CODE OF AGRARIAN REFORMS

RA 3844

As amended by PD 251, 444, 1039, and 1817

RA 6389, 6657, 7907, and 9700
 HISTORY OF THE CODE OF AGRARIAN REFORMS

Code of Agrarian Reforms

• initially denominated as the Agricultural Land Reform Code RA 6389.

• renamed as the code of Agrarian Reforms.

Agricultural Land Reform Code

• administration bill submitted by President Diosdado Macapagal for
enactment by the 5th congress of the Philippines.

• It was signed into law on August 8, 1963.

 OBJECTIVE
• To create a system of owner-cultivatorship and economic
family size farm as basis of Philippine agriculture
 SALIENT FEATURES OF Code of Agrarian Reforms

• It abolished the share tenancy system and replaced it with

agricultural leasehold.

• It established a bill of rights for agricultural workers.

• It established the DAR as the machinery for the acquisition

and distribution of agricultural land.

• It established the land Bank as the financial arm of the

agrarian reform program.
 The
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program
(CARP)
 The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program
• Known as R.A. 6657 signed by President Cory Aquino

• The welfare of the landless farmers and farm workers will receive the highest
consideration to promote social justice and to move the nation toward sound
rural development and industrialization, and the establishment of owner
cultivatorship of economic sized farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture.

• A more equitable distribution of land, with due regards to the rights of

landowners to just compensation and to the ecological needs of the nation,
undertaken to provide farms and farm workers with the opportunity to enhance
their dignity and improve the quality of their lives through greater productivity
of agriculture lands.

• In the 70’s, the Philippines has one of the highest farm tenancy rates in Asia.
 The Land reform before 1972
 A Rice Share Tenancy Act was passed in 1933 but the legislation was
circumvented by Landlords interest and was never implemented. Republic Acts
1911 and 1400 in 1954 and 1955 established a formula for crop sharing,
promoted the resettlement of the public lands, and provided for the
expropriation of land estates to provide family size farms for endless tenants.

 In 1963 the Agricultural Land Reform Code (RA 3844) shifted the emphasis
away from expropriation and resettlement to a two stage conversion of share
croppers.
 Leaseholders
 Leaseholders into owner operators
 Agrarian Reform since 1972
The first phase of the reform emancipated tenants on
rice and corn land: but according to the 1963 code,
which remains the basic law, farms producing sugar
tree crops such a coconuts were exempted and their
status under the 1972 reform is thus unclear.
 Operation Land Transfer
Department of agrarian reform, consists of issuing and distributing
certificates of land transfer and transferring titles to former tenants.

The certificate is not deed or title to the land but merely verifies that the
tenant is the tiller of the land he claims to be cultivating.

Although the intention in 1972 was to transfer titles for all 1.5million
hectares, in 1974 the government indicated that tenanted holding of 7 or
fewer hectares would be exempted from the land transfer.

Administrative difficulties have arisen primarily as the result of the long delay
in issuing rules and regulations for the DAR field teams.

The emphasis of the 1972 reforms on the transfer of ownership highlights

the problem of incomplete records of land titles and land rights.
 Coverage of CARP
• The comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover,
regardless of the arrangement of tenure and commodity
produced, all public and private agriculture lands as provided in
Proclamation No. 131 and Executive Order No. 229, including
other lands of the public domain suitable for agricultureThe
following lands are covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program :
 All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or suitable for
agriculture.
 All land of the public domain in excess of the specific limits as determined by Congress
in the preceding paragraph;
 All other lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for agriculture; and
 All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of the agricultural
products raised or that can be raised thereon.
 Retention of Limits

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, no person may own or retain, directly
or indirectly, any public or private agricultural land, the size of which shall
vary according to factors governing viable sized farm, such as commodity
produced, terrain, infrastructure, and soil fertility as determine by the
Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) created here under, but in no
case shall retention by the land owner exceed 5 hectares. 3 hectares may
be awarded to the child of the land owner, subject to the following
qualifications:

That he is at least 15 years of age.

That he is actually tilling the land or directly managing the farm.
 Multinational Corporation
Programs objective:
• To promote social justice.
• Move toward sound rural developments.

Sources of funding or appropriations shall include the following:

• Proceeds of the sales of the assets privatization trust.
• All receipts from assets recovered and from sales of ill gotten wealth
recovered through the Presidential Commission on Good Government.
• Proceeds of the disposition of the properties of the government in foreign
countries.
• Portions of amount accruing to the Philippines from all sources of official
foreign aid grants and concessional enterprises, operated by multinational
corporations and associations.
 Ancestral Lands
• Ancestral Lands of each indigenous cultural commodity shall
include, but not be limited to, lands in the actual, continuous and
open possession, and occupation of the community and its
members: provided, that the Torrens Systems shall be respected.
• Ancestral lands shall be protected to insure their economic,
social, and cultural well being.
 Commercial farming
• Commercial farms, which are private agricultural lands devoted to
commercial livestock, poultry and swine raising, and aquaculture
including saltbeds, fishponds and prawn ponds, fruit farms,
orchards, vegetable and cut-flower farms, and cacao, coffee and
rubber plantations shall be subject to immediate compulsory
acquisition and distribution after ten (10) years from the effectivity of
this Act.
Exemption and Exclusions
 Definitions
• For the purpose of this Act, here are some definitions used:

• Agrarian reform means the redistribution of lands, regardless of crops or

fruits produced, to farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless.

