Policies on Agrarian Reform in the Philippines

NAME: AFIDCHAO, KIAN JOHN T.

Period Conditions or Policies

1.Landownership a. Pueblo agriculture- Families were not allowed to own their land-the King of Spain
in the Philippines owned the land, and Filipinos were assigned to these lands to cultivate them, and they
under Spain paid their colonial tributes to the Spanish authorities in the form of agricultural products.
b. Encomienda system-was an unfair and abusive system as "compras y vandalas”
became the norm for the Filipino farmers working the land--they were made to sell their
products at a very low price or surrender their products to the encomenderos, who
resold this at a profit.
c. Hacienda system-In the 1860s, Spain enacted a law ordering landholders to register
their landholdings, and only those who knew benefitted from this. Lands were claimed
and registered in other people's names, and many peasant families who were "assigned"
to the land in the earlier days of colonization were driven out or forced to come under
the power of these people who claimed rights to the land because they held a title.

2.Landownership a. Philippine Bill of 1902-provided regulations on the disposal of public lands.

in the Philippines b. Land Registration Act (Act No. 496)- which introduced the Torrens system to address
under the the absence of earlier records of issued land titles and conduct accurate land surveys.
Americans c. Homestead Program in 1903-allowing a tenant to enter into an agricultural business by
acquiring a farm of at least 16 hectares.
d. Colorum and Sakdal Uprising-enabled more lands to be placed under tenancy, which
led to widespread peasant uprisings.
e- National Rice and Corn Corporation (NARIC)- to assign public defenders to assist
peasants in court battles for their rights to the land.
f. Court of Industrial Relations-to exercise jurisdiction over disagreements arising from
landowner-tenant relationship.
g. National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA)- Efforts toward agrarian reform by
the Commonwealth failed because of many problems such as budget allocation for the
settlement program and widespread peasant uprisings.
3. Post-War a. Republic Act No.34-to establish a 70-30 sharing arrangement between tenant and
Interventions landlord, respectively, which reduced the interest of landowners' loans to tenants at six
toward Agrarian percent or less.
Reform b. Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO)- was established to accelerate
and expand the resettlement program for peasants.
c. Agriculture Tenancy Act (Republic Act No.1199)- was passed to govern the relationship
between landholders and tenant farmers, protecting the tenurial rights of tenants and
enforced tenancy practices.
d. Court of Agricultural Relations-was created in 1955 to improve tenancy security, fix
land rentals of tenanted farms, and resolve land disputes filed by the landowners and
peasant organizations.
e. Agricultural Tenancy Commission-was also established to administer problems created
by tenancy.
f. Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Financing Administration (ACCFA)- was also
created mainly to provide warehouse facilities and assist farmers in marketing their
products.
 g. Agricultural Land Reform Code (RA No.3844)- a major stride in land reform arrived
during the term of President Diosdado Macapagal.
4. Agrarian a. Code of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines(PD No.27)- became the core of agrarian
Reform Efforts reform during Marcos regime.
under Ferdinand b. Operation Land Transfer-on lands occupied by tenants of more than seven hectares on
Marcos Sr. rice and corn lands commenced, and through legal compulsion and an improved delivery
of support services to small farmers, agrarian reform seemed to be finally achievable.
c. Masagana’ 99 Program-farmers were able to borrow from banks and purchase three-
hectare plots of lands and agricultural inputs.
5. Post-1986 a. Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (RA No. 6657)- It enabled the redistribution of
Agrarian Reform agricultural lands to tenant-farmers from landowners, who were paid in exchange by the
government through just compensation and allowed them to retain not more than five
hectares.
b. Republic Act No. 8532-Ramos signed Republic Act No. 8532 in 1998 to amend CARL
and extend the program to another ten years.
6. CARPER and the CARPER (Republic Act No.9700)- the amendatory law that extended the deadline to five
Future Agrarian more years.
Reform in the
Philippines