Agrarian

Reform in the
Philippines
Agrarian reform Defined
The transfer of control and ownership of agricultural
land to the actual tillers.

LAND REFORM vs. AGRARIAN REFORM

Land Reform

Improvement of the farmers relationship to the land

that they cultivate

Agrarian Reform

Concerned is the total development of farmers on

economic, social and political transformation
HISTORY OF AGRARIAN REFORM IN THE PHILIPPINES
By the Spanish
Land during the Spanish Era were owned and
controlled by the friars. The land distribution was done
in the form of rewards to the peasants because of
their loyalty and faithful to the Spanish officials.

By the Americans

Land that owned by the Friars were sold to those

families who can afford to buy big tracts of lands
which later on became haciendas.
Macapagal Administration

Agricultural Land Reform Code (RA 3844) was a major

advancement of land reform in the Philippines and was
enacted in 1963 under President Diosdado Macapagal. It
abolished tenancy and established a leasehold system in
which farmers paid fixed rentals to landlords, rather than a
percentage of harvest. It also established the Land Bank of
the Philippines to help with land reform, particularly the
purchase of agricultural estates for division and resale to
small landholders, and the purchase of land by the
agricultural lessee.
Marcos Administration

The Agricultural Land Reform Code becomes Code of

Agrarian Reform under RA.6389 in 1971

Aquino Administration

Implementation of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform

Program as stated in RA.6657
 COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM
PROGRAM
 It is 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 to totality of factors and
support services designed to lift the economic
status of the beneficiaries and all other
arrangements alternative to the physical
redistribution of lands, such as production or profit-
sharing, labor 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.
 RA 6657 – Comprehensive Agrarian law serves as
the basis of CARP
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law
Republic Act No.6657, called Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law was signed by Corazon Aquino
on June 10, 1988.
The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law is
responsible for the implementation of the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Scope of Agrarian Reform

All public and private agricultural lands as provided in
proclamation No.131 (Instituting a Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program) and executive order
No.229 (Implementation of CARP), including other
lands of the public domain suitable for agriculture.
Schedule of Implementation
The distribution of all lands covered by this Act shall be
implemented immediately and completed within ten (10)
years from the effectivity.
Salient or noticeable featured of CARP
 Coverage
 Retention limits
 Schedule or priorities
 Beneficiaries
 Exclusion – exemption and deferment
 Administrative and financial requirements of the
program
Retention limit
 Set a five hectares plus three hectares for each
qualified child of the landlord
 Qualified child – means that he/she must be at least
15 years old as of June 15, 1988 and directly
involved in tilling or “managing” the farm in
question
 The right to choose the area to be retained, which
shall be compact or contiguous, shall pertain, to the
landowner: Provided, however, that is case the
area selected for retention by the landowner is
tenanted, the tenant shall have the option to
choose whether to remain therein or be a
beneficiary in the same or another agricultural land
with similar or comparable features.
THE PROGRAM IS DEVIDED INTO THREE PHASES:
PHASE 1
Covers around 1.45 million hectares was to be
devoted to the completion of the Marcos land reform,
the reform of idle and abandoned lands, and lands
voluntarily offered for sale the owners, and the reform
of states foreclosed by government financial
institutions and those acquired by the Presidential
Commission on Good Government(PCGG).
PHASE 2
Covers about 7.4 million hectares was to be devoted
to reforming all public agricultural lands to be opened
for new development and resettlement, as well as
private land 50 hectares and above.

PHASE 3
 Divided into two –sub phases and has a combines
coverage of 1.35 million hectares
 Phase 3-A was supposed to cover private
agricultural lands of 24 to 50 hectares
 Phase 3-B is supposed to cover private farmlands of
areas above the retention limit up to 24 hectares
The program has different modes of land acquisition
and redistribution
 For public lands, which comprise more than half of
the target land reform, distribution is done through
either Free Patents for Alienable and Disposable (A
& D) lands, Certificates od Land Ownership Awards
(CLOAs)
 For resettlement sites, or stewardship contracts for
public lands covered by the integrated Social
Forestry program (ISFP)
FOR PRIVATE LANDS
 Compulsory acquisition (CA) is the main mode to be
used in expropriating land whose owners did not
voluntary offer them for land reform
 CARP was originally conceived to need around p221
billion which covers both the land acquisition cost and
the package of support infrastructure, both physical and
social
 CARP defers land redistribution of commercial farms,
defined as private lands over five hectares devoted to
livestock, poultry, aquaculture including salt beds.
Fishponds are prawn farms, fruit farms, orchards,
vegetable and cut-flower farms, and cacao, coffee and
rubber plantations. These will be subject to expropriation
only after 10 years from June 15, 1988
Exemptions and Exclusions

Lands actually, directly and exclusively used for parks,

wildlife, forest reserves, reforestation, fish sanctuaries
and breeding grounds, watersheds and mangroves
shall be exempt from coverage of this Act.

Distribution Limit

No qualifies beneficiary may own more than three (3)

hectares of agricultural land.
Transferability of Awarded Lands
Lands acquired by beneficiaries under this act may
not be sold, transferred or conveyed except through
hereditary succession, or to the government, or to the
LBP, or to other qualifies beneficiaries for a period of
ten (10) years: provided, however, that the children or
the spouse of the transfer shall have a right to
repurchase the land from the government or LBP
within a period of two (2) years. Due notice of the
availability of the land shall be given by LBP to the
Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC) of the
barangay where the land is situated. The provincial
Agrarian Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM), as
herein provided, shall, in turn, be given due notice
thereof by the BARC.
The Presidential Agrarian Reform Council
The Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) shall be composed:
 President of the Philippines as Chairman
 Secretary of Agrarian Reform as Vice-Chairman
 the following as members:
 Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture;
 Environment and Natural Resources;
 Budget and Management;
 Local Government;
 Public Works and Highways;
 Trade and industry;
 Finance;
 Labor and Employment;
 Director-General of the National Economic and Development
Authority;
 President, Land Bank of the Philippines;
 Administrator, National Irrigation Administration;
 three (3) representative of affected landowners to represent Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao: Provided, that one of them shall be from the
cultural communities.
COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM PROGRAM
TODAY
 Lands are still need to be distributed and at present,
the government is still implementing its program by
the implementation on CARPER
 According to CARPER or Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program with Extension Reform (RA 9700),
the welfare of the landless farmers and farmworkers
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 cultivator ship of economic-
size farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture.
TERMINOLOGIES
Farmers – it refers to a natural person whose primary
concern or 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 leasehold or shared tenancy
agreement or arrangement with the owner thereof.

Farm Worker – a natural person who renders service

for value as an employee or labor in agricultural land
enterprise or farm regardless of whether his
compensation is paid on a daily, weekly, monthly or
pakyaw basis.
Regular Farm worker – also a natural person who is
employed on a permanent basis by an agricultural
enterprise or farm.

Seasonal Farm worker – a natural person who is

employed on recurrent, periodic, or intermittent basis
by and agricultural enterprise.

Other Farm worker – is a farm worker who does not fall

under any farm workers mentioned above.