CHAPTER 15

AGRARIAN REFORM
 KEY TERMS

-Agrarian Reform -Operation Land Transfer

-Capitalized Net Income - Land Reform

-Comparable Sale - Land Value
-Comprehensive Agrarian - Regular Farm Worker
-Reform Program - Seasonal Farm Worker
-Compulsory Acquisition - Social Justice
-Fair Market Value - Voluntary Land Transfer
-Just Compensation - Voluntary Offer to Sell
 Land- is one of the factors of production.

 Land reform law was first implemented by former

President Diosdado Macapagal in 1963 through R.A. No.
6389 and R.A. No.639.

 During the time of former President Corazon C. Aquino,

she signed R.A. No. 6657 otherwise known as the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL).
Agrarian Reform in The Philippines

 The 1987 Philippines Constitution, Article II, Sec. 21

says that “The State shall promote
comprehensive rural development and agrarian
reform”.
 The present agrarian reform law implemented
nationwide is the Republic Act No. 6657 otherwise
known as The comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Law , signed into law by the former President
Corazon C. Aquino and implemented the
government program known as Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program.
Precolonial Times
 Before the Spaniards came to the
Philippines, land was practically owned by
the community known as barangay ruled
by a chief or datu. Land cultivation was
done commonly by slash-and-burn
(kaingin) method.
 Spanish Era
 When the Spanish came to the Philippines , the
colonial government introduced a pueblo
agriculture.

 A pueblo agriculture is a system wherein native

rural communities is given certain hectares of
land to cultivate.
 During this period, the Spanish crown
awarded vast tracts of land , to wit:
1. Friar land for religious order;
2. repartimientos for lands granted to the
Spanish military as a reward for their service;
3. encomienda where a large tract of land was
given to Spanish (encomienderos) to manage
and have the right to receive tribute from the
natives tiling it.
American Era
 During the American period, significant legislation were
enacted which include:

1.Philippine Bill of 1902.

-This law provides regulation on the
disposal of public lands wherein a private
individual can own 16 hectares of land while the
corporate land holdings can avail of 1,024
hectares.
 Compras y vandalas:
A system was practiced wherein tillers
were made to compulsory sell at very low price
or surrender their agricultural harvest to
Spanish authorities and the encomienderos can
resell it for profit.
2. Land Registration Act of 1902 or Act No. 496.
-This provided for a comprehensive
registration of land titles under the torrens
system.

3. Public Land Act of 1933.

-This introduced the homestead system in
the Philippines, thus, allowing an enterprising
tenant to acquire a farm of at least 16 hectares
to cultivate.
 Aside from the Torrens system , the Americans also
introduced the ff. laws:

1.Rice Share Tenancy Act of 1993 or Act no.

4054
-This regulated relationship between
landowners and tenant of rice, and the first law
to legalize a 50-50 crop sharing arrangement.
 Commonwealth Period
-Significant legislation enacted during the commonwealth period
includes:

1.The 1935 Constitution

-To provide specific provisions on the promotion
of social justice to ensure the well-being and economic
security of all people should be the concern on the State.

2.Commonwealth Act no.178

( Amendment to Rice Tenancy Act no. 4045),Nov.
13,1936. It provided for certain controls in the landlord-
tenant relationships.
 2. Sugarcane Tenancy Contract Act of 1933
or Act no. 4113-
This regulated
relationship between landowners and tenants
of sugarcane fields, required tenancy
contracts on land planted with sugarcane.

3. Friar Land Act or Act no.1120

-This provided the administrative and
temporary and selling of friar land to its tillers.
3.Commonwealth Act no.461 of 1937
It specified the dismissal of tenant
should first have the approval of the Tenancy
Division of Department of Justice.
President Manuel L. Aquino espoused the ”social justice”
program to arrest the increasing social unrest in Central
Luzon. His social justice program focused on the ff.

1.Purchase of large haciendas to be divided and

sold to tenants;
2.Establishment of National Rice and Corn
Corporation that sets for price of rice and corn.
3.Assigning of public defenders to assist
peasants in court battles for their right to till the
land;
4.Setting up the Court of Industrial Relations
(CIR) to exercise jurisdiction over disagreements
arising from agri-workers and landowner
relationship;
5. Amendment to the Rice Tenancy Act (Act No.
4054) which had a built-in section (Sec.29)
hindering its full implementation;
6.National Land Settlement Administration
(NLSA), created through Commonwealth Act.
No. 441, to continue the Homestead Program;
and
 Japanese Era
 During the Japanese occupation, pEasants and
workers organized the Hukbong Bayan Laban sa
mga Hapon (HUKBALAHAP) on which they took
over vast tracts of land and gave the land and
harvest to the people. For them, the war was a
golden opportunity for people’s iniative to push
pro-poor programs. Landlords were overpowered
by the peasants but unfortunately at the end of
the war, through the help of the military police
and civilian guards, landlords were able to retrieve
their lands from the HUKBALAHAP.
THANK YOU
The Philippine Republic

Series of revolts joined mostly by the peasant

workers led to the Philippine Independence in
1946, however, the problem of land tenured still
remained.
President Manuel A. Roxas

 Significant legislations enacted are the ff.

