Unit 4A Lesson 3

Activity

Read some notes on agrarian reform in the Philippines and prepare a comparative matrix showing the
following:

A. The evolution of agrarian policies over the years

B. The content of the policies

C. The implication of the law on agrarian issues.

COLONIAL PERIOD POST-WAR POST-MARTIAL

MEASURES LAW
The evolution of - Through the
agrarian policies over Laws of the
the years. Indies, the
Spanish
government
declared all
territories in
the Philippines
to be the sole
domain of the
Spanish Crown.

- However, the
system
deteriorated
into the
encomenderos
abusing their
position of
authority. The
land rentals to
a select few
influential
landowners
soon replaced
the tribute.
And the
indigenous
people who
had previously
farmed the
land with
comfort and
independence
 were reduced
to become
meager share
renters.
The content of the - The Public Land
policies. Act of 1903,
often known as
the Homestead
Act, the Land
Registration
Act of 1902,
which helped
establish land
titling, the
Tenancy Act of
1933, which
imposed
certain
restrictions on
the scope of
land
ownership.

- The 1935
Constitution
addressed the
problem of
foreign
ownership of
land, requiring
that businesses
have at least
60% Filipino
ownership and
limiting the
duration of
usage rights.
Limitations on
loan interest
rates and a rise
in the
sharecropping
share from
50% to 70%
were two
further
measures. But
in reality, only
 a small portion
of these
regulations
were really
upheld, giving
rise to the Huk
uprising.
The implication of the - The great
law on agrarian issues concentration
of land
ownership
during the
Spanish
colonial period
led to
widespread
poverty and
agrarianism.