section 69]

XII. Administrative Adjudication

A. Jurisdiction

1. The Department of Agrarian Reform is hereby vested with primary

jurisdiction to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters and
shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all matter involving the
implementation of agrarian reform, except those falling under the
exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture and the Depart-
ment of Environment and Natural Resources. [Section 50]

2. DAR Adjudicator

a. Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB)

i. Exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction
ii. Exercises functional supervision over the RARADs and PARADs

b. Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (RARAD)

i. Executive Adjudicator in his region
ii. Receives, hears and adjudicates cases which the PARAD cannot
 handle because the latter is disqualified or inhibits himself or
because the case is complex or sensitive

c. Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD)

3. Exclusive Jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agrarian Reform

* Matter involving strictly the administrative implementation of the

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

B. BARC Certification Requirement

1. The DAR shall not take cognizance of any agrarian dispute of controversy
unless a certification from the BARC that the dispute has been submitted
to it for mediation and conciliation without any success of settlement is
presented. [Section 53]

* 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 the BARC certification. [Rule III, Section 1(c) of
the DARAB Rules]

2. Exceptions to the BARC Certification Requirement:

a. Failure of the BARC to issue a certification within thirty (30) days after
a matter or issue is submitted to it;
b. The required certification cannot be complied with for valid reasons
like the non-existence or non-organization of the BARC or the impos-
sibility of convening it. A certification to that effect may be issued by
the proper agrarian 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 concilia-
tion 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 compro-
mise, 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]

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

1. Any decision, order, award or ruling of the DAR on any agrarian dispute or
on any matter pertaining to the application, implementation, enforce-
ment 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.
 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.
d. The willful prevention or obstruction by any person, association or
entity of the implementation of the CARP.
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 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 readjust-
ment 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

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]

* President Fidel V. Ramos directed the observance by all agencies

and local 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.

XV.Relation to Other Laws

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 and full credits to: Atty. Ferdinand M. Casis