What is RA 6657 or CARP -

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program?

CARP, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, is the redistribution of public
and private agricultural lands to farmers and farmworkers who are landless, irrespective of
tenurial arrangement. CARP's vision is to have an equitable land ownership with empowered
agrarian reform beneficiaries who can effectively manage their economic and social
development to have a better quality of life. (Department of Agrarian Reform, n.d.)
One of the major programs of CARP is Land Tenure Improvement, which seeks to
hasten distribution of lands to landless farmers. Similarly, the Department offers Support
Services to the beneficiaries such as infrastructure facilities, marketing assistance program,
credit assistance program, and technical support programs. Furthermore, the department seeks
to facilitate, resolve cases and deliver Agrarian Justice. (Department of Agrarian Reform, n.d.)
The legal basis for CARP is the Republic Act No. 6657 otherwise known as
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) signed by President Corazon C. Aquino on June
10, 1988. It is an act which aims to promote social justice and industrialization, providing the
mechanism for its implementation, and for other purposes. (Department of Agrarian Reform,
n.d.)

1. What is CARP? What is CARPER?

CARP stands for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, a government initiative
that aims to grant landless farmers and farmworkers ownership of agricultural lands. It was
signed into law by President Corazon C. Aquino on June 10, 1988, and was scheduled to have
been completed in 1998. On the year of its deadline, Congress enacted a law (Republic Act No.
8532) appropriating additional funds for the program and extending the automatic appropriation
of ill-gotten wealth recovered by the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) for
CARP until 2008.
CARPER, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms, is
the amendatory law that extends yet again the deadline of distributing jericultural lands to
farmers for five years. It also amends other provisions stated in CARP.
CARPER was signed into law on August 7, 2009. ("Department of Agrarian Reform,"
n.d.)

2. Who are the beneficiaries of CARP?

Landless farmers, including agricultural lessees, tenants, as well as regular, gessonal
and other farmworkers. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) identifies and screens
potential beneficiaries and validates their qualifications. For example, to quality, you must be at
least 15 years old, be a resident of the barangay where the land holding is located, and own no
more than 3 hectares of agricultural land. ("Department of Agrarian Reform," n.d.)

3. What are the government offices involved in the program?

Many agencies are involved in the implementation of CARP. The lead agencies are the
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR). They are in charge of the identification and distribution of covered land, and
is commonly referred to as CARPable land. ("Department of Agrarian Reform," n.d.)

4. How much land is subject to land reform?

An estimated 7.8 million hectares of land is covered by CARP. ("Department of
Agrarian Reform," n.d.)
5. How much land has been acquired and distributed so far?
 As of December 31, 2013, the government has acquired and distributed 6.9 million
hectares of land, equivalent to 88% of the total land subject to CARP. ("Department of Agrarian
Reform," n.d.)
6. How much land was distributed to beneficiaries under this administration?
From July 2010 to December 2013, the administration has distributed a total of 751,514
hectares, or 45% of the total landholdings to be distributed to the farmer beneficiaries left under
this administration.
From this, DAR has distributed 412,782 hectares and DENR has already distributed
338,732 hectares. ("Department of Agrarian Reform," n.d.)
7. What are the requirements to become a beneficiary?
Qualifications of CARP Beneficiaries

 Beneficiaries must be least 15 years old

 be a resident of the barangay where the land holding is
located
 own no more than 3 hectares of agricultural land