1.Republic Act. No. 34- It established the 70-30

sharing arrangement and regulated share-
tenancy contracts. The 70% of the harvest will
go to the person who shouldered the expenses
for planting, harvesting, and for the work
animals.
2. Republic Act No. 55- It provided for a more
effective safeguard against arbitrary ejectment o
tenants.
President Elpidio R. Quirino
 He enacted Executive Order No.335 on
October 23, 1950. It preplaced the National
Land Settlement Administration with Land
Settlement Development Corporation
(LASEDECO) which took over the
responsibilities of the Agricultural Machinery
Equipment Corporation and the Rice and Corn
production Administration. The LASEDECO was
establish to accelerate and expand the peasant
resettlement program of the government.
President Ramon Magsaysay
 He enacted the ff. laws:

1.Republic act no.1160 (1954)- Free

distribution, resettlement, and rehabilitation of
agricultural lands, an act abolishing the
LASADECO and establishing the National
settlement and Rehabilitation Administration
(NARRA) to resettle dissidents and landless
farmers.
2.Republic Act No. 1199 (Agricultural Tenancy
Act o 1954). It governed the relationship
between landowners and tenant farmers by
organizing share tenancy and leasehold system.
The law helped protect the tenurial rights of
tenant tillers and enforced fair tenancy
practices.
3.Republic Act No. 1400 (Land Reform Act o
1955 or known as land to the landless
Program). It created the land Tenure
Administration (LTA) which was responsible for
the acquisition and distribution of large
tenanted rice and corn lands over 200 hectares
for individuals and 600 hectares for
corporations.
4.Republic Act no.821 (Creation of agriculture
credit cooperative financing administration).
Provided mall farmers and share tenants loans
with low interest rates o six to eight percent.

5.Republic Act. No. 1266 (1955)- it

expropriated hacienda Del Rosario, situated at
Valdefuente, Cabanatuan city.
President Carlos A. Garcia
 President Garcia continued to implement the
land reform program of president Magsaysay.
President Diosdado P.
Macapagal
 He enacted Republic Act No. 3844 on august
8, 1963 (agricultural land reform code). This
was considered to be the most
comprehensive piece of agrarian reform
legislation ever enacted in the country.
President Ferdinand E.
Marcos
 He enacted the ff. laws:

1.President Decree No. 2, Septembe26, 1972-

It declared the country under land reform
program. It enjoined all agencies and offices of
the government to extend full cooperation and
assistance to the Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR). It also activated the Agrarian
Reform Coordinating Council.
2. Presidential decree No. 27, October 21,
1972- It restricted land reform scope to
tenanted rice and corn lands and set the
retention limit at 7 hectares.
President Corazon C. Aquino
Legislation and issuances passed are the ff.:

1.Executive Order No. 228, July 16, 1987- this

declared full ownership to qualified farmer
beneficiaries covered by PD 27.

2.Executive Order No. 229, July 2, 1987- It

provided mechanism for the implementation of
CARP.
3.Executive Order No. 129-A, July 26, 1987- It
reorganized the DAR, and streamedlined and
expanded the power and operations of the said
department.

4.Proclamation 131- It instituted CARP as a

major program of the government. It provided
for a special fund known as the AGRARIAN
REFORM FUND (ARF) in the amount of 50
billion pesos to cover estimated cost of the
program for the period 1987-1997.
5. Republic Act No. 6657, June 10, 1988
9Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law)- this is
an instituting a comprehensive agrarian reform
program to promote social justice and
industrialization providing the mechanism for its
implementation and for other purposes.
 6. Executive Order No. 405, June 14, 1990-
it vested in the land Bank o the Philippines
the responsibility to determine land valuation
and compensation for all land covered by
CARP in order for DAR to concentrate its
effort on the identification of landholdings
and beneficiaries, the distribution of acquired
lands and the other subcomponents of the
program.
7. Executive Order No. 407, June 14, 1990- It
accelerated the acquisition and distribution of
agricultural lands, pasture lands, fishponds,
agroforestry lands, and other lands of public
domain suitable for agriculture.
 President Fidel V. Ramos
 Key accomplishment of President Ramos
include:

1.Republic Act No. 7881, 1995- It amended

certain of R.A. 6657 and exempted fishponds and
prawns from the coverage of CARP.

2.Republic Act No. 7905, 1995- it strengthened

the implementation of the CARP.
3. Executive Order No. 363, 1997- It limited
the type of lands that may be converted by
setting conditions under which specific
categories of agricultural land are either
absolutely non-negotiable for conversion or
highly restricted for conversion.

4.Republic Act No. 8435, 1997 (Agriculture

and Modernization Act or AFMA)- It plugged
the legal loopholes in land use conversion.
5. Republic Act No. 8532, 1998 (Agrarian
Reform und Bill)- it provided an additional
PhP.50 billion for CARP and extended its
implementation for another 10 years.
President Joseph E. Estrada
 He initiated the enactment of Executive
Order No. 151 in September 1999 (Farmer’s
Trust Fund) which allowed the voluntary
consolidation of small farm operation into
medium and large scale integrated enterprise
that can access long-term capital.

 He also launched the Magkabalikat sa

Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA.
President Gloria M. Arroyo
 She adopted the Bayan-Anihan concept which
implies the unity of people working together for
the successful implementation of agrarian reform.
Under Arroyo’s administration, the strategy of DAR
in CARP implementation is manifested on the
Kapit-Bisig sa Kahirapan Agrarian Reform Zones
(KARZONEs) which is a partnership and
covergence strategy aimed at achieving asset
reform , poverty reduction, food sufficiency, farm
productivity, good governance, social equity, and
empowerment of agrarian reform beneficiaries
(ARBs).