Definition of Agrarian Reform

Philippines remains an agricultural country. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of the Filipinos.
In so many years, the agrarian system of Philippines was being controlled by the large landlords. The
small farmers in the Philippines were struggling for their rights to land and other natural resources. In
colonial times, the Americans saw it as the main issue for revolts in the Philippines. Americans have
realized the needed reforms having seen the defects in land ownership. One measure introduced by
Americans to remedy the defects was by legislation. The Philippine Commonwealth government
followed this as policy makers recognized the importance of laws in protecting the rights of the farmers.
Since the 1930s, Philippine government has instituted various land reforms, the most recent of which is
the 1988 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (R.A 6657). While considerable swaths of land have been
redistributed, the most contentious private agricultural lands, which are also the most productive and
fertile, remain with wealthy private landowners (GOP (Philippine Statistics Authority) 2015; FAO 1997;
Borras and Franco 2007; Quizon and Pagsanghan 2014). What is agrarian reform?

Here are some good descriptions about agrarian reform:

Agrarian Reform (is)...

 essentially the rectification of the whole system of agriculture

 centered on relationship between production and the distribution of land among
farmers
 also focused on political and economic class character of the relations of production and
distribution in farming and related enterprises
 includes measures to modernize the agricultural practices and improving the living
conditions of entire agrarian population.
 In integrated set of measures designed to eliminate obstacles to economic and social
development arising out of defects in the agrarian structure.
 In the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (R.A No. 6657), agrarian reform is
defined to mean "the redistribution of lands, regardless of crops or fruits produced, to
farmers and regular farm workers who are landless, irrespective of tenurial
arrangement, to include the totality of factors and support services designed to lift the
economics status of the beneficiaries and all other arrangements alternative to the
physical redistribution of lands, such as production or profit-sharing, land administration
and the distribution of shares of stock, which will allow beneficiaries to receive a just
share of the fruits of the lands they work."

Agrarian Reform History

A. 16th-19th Century Landownership System

 Dispersed communities were organized into Pueblo agriculture
 King of Spain owned the land
 Filipinos paid tributes
 Law of the Indies awarded tracts of land to
 Religious orders
 Encomenderos
 Repartamiento
  Hacienda system developed in 19th century and as new form of ownership
 In 1860s, landholders were required to register landholdings
 Lands claimed and registered in other people's names forced peasants out of the land
 This is the primary reason of Philippine revolts
 Phil. Revolutionary government of Aguinaldo declared landed estates including friars as
government property to redistribute them but did not happen
B. Landownership under Americans
 Aware that landlessness was the main cause of social unrest
 Section 15 Phil. Bill of 1902 allows acquisition of 16 hectares for an individual and 1,024
hectares for corporate landholders
 Phil. Commission Act No. 496 introduced Torrens system to address absence of titles
and accurate land survey
 Public Land Act of 1903 established homestead program that allows tenant to enter into
agri-business with 16 hectares farmland (Luzon and Mindanao)
 Problems worsened
 No limit to the size of landholdings people could own
 Accessibility of possession limited to who can afford to buy, register and acquire fixed
property titles
 Not all friar lands acquired by Americans given to landless peasant farmers
 Some lands sold/leased to business interest
 No support mechanism if land was given
 More lands were placed under tenancy that led to peasant uprisings
 Sakdal Uprising (May 2-3, 1935) - demanded tax abolition, equal ownership of land,
immediate severance of ties with USA
 Pres. Quezon bought haciendas, created National Rice and Corn Corp. (NARIC) assign
public defenders for peasants' right to the land in Court of Industrial Relations
 Failed due to budget allocation and peasant uprising
C. Agrarian Reform After WWII
 Pres. Roxas signed into law R.A. 34 established 70-30 sharing arrangements, regulating
share tenancy contracts
 Land Settlement and Development Corporation (LASEDECO) under Pres. Quirino was
transformed into National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA)
during Pres. Magsaysay to accelerate resettlement program
 Pres. Magsaysay's R.A. 1199 Agricultural Tenancy Act protects tenurial rights and
enforced tenancy practices
 This law created Court of Agri'l Relations (1955) to improve tenancy security, fix land
rentals, resolve land disputes filed by peasant organizations
 Agri'l Credit and Coop. Financing Admin. (ACCFA) to provide warehouse facilities and
assist in marketing products, spearhead establishment of Agri'l and Industrial Bank to
assist in applying for homestead
 NARRA convinced Huks rebels to resettle in areas to restart peaceful lives
 Failed due to lack of funds, inadequate support system, landed elite did not fully
cooperate
D. Pres. Macapagal Agrarian Reform
  R.A No. 3844 Agricultural Land Reform Code during Pres. Macapagal's term
 Abolished share tenancy
 Prescribed a program to convert tenant-farmers to lessees and later owner-cultivators
 Aimed to free tenants from tenancy, emphasized owner-cultivatorship and farmer
independence, equity, productivity improvement and public land distribution
E. Pres. Marcos Agrarian Reform
 PD No. 27 Code of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines
 Shall apply to tenant farmers of private agricultural lands devoted to rice/corn under
sharecrop or lease-tenancy system
 Tenant farmer shall own family size farm of 5 hectares if not irrigated and 3 hectares if
irrigated
 Landowner may retain not more than 7 hectares
 Value of land shall be equivalent to two and one-half times the average harvest of three
normal crop years immediately preceding the promulgation of the Decree
 Total cost of the land including 6% interest per annum shall be paid in15 years of 15
equal annual amortization
 In case of default, amortization be paid by the farmer's cooperative
 No title of lands be issued unless tenant farmer is a full-fledge member of cooperative
 Land acquired thru this decree is non-transferable except by hereditary succession
 Landlords change crops to be exempted from the program (focused on rice lands)
F. President Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992)
The 1987 Constitution ratified by the Filipino people during the administration of
President Corazon C. Aquino provides under Section 21 under Article II that "The State shall
promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform."

