DAR VS.
SUTTON 473 SCRA 392
FACTS:
The case involves a land in Aroroy, Masbate, inherited by respondents which has been
devoted exclusively to cow and calf breeding. On October 26, 1987 On June 10, 1988, R.A. No.
6657, (CARL) of 1988 took effect. It included in its coverage farms used for raising livestock,
poultry and swine.
On December 4, 1990, in an en banc decision in the case of Luz Farms v. Secretary of
DAR, the Court ruled that lands devoted to livestock and poultry-raising are not included in the
definition of agricultural land and declared as unconstitutional certain provisions of the CARL
insofar as they included livestock farms in the coverage of agrarian reform. In view of this,
respondents filed with petitioner DAR a formal request to withdraw their VOS as their
landholding was devoted exclusively to cattle-raising and thus exempted from the coverage of
the CARL.
On December 27, 1993, DAR issued A.O. No. 9, series of 1993, which provided that only
portions of private agricultural lands used for the raising of livestock, poultry and swine as of
June 15, 1988 shall be excluded from the coverage of the CARL.
Respondents moved for reconsideration, contending that their entire landholding should
be exempted as it is devoted exclusively to cattle-raising. Said motion was denied. Respondents
filed a notice of appeal with the Office of the President assailing: (1) the reasonableness and
validity of DAR A.O. No. 9, s. 1993, which provided for a ratio between land and livestock in
determining the land area qualified for exclusion from the CARL, and (2) the constitutionality
of DAR A.O. No. 9, s. 1993, in view of the Luz Farms case which declared cattle-raising lands
excluded from the coverage of agrarian reform. The OP affirmed the impugned order. On appeal
to CA, the CA ruled in favor of respondents and declared A.O. No. 9, Series of 1993 as void.
Issue: Whether or not DAR Administrative Order No. 09, Series of 1993 is constitutional?
ISSUE:
Whether A.O. No. 9 is constitutional for including lands, devoted to livestock raising, in
the coverage of R.A. 6657? And Whether R.A. 6657 covers lands devoted to livestock and
poultry industry.
HELD:
The impugned A.O. is invalid as it contravenes the Constitution. The A.O. sought to
regulate livestock farms by including them in the coverage of agrarian reform and prescribing a
maximum retention limit for their ownership. However, the deliberations of the 1987
Constitutional Commission show a clear intent to exclude, inter alia, all lands exclusively
devoted to livestock, swine and poultry-raising. The Court clarified in the Luz Farms case that
livestock, swine and poultry-raising are industrial activities and do not fall within the definition
of "agriculture" or "agricultural activity." The raising of livestock, swine and poultry is different
from crop or tree farming. It is an industrial, not an agricultural, activity.
Petitioner DAR has no power to regulate livestock farms which have been exempted by
the Constitution from the coverage of agrarian reform. It has exceeded its power in issuing the
assailed A.O.
Moreover, it is a fundamental rule of statutory construction that the reenactment of a
statute by Congress without substantial change is an implied legislative approval and adoption of
the previous law. On the other hand, by making a new law, Congress seeks to supersede an
earlier one. In the case at bar, after the passage of the 1988 CARL, Congress enacted R.A. No.
7881which amended certain provisions of the CARL. Specifically, the new law changed the
definition of the terms "agricultural activity" and "commercial farming" by dropping from its
coverage lands that are devoted to commercial livestock, poultry and swine-raising. With this
significant modification, Congress clearly sought to align the provisions of our agrarian laws
with the intent of the 1987 Constitutional Commission to exclude livestock farms from the
coverage of agrarian reform.
It is doctrinal that rules of administrative bodies must be in harmony with the provisions
of the Constitution. They cannot amend or extend the Constitution. To be valid, they must
conform to and be consistent with the Constitution. In case of conflict between an administrative
order and the provisions of the Constitution, the latter prevails. The assailed A.O. of petitioner
DAR was properly stricken down as unconstitutional as it enlarges the coverage of agrarian
reform beyond the scope intended by the 1987 Constitution.
