Agrarian Reform in the Philippines

The Philippine Agrarian Problem: 1. Two important dimensions: land & the people; agricultural & social; productivity & human rights; 2. A basic problem of society 3. Basically a question of land distribution & utilization

The Agrarian Problem

3. Basically, a question of land distribution & utilization The right to own property, universal but limited Land is necessary for all human beings & everybody has the right to use land for his survival The right to use is given to all individuals but the matter to be used is limited & the number of users unlimited

Historico-Political Survey of the Agrarian Problems

1. Pre-Spanish land situation a. Land patterns: 1. tribal hunters & gatherers 2. shifting cultivators 3. those with sedentary culture 4. Muslims b. Social classes

Spanish Period Land Situation

2. Land tenancy under Spain: a. Encomienda system b. Rise of the cacique class c. Early rebellions d. Conflicts over land tenureship e. Friar lands f. Philippine revolution

Land Tenure Situation Under the American Regime

a. Actual increase in tenancy rate b. Purchase of friar lands c. Homesteading d. Peasant rebellions & opposition e. Rice Share Tenancy Act ( Act No. 4050) f. Sugar Cane Tenancy contracts Act (Act No. 4113)

Commonwealth Period
a. Commonwealth Act No. 103 created the Court of Industrial Relations b. Commonwealth Act no. 213 regulated legitimate labor organizations c. Commonwealth Acts.178,461,& 608gave more protection to tenants. Orderly settlement of virgin agricultural lands begun by the National Land Settlement Administration

Effects of Japanese Occupation

The Japanese occupation of the Philippines from 1941 to 1945 had a tremendous impact on the agrarian issue From the ranks of the peasant & labor organizations & from the merger of the Communist Party of the Philippines & Socialist Party rose the Hukbong Magpapalaya sa Bayan ( HUKBALAHAP)

Post War Attempts at Agrarian Reform

a. Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954 ( Ra No. 1199 b. Land Reform Act of 1955 (Ra No. 1400) c. Land resettlement as a solution d. The Agricultural Land Reform Code of 1963 ( RA No. 3844) e. Amendments to the Agricultural Land Reform Code ( R.A. 6389) f. Agrarian Reform Special Fund Act ( RA 6369)

Under Martial Law & 1973 Constitution

1. Presidential Decree No. 2- declaring the entire Philippines as land reform area 2. Presidential Decree No. 27 emancipating the tenant-farmers from the bondage of the soil

Under the 1987 Constitution

1. President Aquino signed Proclamation No. 131 instituting a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) & EO No. 229 providing for the mechanisms 2. She issued EO No. 129-A :Department of Agrarian Reform The primary governing law on agrarian reform at present is Republic Act 6657, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988

Imperatives of Agrarian Reform

1. Land reform would increase production 2. It would provide for the capital needed to industrialize 3. Land reform is the answer to the communist challenge 4. It would correct the present imbalance in our society 5. It would make democracy truly meaningful to our people

Objections to Agrarian Reform

1. Fragmentation of farm-holdings 2. Small farms uneconomic 3. Small landholdings included 4. Agrarian reform failed in the past

Components of Agrarian Reform

1. Land distribution most effective way of providing security of tenure to tillers of the soil 2. Companion measures: Credit & modern & better methods of production Creation & development of new social institutions to assist the farmers

The Code of Agrarian Reforms (RA No. 3844 as amended)

Beneficiaries under the Code: 1. Tenanted farmers 2. Agricultural wage earners or farm workers 3. Settlers including migrant workers 4. Owner-cultivators of less than family sized farms

The Code of Agrarian Reform Code

Lands covered by the Code: 1. Tenanted areas 2. Landed estates 3. Old settlements 4. Proposed settlements

The Tenants Emancipation Decree (PD No. 27)

Under this decree there is no more leasehold in tenanted rice & corn lands , the tiller becomes automatically the amortizing owner of the land Beneficiaries are the bona fide tenant-farmers of private agricultural lands primarily devoted to rice & corn under the lease tenancy system Every family should own an economic familysized farm Retention limit- 7 hectares

Bill of Rights for Agricultural Labor

1. Right to self-organization 2. Right to engage in concerted activities like strike, picketing, boycott 3. Right to minimum wage 4. Right to work for not more than 8 hours 5. Right to claim damages for death or injuries sustained while at work 6. Right to compensation for personal injuries, death or illness 7. Right against suspension,