President Corazon C. Aquino enacted the following laws:

 Republic Act No. 6657, June 10, 1988 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law) - An act
which became effective June 15, 1988 and instituted a comprehensive agrarian reform
program to promote social justice and industrialization. This law is still the one being
implemented at present.
 Executive Order No. 228, July 16, 1987 - Declared full ownership to qualified farmer-
beneficiaries covered by PD 27. It also determined the value of remaining unvalued rice
and corn lands subject of PD 27 and provided for the manner of payment by the FBs and
mode of compensation to landowners.
 Proclamation No. 131, July 22, 1987 - Instituted the CARP as a major program of the
government. It provided for a special fund known as the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF),
with an initial amount of Php50 billion to cover the estimated cost of the program from
1987-1992.
 Executive Order No. 405, June 14, 1990 - Vested in the Land Bank of the Philippines the
responsibility to determine land valuation and compensation for all lands covered by
CARP.
G. President Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998)
 When President Fidel V. Ramos formally took over in 1992, the public have lost
confidence in the agrarian reform program. His administration committed to the vision "Fairer,
faster and more meaningful implementation of the Agrarian Reform Program.
President Fidel V. Ramos enacted the following laws:
 Republic Act No. 7881, 1995 - Amended certain provisions of RA 6657 and exempted
fishponds and prawns from the coverage of CARP.
 Republic Act 8532, 1998 (Agrarian Reform Fund Bill) - Provided an additional Php50
billion for CARP and extended its implementation for another 10 years.
H. President Joseph E. Estrada (1998-2000)
"ERAP PARA SA MAHIRAP'. This was the battle cry that endeared President Joseph
Estrada and made him very popular during the 1998 presidential election.
During his administration, President Estrada launched the Magkabalikat Para sa
Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA. The DAR forged into joint ventures with private investors
into agrarian sector to make FBS competitive.
However, the Estrada Administration was short lived. The masses who put him into
office demanded for his ouster.
I. President Gloria Macapacal-Arroyo (2000-2010)
The agrarian reform program anchored on the vision "To make the countryside
economically viable for the Filipino family by building partnership and promoting social equity
and new economic opportunities towards lasting peace and sustainable rural development,"
provided support services to beneficiaries of land distribution:
 credit assistance extension services
 irrigation facilities
 roads and bridges
 marketing facilities and
 training and technical support programs.

