CARPER 101

RA 9700 deleted “commercial,

commercial, livestock, poultry and
swine raising, and aquaculture” in the definition of
AGRARIAN REFORM BASICS agricultural lands in sec. 3c

#1: the program is constitutionally

constitutionally mandated—
mandated— #3: is the rule on inclusion of agricultural lands absolute?
absolute?

CONSTI, sec. 4, art. XII: The State shall,

shall by law,
undertake an agrarian reform program.. xxx.
#2: congress has the power to design the program; but
it may not deviate from certain standards laid down by
the Constitution—
Constitution—
The program crafted by congress should:

cover all agricultural lands [sec. 4, art. XII]

be subject to reasonable retention limits
limits [sec. 4, art.
XII]

be founded on the right of farmers and regular farm
workers,
workers, who are landless,
landless to own directly or
collectively the lands they till, or in the case of other
farm workers,
workers to receive a just share of the fruits
thereof [sec. 4, art. XII]

be subject to the payment of just compensation
[sec. 4, art. XII]

take into account ecological, developmental, and
equity considerations. [sec. 4, 6, art. XII]

recognize the right of farmers, farm workers,
landowners, etc. to participate in the planning,
organization, and management of the program [sec.
5, art. XII]

provide adequate support services [sec. 5, art. XII]

provide incentives for landowners to invest in the
promotion of industrialization, employment creation,
and privatization of public sector enterprises [sec. 8,
art. XII]
#3:
#3: current law on ar is ra 6657, as amended; most
recent amendatory
amendatory law is ra 9700, which authorized
further appropriations
appropriations for the CARP and introduced
reforms to facilitate the program implementation
COVERAGE
#1: all agricultural lands

covers all agricultural lands, regardless of tenurial
arrangement and commodity produced [RA 6657,
sec. 4]
No, the rule is subject to the following constitutional limitations

reasonable retention limits [RA 6657, sec. 6]

ecological, developmental, and equity
considerations. [sec. 4, 6, art. XII]
#4: lands that are expressly exc
excluded under RA 6657

[RA 6657, sec. 10]1

mineral, forest, residential, commercial or industrial
land [RA 6657, sec. 3c]

lands not exceeding 5ha [RA 6657, sec. 6]

lands allowed to be retained under other laws: PD
27 (retention is up to 7ha); original homestead
grantees/ direct compulsory heirs who still own the
homestead, as long as they continue to cultivate the
homestead
#5: are land owners allowed to convert their agricultural land
so they may be excluded
excluded from the CARP?
Under RA 6657, sec. 65, yes; but subject to certain
requirements

only if the land has ceased 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 purposes
Furthermore, RA 9700 introduced additional requirements

conversion of agricultural lands into industrial,
commercial or residential lands shall take into
account, tillers' rights and national food security. [RA
6657, sec. 1]

conversion of irrigated and irrigable lands not
allowed [RA 6657, sec. 65]]

when there is a failure to implement the conversion
plan with 5 years from approval of such conversion
plan or when a violation of the conditions of the
conversion order due to the fault of the applicant
has been committed, there shall be an automatic
reversion of the converted land to agricultural status
[RA 6657, sec. 65]

#2: may non-

non-agricultural lands be included?

It seems that non-agricultural lands may not be included. In the

case of DENR v. Sutton, the Supreme Court struck down as 1

invalid a provision in the old CARP law subjecting lands a. parks, wildlife, forest reserves, reforestation, fish
devoted for “livestock,
livestock, poultry and swine raising, and sanctuaries and breeding grounds, watersheds and
aquaculture” to agrarian reform mangroves
b. prawn farms and fishponds, subject to certain

“[D]eliberations of the 1987 Constitutional requirements
Commission show a clear intent to exclude, inter c. lands necessary for national defense
alia, all lands exclusively devoted to livestock, swine d. school sites and campuses
and poultry-raising. The Court clarified in the Luz e. church sites
Farms case that livestock, swine and poultry-raising f. burial grounds
are industrial activities and do not fall within the g. penal colonies
definition of ‘agriculture’ or ‘agricultural activity.’” h. research and quarantine centers
i. lands with scope of 18% and above, except those
already developed
 CARPER 101
LAND ACQUISITION
#1: how is the distribution of lands done?
In a nutshell:

