Agrarian

Reform
 Agrarian reform
• Agrarian reform is a redistribution of lands, regardless of
crops or fruits produced, to farmers and regular farm workers
who are landless, irrespective of tenurial arrangement to
include the totality of factors and support services designed to
lift the economic status of the beneficiaries.
• The basic Element of agrarian reform program include land
reform where measures are taken with respect to the security
of tenure, abolition of tenancy, imposition of ceilings and
many more.
• Land Reform is an integrated set of measures designed to
eliminate obstacles to economic and social development
arising out of defects in agrarian structure.
 Aspects of Agrarian Reform
1. Economic Aspect
• The position of agriculture in national economy- although there’s a
series of industrial programs from the government, still our economy
relies heavily on the agricultural sector. It forms the predominant
industry in the Philippines . Large proportion of the total working
population is employed in agriculture and a large percentage
contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) comes from
agriculture. So it is safe to say that agriculture is the most important
component of economic structure.
• One method of motivating the farmers to increase their producion is to
make them own the land they till to free them from the control of the
landlords. Agrarian reform was to strengthen to create an economic
environment that will encourage farmers to produce more and market
more of what they produce.
 Additional Information
Importance of Land Reform
•Land reform will diffuse tension existing between tenant-farmer and
landlords.
•​Land reform will give the farmers a dignified existence in our society.
•Land reform will bring social justice.
•Land reform will increase the efficiency and productivity of the
farmers.​
•Land reform will help solve unemployment.
•​Land reform will increase food productivity.
•​Land reform will enhance the living conditions of the poor farmers.
2. Socio Cultural Aspect
a. A change from self subsistent mindset to one of surplus for selling. The
farmers started putting all their efforts in the farm because they own the
land. a.
b. Social order in the farmlands started to improve significantly. The
farmers became more concern of the need to maintain peace and stability
within the community so that they could continuously enjoy the increased
benefits in the farm.
c. Farmers became more active in practicing leadership roles. Before,
such roles were the monopoly of the landlords. After land reform, farmers
began forming associations and stood. in equal footing, with their
erstwhile landlords in social gatherings and club meetings. They too
began to take active participation in local and national elections.
d. As land reform enhanced agricultural productivity and
consequently increased net family incomes, the farmers were
able to send their children to school. They widened their contacts
with the outside world through frequent trips to markets and
other places.
e. Agrarian reform also promoted modern outlook among farmers
which include receptiveness and modern family planning
programs and also awareness of the economic alternatives in the
urban industrial sectors.
3.Religious Aspect
•Based on the biblical teachings God is the owner of the earth
and that he made it all for his children. Food was not made for a
few all possess god-given right to use and enjoy the fruits of
earth for the advancement of their lives.
•Majority of the Filipino masses are longing for the possession of
land. Immersed in the chains of poverty they yearned for the
ownership of land. These desires were so strong that it was
resulted into multiple revolts. Sad to say, however the Filipinos
rarely found any help and support from the church. On the
contrary some revolts were directly pointed to the lands owned
by the church. That's why church became the enemy of land
reform.
The objectives of agrarian reform
•The main objective was to put an end to conflicts pertaining to land
ownership. Aim to bring about harmony between the rural people and the
urban residents are also called for.
•To bringing stability in the political set up of the country is also regarded
as one of the objectives of agrarian reform. The political set up of the
country plays an important role. If there is political unrest, leaders would
usually concentrate on resolving the crisis, instead of dealing with land
conflicts.
•The socio agrarian reform includes bringing about equality in terms of
opportunities, income as well as wealth.
•Agrarian reform programs are primarily designed to facilitate agrarian
reform activities like land acquisition, land distribution, land management
and encouraging the growth of feasible agrarian reform communities.
Additional information
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)
•The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) or Republic
Act 6657 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.
•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.
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.
Coverage of CARP
• Government owned lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture;
•Alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to
or suitable for agriculture;
•Public domain lands in excess of the specific limits as
determined by Congress; and
•Private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of
the agricultural products raised or thatcan be raised thereon
 Additional information
• Comprehensive agrarian reform program -The CARP
symbolized an essential component in the context of the
democratization process in the Philippines by targeting
agricultural land redistribution and provision of support
services for agricultural development (seeds, start-up capitals,
credits and farming implements). It is further considered as a
social justice measure that should guarantee the right to
adequate food for the rural population in the Philippines.
History of Agrarian Reform
The Philippines, even before being colonized by different
countries, already have, developed an organization for their
communities. The land owned by these communities is known as
barangay which consists of 30-100 families which is administered by
different chiefs. In these barangays, everyone regardless of status had
access on the land and mutually shares resources to the rest of the
community. They believed in and practiced the concept of "stewardship"
where relationship between man and nature is important. Land
cultivation was done commonly by kaingin system or the slash and burn
method wherein land was cleared by burning the bushes before planting
the crops or either land was plowed and harrowed before planting.
