Patrick Vindel D.

Cruz

Agrarian Reform Struggles

(A Reflection Paper)

I. What is the Agrarian Reform?

Land Reform in the Philippines has long been a

contentious issue rooted in the Philippines's Spanish

Colonial Period. Some efforts began during the American

Colonial Period with renewed efforts during the

Commonwealth, following independence, during Martial Law

and especially following the People Power Revolution in

1986. The current law, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform

Program, was passed following the revolution and recently

extended until 2014.

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, more

commonly known as CARP, is an agrarian reform law of the

Philippines whose legal basis is the Republic Act No.

6657, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian

Reform Law (CARL). It is the redistribution of private

and public agricultural lands to help the beneficiaries

 survive as small independent farmers, regardless of the

“tenurial” arrangement. Its goals are to provide

landowners equality in terms of income and opportunities,

empower land owner beneficiaries to have equitable land

ownership, enhance agricultural production and

productivity, provide employment to more agricultural

workers, and put an end to conflicts regarding land

ownership.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform_in_the_Philippines

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_Agrarian_Refo

rm_Program)

II. Document Synopsis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frIy5mlzaGA

Philippine Farmers Struggles for Justice (2011) Al

Jazeera English

 Comprehensive Land Reform was signed by Cory Aquino

when she was still the President in 1987. It

entitled the farmers to one hectare each of the Six

Thousand plus hectare estate but none of any land

has yet been turned over;

 A citizen (farmer) stated that “even government

agencies do not follow the law”. Therefore, farmers

have the rights to the land since it was theirs

anyway;

 In 2004, the farmers gathered and picketed in front

of the estate that turned out violent, farmers

accused the landlords of going around the law.

 Gabriel Sanches (A Farmer): “We’re like animals

being parked at. If they weren’t Gods, they wouldn’t

have done what they did. Taking away our rights.

These were our land yet no benefit at all for the

workers.”

 Despite all that, the Philippines Government says,

“the program has been successful and is on

schedule.” More than half of the land, redistributed

nationwide, has already been turned over to farmers,

and in 2014, the program will be completed.

 Narciso Nieto (Department of Agrarian) “The farmers

are being resistant because first, they want a just

compensation, meaning they want a higher value of

their lands. Second, there are some instances where

the farmer beneficiaries who are loyal to them (the

 farm workers) do not like the Agrarian Reform

because they feel that they will be separated from

the land owners financial assistance.”

 The struggle for redistribution isn’t just about

land ownership. For the farmers it’s about social

justice. That would mean eradicating a long-standing

feudal system that’s deeply entrenched a culture of

patronage that’s only served to widen the gap,

between the rich and the poor.

 The matter of Aquino’s family estate is not yet

settled. Filipinos see this as a real challenge of

his leadership, as he promised to do the right thing

and bring justice to those that’s without it.

III. Reflection

As a member of today’s youth, who find empowerment in

social media, there is untapped force. On agrarian reform

and rural development, one might expect the sons and

daughters of farmers to join protests or mobilizations in

support of agrarian reform, but we might not say the same

for those who are living far from the sights of struggles.

Another factor that can contribute to the lack of

‘affection’ for this issue is the declining appreciation of

agriculture and its role in our society and economy. Since

farming or farm work is seen as something synonymous to

poverty, youngsters from rural communities would often opt

to leave and find jobs in the city.

Landowner resistance is one of the most well-known issues

in agrarian reform. We know about high-profile cases of

violence and constant threats against agrarian reform

beneficiaries to keep them from occupying the land, or where

land owners stall the land acquisition and distribution

process through various methods, which, while not high-

profile, are just as problematic. Not only does this create

boundary disputes among agrarian reform beneficiaries, it

spawns to inheritance and issues of conflicting claims.

There are even cases when the collective titles don’t have

an annexed list of farmers, resulting to claims that cannot

be easily validated.

Property rights cannot be altogether secured if the

farmers are not able to complete paying their land

amortization. I feel so bad for our farmers, for they work

so hard yet they are not given the land that is promised to
 them 40 years ago, even being recognized for their hardwrok

is a blur.

IV. Conclusion

If the government struggles to divide 600,000 lands, them

they should think of another way of dividing or land

transformation. There is no final definition of the specific

objectives the Government will pursue to reduce existing

land distribution constraints to agricultural development.

However, there is a strong commitment to solve problems of

land tenure related to land registration, insecured tenure,

family lands and land disputes. The Government cannot just

ignore the farmers plea for justice. Give them back what was

theirs. They worked hard enough for it