government identifies which lands are covered

buys ‘carp-able’ land from the landowners [land land
acquisition,
acquisition, payment of just compensation]
compensation

distributes the acquired land to qualified
beneficiaries; subject to the condition that the latter
shall pay the awarded land [land
land redistribution]
redistribution
Take note of the ff constitutional requirement:

the program should be founded on the right of
farmers and regular farm workers,
workers, who are landless,
landless
to own directly or collectively the lands they till, or
in the case of other farm workers,
workers to receive a just
share of the fruits thereof [sec. 4, art. XII]
#2: land acquisition
There are only two modes of land acquisition under the CARP,
as amended:

compulsory acquisition [RA 6657, sec. 16]; and

voluntary offer to sell2 [RA 6657, sec. 19]
Voluntary Land Transfer, as a mode of transfer, was removed
by the CARPER.
RA 6657, as amended, sec. 7: Voluntary land transfer shall be
allowed only for land holdings with VLT applications submitted
to the DAR as of June 30, 2009.
#3: land acquisition variations
Agrarian reform includes

all other arrangements alternative to the physical
redistribution of lands, such as production or profit-
sharing, labor administration, and the distribution of
shares of stocks, which will allow beneficiaries to
receive a just share of the fruits of the lands they
work. [RA 6657, sec. 3a]
Thus, we have the SDO under RA 6657, sec. 31. Note,
however, that the stock transfer should be realized or the plan
of such stock distribution approved within 2 years from the
approval of the CARP [nor CARPER], otherwise the lands of the
corporation shall be subject to CA.
#4: SDO under sec. 31
In lieu of ‘compulsory acquisition’ or ‘vos’ the law grants
corporate land owners the option to grant qualified
beneficiaries “the right to purchase such proportion of the
capital stock that the agricultural land, actually devoted to
agricultural activities, bears in relation to the company’s total
assets.
2
Landowners, other than banks and other financial institutions,
who voluntarily offer their lands for sale shall be entitled to an
additional five percent (5%) cash payment
But for the SDO to be valid, it must comply with the ff:

books of the corporation shall be subject to periodic
audit by certified accountants chosen by the
beneficiaries

irrespective of the value of their equity in the
corporation, the beneficiaries shall be entitled to one
representative in the board

any share acquired by such workers and
beneficiaries shall have the same rights and features
as all other shares

any transfer of shares of stock by the original
beneficiaries shall be void ab initio unless in favor of
a qualified and registered beneficiary
Furthermore, the stock transfer should be realized or the plan
of such stock distribution approved within 2 years from the
approval of the CARP [nor CARPER]
#5:
#5: but isn’t this contrary to constitutional requirement
that the program should be founded on right of the
farmers to own directly or collectively the lands they till?
This was squarely raised in the case of Hacienda Luisita, Inc.
[HLI] v. PARC. The Supreme Court, however, refused to give
an answer due to the parties’ failure to meet the requirements
of judicial review.

“It has been emphasized in a number of cases that
the question of constitutionality will not be passed
upon by the Court unless it is properly raised and
presented in an appropriate case at the first
opportunity. FARM is, therefore, remiss in belatedly
questioning the constitutionality of Sec. 31 of RA
6657. The second requirement that the
constitutional question should be raised at the
earliest possible opportunity is clearly wanting.”

“The lis mota in this case, proceeding from the basic
positions originally taken by AMBALA (to which the
FARM members previously belonged) and the
Supervisory Group, is the alleged non-compliance by
HLI with the conditions of the SDP to support a plea
for its revocation.”
The Supreme Court nevertheless made a pronouncement as to
the validity of the said provision:

“There appears to be no breach of the fundamental
law. “

“The wording of the provision is unequivocal––the
farmers and regular farm workers have a right TO
OWN DIRECTLY OR COLLECTIVELY THE LANDS
THEY TILL. The basic law allows two (2) modes of
land distribution—direct and indirect ownership.”