 On the other hand, food production was intended for family
consumption only at first but later on neighboring communities where
engaged in a barter trade, exchanging their goods with others. Some even
traded their agricultural products with luxury items of some foreign traders
like the Chinese, Arabs and Europeans. The only recorded transaction of land
sale during that time was the Maragtas Code. This is the selling of the Panay
Island to the tern Bornean datus in exchange for a golden salakot and a long
gold necklace. Although the Code of Luwaranwas one of the oldest written
laws of the Muslim society which contains provision on the lease of cultivated
lands, there was no record how the lease arrangement was practiced
When the Spanish came to the country in' 1521, they introduced
"pueblo" an agriculture system wherein the native rural communities were
organized into pueblo and eac Christianized native family is given four to five
hectares of land to tivate, thus there is no landless.class. Nonetheless, these
native families are merely landholders and not legitimate landowners.
 By law, the land assigned to them was the property of the
Spanish King where they pay their colonial tributes to the Spanish
authorities in the form of agricultural products that they produce
Realizing that being landless was the main cause of social unrest
and revolt at that time, the Americans sought to put an end to the
miserable conditions of the tenant tillers and small farmers by passing
several land policies to widen the base of small landholdings and
distribute land ownership among the greater number of Filipino tenants
and farmers.
During the Japanese occupation, peasants and workers organized
the HUKBALAHAP (Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon) on March
29, 1942 as an anti-Japanese group. They took over vast tracts of land
and gave the land to the people.
 Some of the Agrarian Reform laws were passed during the
acministration of Manuel L. Quezon: RA 4054 or the Rice Tenancy
Law was the first law on crop sharing which legalized the 50-50 share
between landlord and tenant with corresponding support to tenants
protecting them against abuses of landlords. However this law was
hardly implemented because most of the municipal councils were
composed of powerful hacienderos and big landlords. In fact, only one
municipality passed a resolution for it enforcement and majorities have
petitioned its application to the Governor General.
The Republic Act No. 34 was passed during the administration
of Manuel Roxas and it enacted to establish a 70- 30 sharing
arrangement between tenant and landlord. The 70% of the harvest will
go to the person who shouldered the expenses for planting, harvesting
and for the work animals. With this, it reduced the interest of
landowners' loans to tenants at not more than 6%.
 In Elpidio Quirino's administrations, the Executive Order No.
355, the Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) was
established to accelerate and expand the peasant resettlement program
of the government. However, due to limited post-war resources, the
program was not successful.
When President Magsaysay was elected as the president of the
country he realized the importance of pursuing a more honest-to-
goodness land reform program. So he convinced the elite controlled
congress to pass several legislation to improve the land reform situation
in the county. It was during Diosdado Macapagal that the Agricultural
Land Reform Code or RA No. 3844 was enacted, more specifically on
August 8, 1963. This was considered to be the most comprehensive
piece of agrarian reform legislation ever enacted in the country that
time. Because of this, President Diosdado Macapagal was considered as
the "Father of Agrarian Reform’’.
 When President Marcos assumed office, he immediately directed
the massive implementation of the leasehold phase of the land reform
program by signing into law the Code of Agrarian Reforms in the
Philippines or RA No. 6389 and its companion bill RA No. 6390. The
Code of Agrarian Reforms or RA No. 6389 governed the
implementation of the agrarian reform in the Philippines.
The Ramos administration is recognized for bringing back
support of key stakeholders of CARP by bridging certain policy gaps
on land acquisition and distribution, land evaluation, and case
resolution. It is also credited for enhancing internal operating systems
and strengthening the capabilities of the DAR bureaucracy and for
tapping more resources to help implement the program.
 During this administration the Magkaballkat Para sa kaunlarang
Agraryo (MAGKASAKA) which was launched which is directed for
the investors to bring in capital, technology and management support
while the farmers will contribute, at most, the use of their land itself.
The GMA administration has adopted the BAYAN-ANIHAN
concept as the implementing framework for CARP. Bayan means
people and Anihan means harvest and Bayanihan means working
together. Applied to CARP, Bayan Anihan means a united people
working together for the successful implementation of agrarian reform.
Under the governance of President Noynoy Aquino, the DAR
which is the lead agency for CARP implementation is bent on
sustaining the gains of agrarian reform through its three major
components- Land Tenure Improvement (LTI), Program Beneficiaries
Development (PBD) and Agrarian Justice Delivery (AJD). The
following are the strategic directions of the Aquino Administration for
the agrarian reform program.
