Agrarian reform, redistribution of the agricultural resources of a country.

Traditionally, agrarian, or land, reform is

confined to the redistribution of land; in a broader sense it includes related changes in agricultural institutions, including
credit, taxation, rents, and cooperatives.
Pre-Spanish Period
Before the Spaniards came to the Philippines, Filipinos lived in villages or barangays ruled by chiefs or datus. The datus
comprised the nobility. Then came the maharlikas (freemen), followed by the aliping mamamahay (serfs) and aliping
saguiguilid (slaves).
However, despite the existence of different classes in the social structure, practically everyone had access to the fruits of
the soil. Money was unknown, and rice served as the medium of exchange.
Land was not unequally distributed before the Spaniards came to the Philippines. - The notion of private property was
unknown then. - The community (barangay) owned the land.
Spanish Period
Spanish crown awarded tracts of lands to the: religious orders, repartamientos for Spanish military as reward for their
service; and the Spanish encomenderos.
When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, the concept of encomienda (Royal Land Grants) was introduced. This
system grants that Encomienderos must defend his encomienda from external attack, maintain peace and order within,
and support the missionaries. In turn, the encomiendero acquired the right to collect tribute from the indios (native).
-“compras y vandalas”- as practiced wherein tillers were made to compulsory sell at a very low price or surrender their
agricultural harvests to Spanish authorities where encomienderos can resell it for a profit.
-Hacienda System- Haciendas arose with the seizure of the lands of the native population by Spanish colonizers. Spain
enacted a law ordering landholders to register their landholdings, and only those who knew benefitted.
The system, however, degenerated into abuse of power by the encomienderos The tribute soon became land rents to a few
powerful landlords. And the natives who once cultivated the lands in freedom were transformed into mere share tenants.
American Period
Significant legislation enacted during the American Period:
 Philippine Bill of 1902 – Set the ceilings on the hectarage of private individuals and corporations may acquire:
16 has. for private individuals and 1,024 has. for corporations.
 Land Registration Act of 1902 (Act No. 496) – Provided for a comprehensive registration of land titles under the
Torrens system.
 Public Land Act of 1903 – introduced the homestead system in the Philippines..
 Tenancy Act of 1933 (Act No. 4054 and 4113) – regulated relationships between landowners and tenants of rice
(50-50 sharing) and sugar cane lands.
The Torrens system, which the Americans instituted for the registration of lands, did not solve the problem completely.
Either they were not aware of the law or if they did, they could not pay the survey cost and other fees required in applying
for a Torrens title.
Commonwealth Period
President Manuel L. Quezon espoused the "Social Justice" program to arrest the increasing social unrest in Central Luzon.
Significant legislation enacted during Commonwealth Period:
 1935 Constitution – "The promotion of social justice to ensure the well-being and economic security of all
people should be the concern of the State"
 Commonwealth Act No. 178 (An Amendment to Rice Tenancy Act No. 4045), Nov. 13, 1936 – Provided for
certain controls in the landlord-tenant relationships
 National Rice and Corn Corporation (NARIC), 1936 – Established the price of rice and corn thereby help the
poor tenants as well as consumers.
 Commonwealth Act. No. 461, 1937 – Specified reasons for the dismissal of tenants and only with the approval of
the Tenancy Division of the Department of Justice.
 Rural Program Administration, created March 2, 1939 – Provided the purchase and lease of haciendas and
their sale and lease to the tenants.
Commonwealth Act No. 441 enacted on June 3, 1939 – Created the National Settlement Administration with a
capital stock of P20,000,000.

JAPANESE ERA

During this 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 and harvest to the
people.