Passed Republic Act 9700 (August 7, 2009) The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program Extension with Reforms extending the deadline of distributing agricultural lands to
farmers for five years

J. President Benigno Aquino III (2010-2016)

President Benigno Aquino III vowed during his 2012 State of the Nation Address that he
would complete before the end of his term the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP), the centerpiece program of the administration of his mother, President Corazon Aquino.
The younger Aquino distributed their family-owned Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. Apart
from the said farm lots, he also promised to complete the distribution of privately- owned lands
of productive agricultural estates in the country that have escaped the coverage of the program.
Under his administration, the Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic
Support Services (ARCCESS) project was created to contribute to the overall goal of rural poverty
reduction especially in agrarian reform areas.
Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP) provided credit support for crop production
to newly organized and existing agrarian reform beneficiaries' organizations (ARBOS) and
farmers' organizations not qualified to avail themselves of loans under the regular credit
windows of banks.
 The legal case monitoring system (LCMS), a web-based legal system for recording and
monitoring various kinds of agrarian cases at the provincial, regional and central offices of the
DAR to ensure faster resolution and close monitoring of agrarian- related cases, was also
launched.
K. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016 - present)
Under his leadership, the President wants to pursue an "aggressive" land reform
program that would help alleviate the life of poor Filipino farmers by prioritizing the provision of
support services alongside land distribution.
The President directed the DAR to launch the 2nd phase of agrarian reform where
landless farmers would be awarded with undistributed lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program (CARP).
The President also placed 400 hectares of agricultural lands in Boracay under CARP.
Under his administration the DAR created an anti-corruption task force to investigate
and handle reports on alleged anomalous activities by officials and employees of the
department.
The Department also pursues an "Oplan Zero Backlog" in the resolution of cases in
relation to agrarian justice delivery of the agrarian reform program to fast-track the
implementation of CARP.

What is CARP or Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program?

CARP, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, is simply the redistribution of public and
private agricultural lands to farmers and farm workers who are landless regardless of tenurial
arrangements. It is the centerpiece program of President Corazon C. Aquino which stands until today. It
was put into law on June 10, 1988 through Republic Act 6657. The law aims to promote social justice
and industrialization. The law is driven by the overall principles of promoting social justice, equitable
distribution and ownership of land, and greater productivity of agricultural lands. The government sees
that such law will promote higher incomes and increase the chances of farmer beneficiary to be non-
poor.

The 1998 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) broadened the scope of rural land reform
by including private agricultural lands irrespective of crops and tenure arrangements. It also provides for
support services to agrarian reform beneficiaries like infrastructure, capability-building and
credit/marketing assistance. Lands were distributed within a period of 10 years. But when this was not
achieved, the law was extended for another 10 years during President Ramos Administration, and then
again extended for 5 years until 2014 under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform with Extended
Reforms (CARPER) law.

The 2014 deadline also was not achieved but President Benigno Aquino III promised to complete
the distribution by the end of his term in 2016. By the end of 2015 about 88 percent of lands (6.9 million
hectares of the 7.8 million hectares) under the Program had been distributed.

Under the CARP and CARPER, farmer beneficiaries are granted: 1) absolute ownership in the
form of Emancipation Patents upon full payment of amortizations; or 2) absolute ownership in the form
of Certificates of Land Transfer or Certificates of Land Ownership for those still completing payments.
However, CARP prohibits sale or transfer of lands by reform beneficiaries for a period of 10 years except
through hereditary succession or except for sale to the government, to the Land Bank of the Philippines
or to other qualified reform beneficiaries

Stock ownership under the Stock Distribution Option is granted to agrarian reform beneficiaries
in large corporate farms. Farm workers in areas within the retention limit of landowners and in private
agricultural lands yet to be acquired by the government are granted leasehold rights with a 75:25
sharing in favor of the farmer- lessee. In short, the law allowed corporate landowners to divest a
proportion of their capital stock, equity or participation in favor of their workers instead of turning over
lands to government.

Alienable and disposable lands (agricultural lands and reclassified lands) and privately owned
lands are subject to: 1) purchase which vests ownership; or 2) lease which vests only the right to occupy
and use for the period agreed upon. Under the law therefore, landowners were paid by the government
through just compensation and allowed to retain not more than five (5) hectares of land (plus 3 hectares
for each child of the landowner provided the child is at least 15 years old and is actually tilling the land
or directly managing it) and at 3 hectares for the reform beneficiaries. As of 2003, the size of privately
owned land classified as alienable and disposable were 64.8 percent.