HISTORY

• Agrarian reform


  A complex and often controversial program which usually meets with opposition especially from those with vested interests
• The problems are known to be deeply rooted in history
• The Philippine government had legislated programs of agrarian reform
• The implementation of agrarian reforms proceeded at a very slow pace
• Reasons for slow implementation

  Lack of political will
• Agriculture


  The main source of livelihood of the Filipinos
• The agrarian system of Philippines was being controlled by the large landlords
• Needed reforms having seen the defects in land ownership
• The Philippine Commonwealth government followed this as policy makers recognized the importance of laws in protecting the rights of the farmers
• Philippine government has instituted various land reforms

  1930s
• Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (R.A 6657)


  1988
• Agrarian reform


  The rectification of the whole system of agriculture, centered on relationship between production and the distribution of land among farmers, also focused on political and economic class character of the relations of production and distribution in farming and related enterprises, includes measures to modernize the agricultural practices and improving the living conditions of entire agrarian population
• Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (R.A 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, 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
• Land ownership system (6th-19th century)


  1. Dispersed communities were organized into Pueblo agriculture

  2. King of Spain owned the land

  3. Filipinos paid tributes

  4. Law of the Indies awarded tracts of land to religious orders, Encomenderos, Repartamiento

  5. Hacienda system developed in 19th century and as new form of ownership

  6. In 1860s, landholders were required to register landholdings
• Lands claimed and registered in other people's names forced peasants out of the land
• Phil. Revolutionary government of Aguinaldo declared landed estates including friars as government property to redistribute them but did not happen
• Land ownership under Americans


  1. Section 15 Phil. Bill of 1902 allows acquisition of 16 hectares for an individual and 1,024 hectares for corporate landholders

  2. Phil. Commission Act No. 496 introduced Torrens system to address absence of titles and accurate land survey

  3. Public Land Act of 1903 established homestead program that allows tenant to enter into agri-business with 16 hectares farmland
• No limit to the size of landholdings people could own
• Accessibility of possession limited to who can afford to buy, register and acquire fixed property titles
• Not all friar lands acquired by Americans given to landless peasant farmers
• Some lands sold/leased to business interest
• No support mechanism if land was given
• More lands were placed under tenancy that led to peasant uprisings
• Peasant uprisings

  • Sakdal Uprising (May 2-3, 1935) – demanded tax abolition, equal ownership of land, immediate severance of ties with USA
• Pres. Quezon bought haciendas, created National Rice and Corn Corp.(NARIC) – assign public defenders for peasants' right to the land in Court of Industrial Relations
• Agrarian reform after WWII


  1. Pres. Roxas signed into law R.A. 34 established 70-30 sharing arrangements, regulating share tenancy contracts

  2. Land Settlement and Development Corporation (LASEDECO) under Pres. Quirino was transformed into National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) during Pres. Magsaysay to accelerate resettlement program

  3. Pres. Magsaysay's R.A. 1199 Agricultural Tenancy Act protects tenurial rights and enforced tenancy practices

  4. This law created Court of Agri'l Relations (1955) to improve tenancy security, fix land rentals, resolve land disputes filed by peasant organizations

  5. Agri'l Credit and Coop. Financing Admin. (ACCFA) to provide warehouse facilities and assist in marketing products, spearhead establishment of Agri'l and Industrial Bank to assist in applying for homestead

  6. NARRA convinced Huks rebels to resettle in areas to restart peaceful lives
• This failed due to lack of funds, inadequate support system, landed elite did not fully cooperate
• Pres. Macapagal agrarian reform


  R.A No. 3844 Agricultural Land Reform Code abolished share tenancy, prescribed a program to convert tenant-farmers to lessees and later owner cultivators, aimed to free tenants from tenancy, emphasized owner-cultivator and farmer independence, equity, productivity improvement and public land Distribution
• Pres. Marcos agrarian reform


