The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

Immediately after the 1986 People Power revolt, Pres. Cory Aquino expressed her commitment to
renew and expand the existing land reform program of the country. She vowed that a land reform
program should be able to “reflect a true liberation of the Filipino farmer from the shackles of
landlordism and transform him into a truly self- reliant citizen, participating responsibly in the affairs of
the nation.”

On July 22,1987, President Aquino instituted the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program through the
issuance of Proclamation 131. In a more broad sense, the main goal of this program is to improve the
agriculture sector, which plays an important role in the Philippine economy.

Specifically, the roles of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program can be summarized into two main
points.

1. To serve as a channel for land distribution where landless farmworkers would be resettled
2. To provide for other assistance in line with the needs of farmers such as loan extensions, supply
of agricultural infrastructures, legal assistance, and research and training services

Foundations of the CARP

The root of agrarian problem lay in the issues of land, property, and ownership which have come to
mean many things to many people. In the 1992 Agrarian Reform Manual, two major concepts pertaining
to land, property, and ownership where underscored. These are biblical and socio-anthropological
concepts that serve as the foundation of the CARP.

1. Biblical Concepts- the biblical foundation of CARP comes from the “principle of creation” which
says that “Land is God-given, not man-made.”
2. Socio-anthropological Concept- the value of land and man’s right to ownership of property has
evolved simultaneously with the rise of civilizations and social classes.

Objectives of the CARP

To realize the government’s purpose of reforming the rural and agricultural sector, the CARP defines its
objectives which are enumerated as follows:

1. To acquire lands and distribute them equitably among landless farmers in a span of ten years;
2. To accommodate all landless farmers as tenant-beneficiaries of the program;
3. To deliver agriculture services other than land distribution to all beneficiaries of the program;
4. To provide farmers with legal representation and create an adjudication body for agrarian-
related cases;
5. To assist and encourage landowners to shift their capital to other investments; and
6. To establish the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) that would help implement the
program.
Salient Features of the CARP

COVERAGE

Past land reform programs—from Quezon’s Rice Share Tenancy Act to Marcos’s presidential
decrees—revolved mainly around resettlement and redistribution of rice and corn land. The CARP,
however, expanded this specific criterion to include all public and private agricultural lands. It is
explicitly stated in Chapter III, Section 4 of R.A. 6657.

“The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover, regardless of tenurial arrangement and
commodity produced, all public and private agricultural lands, including other lands of the public
domain suitable for agriculture.”

More concretely, the CARP enumerated in Chapter III, Section 4A these types of lands. They are
defined as:

1. All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or suitable for agriculture;
2. All lands of public domain, including forest or mineral lands reclassified to agricultural lands,
after approval of R.A. 6657 (CARL);
3. All other government-owned lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture; and
4. All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture, regardless of the agricultural products
raised or that can be raised thereon.