COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM PROGRAM

Comprehensive agrarian reform program is the Republic Act No. 6657

which was signed by President Corazon Aquino on June, 1988. This law has
fifteen chapters with sixty five sections. What does Comprehensive
agrarian reform is? Does this law successful or not? What are the purposed
of this law that it was implemented? These papers discuss all this questions
that will clear our mind about the different arguments of this law.

There are lots of changes that happen about the distribution of lands
to the famers that don’t have their own lands and the agrarian reform has
the big part of this topic that we need to discuss and analyse. Before we
analyse the history of the reform program let’s tackle first the two words
that we need to understand about the reform program, first the land
reform and second is the agrarian reform. Before what the farmers fighting
for are the reform of the land but when time comes there is a reform for
farming. If we talk about land reform it is the process of redistributing of
land from the landlords to tenant-farmers in order that they will be given a
chance to own a piece of land. Second is the agrarian reform is the whole
system of reform program which is it is not just a distribution of a piece of
land but to also the lives of the small farmers that are struggling in owning
lands and other natural resources for farming, it also state that they should
earn a money from the raw materials they made and they should have a
good relationship to their landlords. This agrarian reform is the Republic
Act No. 6657 signed by President Corazon Aquino on June 10, 1988.
 It is sad to think that the desire of the government to improve the
lives of the farmers didn’t happen. Agrarian reform may have been
implemented but there are no changes to the lives of our fellow Filipino
farmers because of the private landlords are corrupting them. Still this
day’s farmers who cultivate the lands didn’t receive justice. Even how hard
working they were, they still remain being at the low level of the society
because of the land owners. This just means that agrarian reform is not
successful that has been implemented.

During the pre-colonial period there Filipinos already practice

farming, which farming is also one of their ways of earning money. Before
the Spaniards Colonization our land in the country is for all, there are no
owner-cultivators only communal lands. They believe that the land is given
from above that should be given to all Filipinos. During this period money
haven’t discover yet, their way of changing goods is barter of rice which
this is important that is also called as the staple food of the Philippines.

During Spanish period from the year of 1521 to 1896 there are
different law that was implemented that result to struggles of the small
farmers. First law is the Encomienda that is also called the Royal Land
Grant. This law was given to the encomienderos which they would be
responsible to maintain peace and order, they also have the rights to
defend their land from external attack and must support the missionaries
or the Friar. Encomienderos have the rights to collect tributes from the
famers in return of land. But there are abusive collectors that also hurt the
small farmers if they can’t give payment. Second law is the Maura decree
which states that in one year the land of our fellow Filipino should have a
title, because at that time Filipinos didn’t understand what is the title the
Spaniards owned their land. Third is unrecognized of local customs which
the Spaniards owned their despite of the beliefs of the Filipino that the land
is for all. Fourth is the Establishments of Pueblos which is the division of
building the town, villages by which there are no unity. Fifth is the
mortgage which Filipino mortgaged their land with a high interest which
they didn’t have a chance to take back their land due to lack of money.
And last is the Inquilinos or the friar’s tax which even Filipino are
struggling, being abused, the Spaniards implement this law that they
should pay taxes to the friars (FayeMad2016).

After the Spanish period the presidents that lead the country
implement the law in contrary of changing the law implemented by the
Spaniards. First Republic 1899 Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Malolos
constitution which intended to confiscates the large estates from the friar,
however it was never implemented. American period the law implemented
were Philippine Bill of 1902 which distribution of 16 hectares to private
individuals and 1,024 hectares to corporations. Land Registration Act of
1902 (Act No. 496) provided comprehensive registration of land titles
under the Torrens system which this system did not actually solve the
problem because it’s either they are not aware of the law or they cannot
afford the cost of the survey Public Land Act of 1903 which introduced the
homestead in the Philippines. And last law is the Tenancy Act of 1933 (Act
No. 4054 and 4113) that regulates the owner and the tenants of rice and
sugar cane a fifty-fifty sharing. President Manuel L. Quezon adapt the
“Social Justice program which to arrest the increasing social unrest in
Central Luzon during the Commonwealth Period.