Agrarian Reform

• Landownership equals land and power
• Whoever owns a wide land usually has greater power, control, authority
• Landownership is part of the issues regarding the agriculture of the Philippines
• Agrarian Reform

  The rectification of the whole system of agriculture
• Agrarian reform is an important aspect of the Philippine economy because nearly half of the population is employed in the agrarian sector
• Agrarian reform


  Centered on the relationship between production and the distribution of land among farmers
• Genuine and comprehensive agrarian reform would enable the Philippines to gain more from its agricultural potential
• Filipinos were not given the right to own land under the Spanish rule
• Law of the Indies land awards

  • Religious orders
  • Repartimientos for Spanish military
  • Spanish encomenderos
• Filipinos worked the land to have a share of the crops and pay tribute
• The encomienda system was an unfair and abusive system
• "Compras y vandalas" became the norm for Filipino farmers working the land
• Filipino farmers were made to sell products at a very low price or surrender their products to the encomenderos
• The hacienda system developed from the encomienda system in the beginning of the 19th century
• The economy was tied to the world market as the Philippines became an exporter of raw materials and importer of goods
• Agricultural exports were demanded and the hacienda system was developed as a new form of ownership
• Spain enacted a law ordering landowners to register their landholdings


  1860's
• Lands were claimed and registered in other people's names
• Many peasant families were driven out or forced to come under the power of those who claimed rights to the land
• The Philippine Bill of 1902 provided regulations on the disposal of public lands
• Landownership did not improve during the American period
• There was no limit to the size of landholdings people could possess during the American period
• The land reform program was implemented without support mechanisms during the American period
• The system introduced by the Americans enabled more lands to be placed under tenancy
• Widespread peasant uprising occurred due to the tenancy system introduced by the Americans
• During the Commonwealth government, the situation worsened with increased peasant uprisings
• President Quezon's social justice program


  Focused on the purchase of haciendas to be divided and sold to tenants
• Rehabilitation and rebuilding after the war focused on proving solutions to the problems of the past
• The administration of President Roxas established a 70-30 sharing arrangement between tenant and landlord
• Under President Elpidio Quirino, the Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) was established
• LASEDECO was established to accelerate and expand the resettlement program for peasants
• LASEDECO later became the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA)
• NARRA accelerated the government's resettlement program and distribution of agricultural lands to landless tenants and farmers
• President Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972
• Marcos wiped out the landlord dominated Congress
• Marcos expanded executive power to start a "fundamental restructuring" of government
• Presidential Decree No. 27


  The Code of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines became the core of agrarian reform during Marcos regime
• The overthrow of Marcos and the 1987 Constitution resulted in renewed interest in agrarian reform
• President Corazon Aquino envisioned agrarian reform to be the centerpiece of her administration's social legislation
• Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229 on July 22, 1987