Landlords were overpowered by the peasants but unfortunately at the end of the war, through the help of the
military police and civilian guards landlords were able to retrieve their lands from the HUKBALAHAP.
Government Initiatives on Agrarian Reform
 Manuel L. Quezon (1935-1944)
President Quezon laid down a social justice program focused on the purchased of large haciendas which were
divided and sold to tenants. This administration was responsible in establishing the National Rice and Corn
Corporation (NARICC) and assigning public defenders to assist peasants in court battles for their rights to till the
land.
 Budget allocation for the settlement program made it impossible for the program to succeed. Widespread peasant
uprising against abusive landlords continued.
 In addition, the outbreak of the World War II put a stopped to the landownership and tenancy interventions during
this period.
Manuel Roxas (1946-1948)
 Republic Act No. 34 was 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.
Elpidio Quirino (1948-1953)
 Through 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.
Ramon Magsaysay (1953-1957)
President Magsaysay realized the importance of pursuing a more honest-to-goodness land reform program. He
convinced the elite controlled congress to pass several legislation to improve the land reform situation.
• Out of the targeted 300 haciendas for distribution, only 41 were distributed after its 7 years of implementation.
This was due to lack of funds and inadequate support services provided for these programs. Landlords continued
to be uncooperative and critical to the program; and landownership and tenancy problems continued.
Carlos P. Garcia (1957-1961)
• There was no legislation passed in his term but he continued to implement the land reform programs of
President Magsaysay.
Diosdasdo Macapagal (1961-1965)
• President Diosdado Macapagal was considered the “Father of Agrarian Reform”
• It was during his term that the Agricultural Land Reform Code or RA No. 3844 was enacted on August 8,
1963. This was considered to be the most comprehensive piece of agrarian reform legislation ever enacted in the
country that time.
• This Act abolished share tenancy in the Philippines. It prescribed a program converting the tenant farmers to
lessees and eventually into owner-cultivators;
• It aimed to free tenants from the bondage of tenancy and gave hope to poor Filipino farmers to own the land
they are tilling.
• It emphasized owner-cultivatorship and farmer independence, equity, productivity improvement and the public
distribution of land.
Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965-1986)
 • Presidential Decree No. 27 became the heart of the Marcos reform. It provided for tenanted lands devoted to rice
and corn to pass ownership to the tenants, and lowered the ceilings for landholdings to 7 hectares. The law
stipulated that share tenants who worked from a landholding of over 7 hectares could purchase the land they
tilled, while share tenants on land less than 7 hectares would become leaseholders.
 This agrarian reform program was designed to uplift the farmers from poverty and ignorance and to make them
useful, dignified, responsible and progressive partners in nation-building. This AR program was a package of
services extended to farmers in the form of credit support, infrastructure, farm extension, legal assistance,
electrification and development of rural institutions.
What were the five major components of President Marcos’ Agrarian Reform Program?
o Land Tenure Program
o Institutional Development
o Physical Development
o Agricultural Development ; and
o Human Resources
Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992)
• It’s during this administration that the present adjudication system was introduced. This gave DAR, the original
and exclusive jurisdiction over agrarian disputes as quasi-judicial powers.
 Also, livelihood and agro-industrial projects promoted and program of support services were intensified to help
farmer beneficiaries become productive and transform them into entrepreneurs.
Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998)
• 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 valuation, and case resolution. • It is also credited for
enhancing internal operating systems and strengthening the capabilities of the DAR bureaucracy. This
administration is also credited for tapping more resources to help implement the program.
Joseph Ejercito Estrada (1998-2001)
• This administration saw the urgency of land distribution, and believed that it can be served if it is built on
farmers’ capacities to pursue their own development.
• One of the first things this administration did was to rework performance targets – by focusing on the number of
hectares of land distributed coupled with an accounting of farmer beneficiaries and the specific croplands and
farm systems covered.
 • This approach sought to integrate land distribution and support services. It was during this period that DAR
launched a series of land occupations by working with farmer claimants, the LGU and government security
forces.
President Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo (2001 – 2010)
• The GMA administration has adopted the BAYAN-ANIHAN concept as the implementing framework for
CARP..
This administration is also credited in heightening agrarian case resolution by introducing a quota system to
compel adjudicators to work faster on agrarian cases and train farmers into paralegals.
Benigno C. Aquino (2010–2016) • Under the governance of President 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).
. • Together with the efforts to fight graft and corruption by the President, it is imperative to have institutional
reforms within DAR as a complement to the abovementioned DAR components as well as give credence,
transparency and accountability at all sectors of the DAR bureaucracy.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016 – present)

 Under his leadership, the President 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.
 The President 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).
 Duterte plans to place almost all public lands, including military reserves, under agrarian reform.
 The President also placed 400 hectares of agricultural lands in Boracay under CARP.
 Under his administration the DAR created an anti-corruption task force to investigate and handle reports on
alleged anomalous activities by officials and employees of the department.
 The Department also pursues an “Oplan Zero Backlog” in the resolution of cases in relation to agrarian justice
delivery of the agrarian reform program to fast-track the implementation of CARP.