“Likewise, Sec. 4, Art. XIII of the Constitution makes
mention of a commitment on the part of the State to
pursue, by law,
law an agrarian reform program founded
on the policy of land for the landless, but subject to
such priorities as Congress may prescribe, taking
into account such abstract variable as “equity
considerations.””
#6: Hacienda Luisita SDP was invalidated by the SC
#7: payment of just compensation
 CARPER 101

[RA 6657, sec. 16, 17, 18]

title to the property expropriated shall pass from the
owner to the expropriator only upon full payment of
just compensation; the CARP law, for its part,
conditions the transfer of possession and ownership
of the land to the government on receipt by the
landowner of the corresponding payment or the
deposit by the DAR of the compensation xxx.
[Association of Small Landowners v. Sec. of Agrarian
Reform, 1989]
LAND DISTRIBUTION
#1 who are qualified as beneficiaries?

farmers3 and regular farm workers, who are landless
[CONSTI, sec. 4, art. XII]; subject to order of priority
provided in Sec. 22-A
#2 land owner attestation requirement [c/o anakbayan]?

RA 6657, sec. 7; inserted by RA 9700: only farmers
and regular farm workers actually tilling the lands as
certified under oath by the BARC and attested under
oath by the landowners, are qualified as
beneficiaries4
IDEALS: “despite the said provision, it is quite clear in the law,
that tillers other than farmers and regular farm workers are still
entitled to become agrarian reform beneficiaries.

“First, RA 9700 introduced the provision on
attestation but it has kept intact Section 22 of the
original CARP law. As mentioned, Sec. 22 lists the
different categories of tillers that may qualify as ARBs
to include not only tenants or lessees and regular
farm workers, but also the following: seasonal farm
workers; other farm workers; actual tillers or
occupants of public lands; collectives or
cooperatives of tenants/lessees and of the above
types of tillers; and others directly working on the
land.

“Second, RA 9700 did not introduce any
modification in Section 22, as originally worded in
RA 6657 even as the Act introduced Section 22-A
into the CARP law. As shown, Sec. 22-A merely
affirms the priority of tenants./lessees and regular
farm workers over the other types of beneficiaries in
the distribution of agricultural lands.”
#3: transfer from govt to beneficiaries

rights and responsibilities of beneficiaries commence
from their receipt of a duly registered emancipation
patent or certificate of land ownership award and
their actual physical possession of the awarded land;
3
Natural persons whose primary livelihood is the production of
livestock and or fisheries are included in the list of persons
regarded as “farmers,” [RA 6657, sec. 3f; inserted by RA 9700]
4
indefeasible after 1 year [RA 6657, sec. 24, as
amended by RA 9700]5
#4: preference for award thru individual titles

preference for award thru individual titles;
beneficiaries may opt for collective titles only in
specific instances [RA 6657, Sec. 25; inserted by RA
9700; Sec. 29]
#5: is the award of land free?
No.

lands awarded shall be paid for by the beneficiaries
to the LBP in 30 annual amortizations at 6% interest
per annum;; amortizations start 1 year from the date
of the CLOA/EP or actual occupancy, whichever is
later; affordability provisions6 [RA 6657, sec. 26]
#6: are the beneficiaries entitled to do what they please
with the awarded land?
No.

may not be sold, transferred, conveyed for a period
of 10 years; except thru hereditary succession, to the
government, to the LBP, other qualified beneficiaries
[]RA 6657, sec. 27]
SUPPORT SERVICES
improved by RA 9700
#1: funding

increase in the share of support services in the total
appropriations for agrarian reform from 25% to 40%
[RA 6657, sec. 36]

specific apportionment of the support services funds
to different support service items/programs [RA
6657, sec. 37]
#2: support service delivery and/or program
development [RA 5547, sec. 36]

adoption of an integrated land acquisition and
distribution and support services strategy that
requires a support service delivery plan to be
developed parallel to the land acquisition and
distribution process
5
IDEALS: “provision replaced the previous rule where the
starting point for the enjoyment of rights is at the time the DAR
makes an award of the land to him; the present rule is an
improvement from the old one because indeed, the rights and
obligations of beneficiaries could only be fully enjoyed or
fulfilled, respectively, when the beneficiaries are in the actual
possession of the land awarded to them.”
6
The payments for the first three (3) years after the award shall
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 (5th) 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 shall
reduce the interest rate and/or reduce the principal obligation
to make the repayment affordable.
 CARPER 101

increase in the minimum number of ARCs to be

established per year, per legislative district with
predominant agricultural population from 1 ARC to
2 ARCs

in the establishment of such ARCs, inclusion of
community-based cooperatives in the list of
stakeholders with whom the DAR is required to
coordinate

prescription for a complementary support services
delivery strategy for existing agrarian reform
beneficiaries that are not in barangays within the
ARCs

in securing/mobilizing funds for support services,
imposition of the requirement that the DAR must
closely coordinate with the COCAR, with due notice
to the concerned representative of the legislative
district prior to the implementation

#3: support services delivery for ARBs [RA 6657, sec.