• Agriculture, Agriculture Enterprise, or Agricultural Activity means the

cultivation of the soil, planting of crops, growing of fruit trees, raising of
livestock, poultry or fish, including the harvesting of such farm products, and
other farm activities, and practices performed by a farmer in conjunction with
such farming operations done by persons whether natural or juridical.
Farmers, refer to a natural person whose primary livelihood is cultivation of land
or the production of agricultural crops, either by himself, or primarily with the
assistance of his immediate farm household, whether the land is owned by him,
or by another person under a leasehold or share tenancy agreement or
arrangement with the owner thereof.

Farm worker is a natural person who renders service for value as an employee
or laborer in an agricultural enterprise or farm regardless of whether his
compensation is paid on a daily, weekly, monthly or “pakyaw” basis.

Regular farm worker is a natural person who is employed on a permanent

basis by an agricultural enterprise or farm.
o Agricultural Land refers to land devoted to agricultural activity as defined in this Act
and not classified as mineral, forest, residential, commercial, or industrial land.
o Idle or Abandoned Land refers to any agricultural land not cultivated, tilled or
developed to produce any crop nor devoted to any specific economic purpose
continuously for a period of 3 years immediately prior to the receipt of notice of
acquisition by the government as provided under this Act, but does not include land that
has become permanently or regularly devoted to non-agricultural purposes.
o Farmers, refer to a natural person whose primary livelihood is cultivation of land or the
production of agricultural crops, either by himself, or primarily with the assistance of his
immediate farm household, whether the land is owned by him, or by another person
under a leasehold or share tenancy agreement or arrangement with the owner thereof.
o Farm worker is a natural person who renders service for value as an employee or
laborer in an agricultural enterprise or farm regardless of whether his compensation is
paid on a daily, weekly, monthly or “pakyaw” basis.
o Regular farm worker is a natural person who is employed on a permanent basis by an
agricultural enterprise or farm.
 Compensation (Determination of
Just Compensation)
In determining just compensation, the cost of acquisition of
the land, the current value of like properties, its nature, actual
use and income, the sworn valuation by the owner, the tax
declarations, and the assessment made by government
assessors shall be considered.

The social and economic benefits contributed by the farmers

and the farmworkers and by the government to the property
as well as the non-payment of taxes or loans secured from
any government financing institution on the said land shall be
considered as additional factors to determine its valuation.
 Valuation and Mode of
Compensation
• The compensation shall be paid in one of the following modes, at the option
of the landowner.
• Cash payment, under the following terms and conitions:
– For Lands above 50 hectares – 25% cash, the balance to be paid in government
financial instruments.
– For Lands above 24 hectares – 30% cash, the balance to be paid in government
financial instruments.
• Shares of stock in government-owned or controlled corporations, LBP
preferred shares, physical assets or other qualified investments in
accordance with guidelines set by the PARC;
• Tax credits which can be used against any tax liability;
• Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) bonds.
Land Redistribution
 Qualified Beneficiaries
• The lands covered by the CARP shall be distributed as much
as possible to landless residents of the same barangay, or in
the absence thereof, landless residents of the same
municipality on the following order of priority:
• Agricultural lessees and share tenants;
• Regular farmworkers;
• Seasonal farmworkers;
• Other farmworkers;
• Actual tillers or occupants of public land;
• Collectives or cooperatives of the above beneficiaries; and
• Others directly working on the land.
 Distribution of Limits

• No qualified beneficiaries may own more than 3

hectares of agricultural land.
 Funding the Agrarian Reform Law
o To ensure availability of funds and resources to implement and support CARP, Sec. 63 of the law
provides the following funding and resources:
o The initial amount needed to implement this act for the period of 10 years upon approval
hereof shall be funded from the agrarian reform fund created under Sections 20 and 21 of
Executive Order No. 229. Additional amounts are hereby authorized to be appropriated when
needed to augment the Agrarian Reform Fund in order to fully implement the provisions of this
act.
o Source of funding or appropriations shall include the following:
o Proceed of the sales of the assets Privatization Trust;
o All receipts from assets recovered and from sales of ill-gotten wealth recovered through the
Presidential Commission on Good Government;
o Proceeds of the disposition of the properties of the government in foreign countries;
o Portions of amount accruing to the Philippines from all sources of official foreign aid grants
and concessional enterprises, operated by multinational corporations and associations.
o Other government funds not otherwise appropriated; and
 
o All funds appropriated to implement the provisions of this act shall be considered continuing
appropriations during the period of its implementation.
End of Presentation..

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