  PD No. 27 Code of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines shall apply to tenant farmers of private agricultural lands devoted to rice/corn under sharecrop or lease-tenancy system, tenant farmer shall own family size farm of 5 hectares if not irrigated and 3 hectares if irrigated, landowner may retain not more than 7 hectares, value of land shall be equivalent to two and one-half times the average harvest of three normal crop years immediately preceding the promulgation of the Decree, total cost of the land including 6% interest per annum shall be paid in 15 years of 15 equal annual amortization, in case of default, amortization be paid by the farmer's cooperative, no title of lands be issued unless tenant farmer is a full-fledge member of cooperative, land acquired thru this decree is non-transferable except by hereditary succession, landlords change crops to be exempted from the program (focused on rice lands)
• President Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992)


  1987 Constitution-President Corazon C. Aquino provides under Section 21 under Article II that "The State shall promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform", Republic Act No. 6657, June 10, 1988 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law), Executive Order No. 228, July 16, 1987 – Declared full ownership to qualified farmer-beneficiaries covered by PD 27, Proclamation No. 131, July 22, 1987 – Instituted the CARP as a major program of the government, Executive Order No. 405, June 14, 1990 – Vested in the Land Bank of the Philippines the responsibility to determine land valuation and compensation for all lands covered by CARP
• President Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998)


  His administration committed to the vision "Fairer, faster and more meaningful implementation of the Agrarian Reform Program", Republic Act No. 7881, 1995 – Amended certain provisions of RA 6657 and exempted fishponds and prawns from the coverage of CARP, Republic Act 8532, 1998 (Agrarian Reform Fund Bill) – Provided an additional Php50 billion for CARP and extended its implementation for another 10 years
• President Joseph E. Estrada (1998-2000)


  Launched the Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA, the DAR forged into joint ventures with private investors into agrarian sector to make FBs competitive
• President Gloria Arroyo (2000-2010)


  To make the countryside economically viable for the Filipino family by building partnership and promoting social equity and new economic opportunities towards lasting peace and sustainable rural development, credit assistance, extension services, irrigation facilities, roads and bridges, marketing facilities and training and technical support programs, Republic Act 9700 (August 7, 2009) The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms extending the deadline of distributing agricultural lands to farmers for five years
• President Benigno Aquino III (2010-2016)


  Vowed during his 2012 State of the Nation Address that he would complete before the end of his term the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), distributed their family-owned Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS) project was created to contribute to the overall goal of rural poverty reduction especially in agrarian reform areas, Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP) provided credit support for crop production to newly organized and existing agrarian reform beneficiaries' organizations (ARBOs) and farmers' organizations, legal case monitoring system (LCMS), a web-based legal system for recording and monitoring various kinds of agrarian cases
• President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016 – 2022)


  Wants to pursue an "aggressive" land reform program that would help alleviate the life of poor Filipino farmers by prioritizing the provision of support services alongside land distribution, directed the DAR to launch the 2nd phase of agrarian reform where landless farmers would be awarded with undistributed lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), placed 400 hectares of agricultural lands in Boracay under CARP, created an anti-corruption task force to investigate and handle reports on alleged anomalous activities by officials and employees of the department, pursues an "Oplan Zero Backlog" in the resolution of cases in relation to agrarian justice delivery of the agrarian reform program to fasttrack the implementation of CARP
• CARP or Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program


  The redistribution of public and private agricultural lands to farmers and farm workers who are landless regardless of tennurial arrangements, the law aims to promote social justice and industrialization, the law is driven by the overall principles of promoting social justice, equitable distribution and ownership of land, and greater productivity of agricultural lands, the 1998 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) broadened the scope of rural land reform by including private agricultural lands irrespective of crops and tenure arrangements, it also provides for support services to agrarian reform beneficiaries like infrastructure, capability-building and credit/marketing assistance
• The 2014 deadline also was not achieved but President Benigno Aquino III promised to complete the distribution by the end of his term in 2016. By the end of 2015 about 88 percent of lands (6.9 million hectares of the 7.8 million hectares) under the Program had been distributed.
• Proc no. 131- special fund known as ARF with initial amount of 50 billion