37]

liberalized access to credit for agrarian reform
beneficiaries

additional types of support services that the state
must afford farmer-beneficiaries

specification of how particular support service items
for beneficiaries are to be funded

designation of entities that shall be in charge of
financial assistance to ARB

equal support services for women [sec. 37-A]

SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
improved by RA 9700

#1: institution of referral system relative

relative to agrarian
disputes

if there is an allegation from any of the parties that

the case is agrarian in nature and one of the parties
is a farmer, farm worker, or tenant, the case shall
automatically referred by the judge or the
prosecutor to the DAR [RA 6657, sec. 50-A]

#2: recognition of legal standing of potential farmer

50--
beneficiaries and their organizations [RA 6657, sec. 50
A]

#3: issuance of TROs by SC [RA 6657, sec. 55]

#4: cancellation of CLOAs/EPs now with Sec. of AR [RA

6657, sec. 73]

#5: more stringent penal provisions [RA 6657, sec. 73]

 GARB CARPER
coverage, covers cattle and livestock farms, aquaculture, and pasture lands [Sec. 4, Sec. 5]
exemptions, covered under old laws

covered lands presently under schemes considered as alternative to land
retention transfer [Sec. 5]
limits
distributed lands under PD 27 and CARP/ER but have passed to persons not
qualified beneficiaries [Sec.5]
converted lands [Sec. 5]
allowed only if land has ceased to be economically feasible and sound for

all agricultural lands with approved land use conversion authority but have agricultural purposes, or the locality has become urbanized and the land will
remained undeveloped and all agricultural lands with pending land use have a greater economic value for residential, commercial or industrial
conversion applications purposes [RA 6657, sec. 65]

in the case of approved land use conversion authority, conversion authority
prohibition against conversion of irrigated and irrigable lands [RA 6657, sec.
revoked; but only undeveloped portion shall be covered 65; inserted by RA 9700]

automatic reversion to agricultural status when there is a failure to implement
the conversion plan with 5 years from approval of such conversion plan or a
violation of the conditions of the conversion order due to the fault of the
applicant has been committed [RA 6657, sec. 65; inserted by RA 9700]
land
CA [sec. 12] only CA and VOS

nationalization of agribusiness enterprises of TNCs: confiscation by the State
acquisition
of land and non-land assets; turn over of control and management to
agricultural workers [Sec. 13, 19, 20]

confiscation of sullied land holdings; no just compensation [Sec. 16, 21, 22]
land
lands covered shall be distributed at no cost to the farmer [Sec. 8]
lands awarded shall be paid for by the beneficiaries to the LBP in 30 annual

writing off of amortizations distributed under PD 27 and CARP/ER [Sec. 9] amortizations at 6% interest per annum [RA 6657, sec. 26]
distribution

reversion of lands to ARBs under cancelled CLOAs/Eps due to non-payment
amortizations start 1 year from the date of the CLOA/EP or actual occupancy,
[Sec. 10] whichever is later; [RA 6657, sec. 26; inserted by RA 9700]

affordability provisions [RA 6657, sec. 26]

LBP’s lien by way of mortgage; mortgage may be foreclosed by the LBP for
non-payment of an aggregate of three (3) annual amortizations; foreclosed
beneficiary permanently disqualified [RA 6657, sec. 26]
Individual titles; but livestock and cattle farms, aquaculture and pasture lands to be preference for award thru individual titles; beneficiaries may opt for collective titles
operated as producers’ cooperatives [Sec. 43] only in specific instances [RA 6657, Sec. 25; inserted by RA 9700; Sec. 29]

may not be sold, mortgaged, transferred, conveyed except by way of may not be sold, transferred, conveyed for a period of 10 years; except thru
hereditary succession. [Sec. 49] hereditary succession, to the government, to the LBP, other qualified beneficiaries

turn over of land to farmers’ organization or cooperative of farmer-beneficiary []RA 6657, sec. 27]
can no longer till the land for one reason or another