 Additional information
• History of Agrarian Reform Agrarian reform is a 100-year
history of unfinished reforms after the United States took over
the country from the Spaniards Before the Hispanic period,
there were no owner-cultivators. only communal land owned
by the barangay which consisted of a datu freemen, serfs and
slaves.
 Additional information
Agrarian Reform History. Before the Spaniards came to
the Philippines, Filipinos lived in villages or barangays ruled by chiefs
or datus. The datus comprised the nobility. ... When the Spaniards came
to the Philippines, the concept of encomienda (Royal Land Grants)
was introduced.
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law: The Long Road
to Agrarian Reform in the Philippines. Republic Act (RA) 6657 or
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law(CARL), was signed
into law by President Corazon C. Aquino on 10 June 1988 in response
to peasants' call for equitable access to land.
Agrarian Reform laws and acts in the Philippines
Land Reform Act of 1955 (R.A. 1400) -an act defining a land tenure
policy providing for an instrumentality to carry out the policy and
appropriating funds for it implementation. The main features of the
R.A. 1400 are the following
a. Reduction of large landholdings and consolidation of smaller,
uneconomic holdings into plots of adequate size
b. Resettlement of tenants in areas of abundant land.
c. Provision of adequate credit facilities for the small landholders.
d. Reduction of rental and interest rates in order to provide security for
those who would remain tenants.
e. Securing land titles for small holders.
f. Reform of the property tax structure.
 Additional information
• Land reform act 1955 focuses on consolidating and reducing
big lands to its reasonable size in distributing to landless
families. With the land reform act, it has enabled to resettle
thousands of families who had no land to call their own. This
gave those families/tenants an opportunity to start anew and be
entitled to the land with proper documentations. Rents and
interest rates are also reduced to give security to those who
decide to stay. Land reform act provides housing that is
affordable.
Revised Agricultural Land Reform Code (R.A. 6389) -an act
amending Republic Act 3844, as amended-etherwise known as the
Agricultural Code and for other purposes.
Upon pressure of peasant organization demonstrators who picketed for
84 days in front of the legislative building, congress passed further
amendments to the Code. The main features of the new amendments
were;
a. Abolition of personal cultivation and conversion to residential
subdivision as grounds for the ejectment of tenants.
b. Automatic conversion of all share-tenants in the Philippines to
leasehold tenants with some exceptions and qualifications
c. Creation of the Department of Agrarian Reform.
d. Right of the tenant on land converted to residential subdivisions to
demand a disturbance compensation equivalent to five times the
average gross harvest for the past three agricultural years.
e. Increased financing for the land reform program
f. Crediting of rentals in favor of the tenant against the just of
compensation that he would have to pay in case the land was
expropriated by the government for resale to the tenant
Lands covered by the Code
a.Tenanted areas- the areas worked by the tenant-farmer either under
the sharecropping or leasehold
b.Landed estates- private agricultural lands acquired by the Department
of Agrarian Reform through the Land Bank for redistribution to the
tenant tillers both under the code.
c.Old settlements projects developed by the Department of Agrarian
Reform from the public domain and are still under its administration
and management
d.Proposed settlements- the estimated areas of the public domain either
earmarked for settlement purposes or have potentials for such purposes.
 Additional information
• Agrarian Reform programs involve the realignment of land relationship to
meet the interest of the government and the dominant class in the society.
• It is drastic, planned public intervention aimed at bringing about a new
structure of access to land that is more adequate to the requirements of the
socio economic and political system.
Source: www.global.edu.ph

• To achieve what developmental economists refer to as more equality of

opportunity than may currently exist in societies.
• To manufacture equality of outcome in cases where incidental appear in
procedurally just system.
Source: www.dar.gov.ph
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (R.A. 6657) -an act instituting a
comprehensive agrarian reform program to promote social justice and
industrialization, providing the mechanism for its implementation and other
purposes.
The lands covered by CARL
a.All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or
suitable for agriculture. No reclassification of forest or mineral lands to
agricultural lands shall be undertaken after the approval of this act until
congress, taking into account ecological, developmental and equity
considerations shall have determined by law, the' specific limits of the
public domain.
b.All lands of the public domain in excess of the specific limits as
determined by Congress in the preceding paragraph
c.All other lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for
agriculture.
d.All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of the
agricultural products raised or that can be raised thereon.
 Additional information
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.
COVERAGE: Additional Info: SECTION 6. Retention 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 a viable family-size farm, such as
commodity produced, terrain, infrastructure, and soil fertility as determined
by the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) created hereunder, but
in no case shall retention by the landowner exceed five (5) hectares.
