Slide 1

AGRARIAN REFORM
• Agrarian Reform programs involve the
realignment of land relationships to meet the
interest of the government and the dominant
class in the society.
• It is the 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.


Slide 2

Agrarian Reform vs. Land Reform
• Agrarian reform invariably involves the
restructuring of land relationships, hence, it is
also referred to as land reform.
• On the contrary, Ben Cousins (2007) believes
that Land Reform is concerned with rights in land,
and their character, strength and distribution,
while..
• Agrarian reform focuses not only on these but on
broader sets of issues, it is concerned more with
economic and political power and the relations
between them


Slide 3

ECONOMIC BASIS
FOR AGRARIAN REFORM
• EQUITY ASPECT
agrarian reform is needed to achieve a
more equal distribution of income.
• EFFICIENCY
– There is inverse relationship between farm
size and yield,
– Productivity is higher on small farms than
on larger farms


Slide 4

HISTORY OF AGRARIAN
REFORM
• ENCOMIENDA SYSTEM (similar to the Feudal
System of medieval Europe)
– Conquistadores and friars acted as caretaker of
the Royal crown over the subjugated local
inhabitants
– These trustees were granted encomiendas or
estates and had the obligation to look into the
welfare of the inhabitants


Slide 5

– in return they can collect tributes from the indios,
– numerous abuses by the conquistadores and friars
led to uprisings and it became the rallying point of
Philippine revolution of 1898.

• Philippine Bill of 1902
– US Congress set a limit of 16 hectares of Philippine
public land to be sold or leased to individuals and
1,024 hectare to corporations.


Slide 6

• Kasama (sharecropper) system of 1924
– Cultivators were deep in debt for they were
dependent on advances made by the landowner
or inquilino and had to pay high interest rate.
Principsal and interest accumulated rapidly
– It was estimated that an average tenant family
needed 163 years to pay off debts and acquire the
title of the land


Slide 7

– It created a class of peons or surfs, children
inherited the debts of their fathers and over the
generations
– No contracts, unwritten agreements only and
landowners would change conditions to their own
advantage
– Successive governments were compelled to adopt
progressive measures to deal with the mounting
unrest in the rural areas.


Slide 8

Philippine Agrarian Law
and Pertinent Provisions
Agrarian law
• Philippine Bill of 1902

• Land Registration Act of
1902
• Public Land Act of 1903

Pertinent provisions
• Sets the ceiling on the
hectarage that individuals
and corporations may
acquire .
• Provided for a
comprehensive registration
of land titles
• Introduced the homestead
system in the Philippines


Slide 9

• Commonwealth Act No.
4054 (Rice Share Tenancy
Act of 1933)
• Commonwealth Act No.
4113 of 1934
• Commonwealth Act No.
178 ( An Amendment to the
Rice Tenancy Act)

• Regulated relationships
between landowners and
tenants of rice (50-50
sharing)
• Regulated relationships
between landowners and
tenants of sugarcane lands
• Provided for certain controls
in the landlord tenant
relationship


Slide 10

• Commonwealth Act No. 461
of 1937

• Republic Act No. 34 of 1946
• Republic Act No. 55 of 1946

• Specified the reasons for
the dismissal of tenants and
only with the approval of
the Tenancy Division of the
Department of Justice.
• Established the 70-30
sharing arrangement
• Provided for a more
effective safeguard against
arbitrary ejectment of
tenants


Slide 11

• Republic Act No. 821 of
1952

• RA No. 1199 Agricultural
Tenancy Act of 1954

• Created the Agricultural
Credit Cooperative
Financing Administration ,
provided farmers 6-8%
interest rate on loans.
• Governed the relationship
between landowners and
tenants by organizing the
share tenancy and
leasehold systems


Slide 12

• RA No. 1400 Land reform
Act of 1955

• RA No. 3844 Agricultural
Land Reform Code of 1963

• Created the land Tenure
Administration , it
distributed 200 ha. for
individuals and 600 ha for
corporations .
• Abolished the share
tenancy, institutionalized
leasehold set retention limit
at 75 ha


Slide 13

• RA No. 6389 Code of
Agrarian Reform of 1971

• RA No. 6390 of 1971

• Amended RA No. 3844,
compensated the agri
lessees equal to 5 times the
average gross annual
harvest in 5 years.
• Created the Department of
Agrarian Reform and the
Agrarian Reform Special
Account Fund


Slide 14

• Presidential Decree No. 2 of
1972
• PD No. 27 of 1972

• RA No. 6657
Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law of 1988

• Declared the country under
the land reform program
• Restricted the land reform
scope to tenanted rice and
corn lands and set the
retention limit at 7 ha.
• Instituted a comprehensive
agrarian reform program,
the current legal framework
of CARP


Slide 15

• RA No. 7881 of 1995
• RA No. 8435 Agricultural
and Fisheries Modernization
Act of 1997
• RA No. 8532 Agrarian
Reform Fund Bill

• Exempted fishponds and
prawns from CARP
• Plugged the legal loopholes
in land use conversion

• Provided for additional 50
billion pesos for CARP and
extended its
implementation for another
10 years