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 in the following order of priority
a.Agricultural lessees and share tenants
b.Regular farmworkers
c.Seasonal farmworkers
d.Other farmworkers
e.Actual tillers or occupants of public lands
f.Collectives or cooperatives of the above beneficiaries
g.Others directly working on the land
Lands outside the coverage of CARL
a. Lands actually, directly and exclusively used and found to be
necessary for parks, wildlife, forest reserves, reforestation, fish
sanctuaries and breeding grounds, watersheds and mangroves
b. National defense camps, school sites and campuses including
experimental farm stations operated by public or private schools for
educational purposes.
c. Seeds and seedlings research and pilot production centers, church
sites and convents.
d. Mosque sites and Islamic centers
e. Communal burial grounds and cemeteries, penal colonies and penal
farms actually worked by the inmates.
f. Government and private research and quarantine centers and all lands
18 percent slope and over, except those already developed.
 Additional information
Provided, however, that the children of landowners who are qualified under section 6 of
this act shall be given preference in the distribution of the land of their parents and
provided further, that actual tenant tillers in the land holdings shall not be ejected or
removed therefrom. Beneficiaries under Presidential Decree No. 27 who have culpably
sold, disposed of, or abandoned their land are disqualified to become beneficiaries under
this program. A basic qualification of a beneficiary shall be willingness, aptitude and
ability to cultivate and make the land as productive as possible. The DAR should adopt a
system of monitoring the record or performance of each beneficiary, so that any
beneficiary guilty of negligence or misuse of the land or any support extended to him shall
forfeit his right to continue as such beneficiary. The DAR shall submit periodic reports of
the performance of the beneficiaries to the PARC. If, due to the landowners retention
rights or to the number of tenants, lessees, or workers on the land , there is not enough
land to accommodate any or some of them, they may be granted ownership of their lands
available for distribution under this Act, at the option of the beneficiaries. Farmers already
in place and those not accommodated in the distribution of privately-owned lands will be
given preferential rights in the distribution of lands from the public domain.
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms
(CARPER Law) or in other words the R.A. 9700- an act strengthening the
comprehensive agrarian reform pro (CARP), extending the acquisition of all
agricultural lands, instituting necessary reforms, amending for the purpose
certain provisions of R.A. 6657, otherwise known as the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law of 1988, as amended.
Republic Act 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
Extension with Reforms or CARPER was signed into law on August 7, 2009
with the following features:
1.Strengthened and improved CARL. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Law or RA 6657 has not been superseded by RA 9700. It further strengthened
and improved it.
2.The CARPER has a 150 billion budget funded from the Agrarian Reform
Fund and other funding sources
3.Seven (7) new provisions and 26 reformed provisions;
4. Restored compulsory acquisition and has extended the land
acquisition and distribution component for five years starting July 1,
2009 up to June 30, 2014;
5. Strikes a balance between and among the landowners' interest,
farmers' interests and the DAR's interests as follows:
6. Creation of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agrarian
Reform (COCAR) to oversee, monitor and evaluate progress of CARP
implementation within the five (5) year time frame

The DAR, in coordination with the Presidential Agrarian

Reform Council (PARC) shall plan and program the final acquisition
and distribution of all remaining unacquired and undistributed
agricultural lands from the effectivity of this Act until June 30, 2014.
Lands shall be acquired and distributed as follows:
Phase One (1 July 2009-30 June 2012)
a.All private agri-lands w/ aggregate landholdings In excess of 50
hectares which has already been Issued notices of coverage (NOC) on
or before 10 December 2008
b.All idle and abandoned lands
c.All agri-lands which were voluntarily offered to sale but submitted
not later than June 30, 2009
d.All rice and corn lands under PD 27
Phase Two:
a.Lands above twenty-four (24) up to fifty (50) hectares which have
been issued notice of coverage (NOCs) on or before 10 December
2008, to be completed by 30 June 2012
b.All remaining private agricultural lands of LOs with aggregate area in
excess of 24 hectares, to be implemented and completed from 1 July
2012 to 30 June 2013
Phase Three:
a.Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings in excess of
ten (10) hectares up to 24 hectares 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013
b.Lands of landowners in excess of retention limit up to ten (10)
hectares: 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014
 Additional information
• In the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 988 (RA No. 6657),
agrarian reform is defined to mean "the redistribution of lands,
regardless of crops or fruits produced, to farmers and regular farm
workers who are landless, irrespective of tenurial arrangement, to
include the totality of factors and support services designed to lift
the economics status of the beneficiaries and all other arrangements
alternative to the physical redistribution of lands, such as production
or profit-sharing, land administration and the distribution of shares
of stock, which will allow beneficiaries to receive a just share of the
fruits of the lands they work”.