C.

Essence of Leasehold Relationship

Section 7. Tenure of Agricultural Leasehold Relation - The agricultural leasehold relation once established
shall confer upon the agricultural lessee the right to continue working on the landholding until such
leasehold relation is extinguished. The agricultural lessee shall be entitled to security of tenure on his
landholding and cannot be ejected therefrom unless authorized by the Court for causes herein provided.

What is the term of lease?

The agricultural leasehold relation once established continues until the leasehold relation is extinguished
through any of the following means:

a. Abandonment or voluntary surrender of the land-holding by the lessee; or

b. Absence of successor (i.e surviving spouse, eldest, direct descendant by consanguinity, or next
eldest descendant or descendants in the order of their age) in the event of death or permanent
incapacity of the lessee.

The leasehold relation is not necessarily extinguished by death or incapacity of the lessee. If the lessee
dies or is permanently disabled, the leasehold continues between the agricultural lessor and the person
who can cultivate the landholding personally, which the lessor can choose from among the following:

a. The surviving spouse

b. The eldest direct descendant by consanguinity or
c. The next eldest descendant or descendants in the order of their age.

Likewise, the agricultural leasehold is not terminated or extinguished by the mere expiration of the term
or period in a leasehold contract. Neither is it terminated by the transfer of ownership or legal possession
of the landholding. If the agricultural lessor transfers the ownership or legal possession of the
landholding, the transferee becomes the agricultural lessor.

In case of default, the amortization due shall be paid by the farmers' cooperative in which the defaulting
tenant-farmer is a member, with the cooperative having a right of recourse against him;

Yolanda Caballes vs Dept. Agrarian Reform, Hon. Heherson Alvarez and Bienvenido Abajon
Ponente: Sarmiento

Facts:
The landholding subject of the controversy is consists of 60 sqm was acquired by spouses Arturo and
Yolanda Caballes by virtue of a Deed of Sale executed by Andrea Alicaba Millenes, this land is situated in
Lawaan Talisay, Cebu. Before the sale of the property to Caballes, Bienvenido Abajon constructed his house
on a protion of the land, paying monthly rental to Andrea Millenes. Abjon was likewise allowed to plant
thereon, and they have agreed that the produce thereon would be shred by them 50-50.

When the property was sold, Caballes told Abajon that they will put up a poultry on the land and they
intended to build it close to Abajon's house and they pursuaded Abajon to transfer his dwelling to the
opposite portion of the land. Abajon offered to pay renta; to the new owners, but they refuse and later
demanded for Abajon to vacate. Abajon refused to leave.

DAR concluded that Abajon was a tenant of the former owner, Andrea.

Issue: Whether Abajon is a tenant under the new owners.

Ruling:
Abajon is not a tenant for it only occupied a miniscule portion of the land which cannot be interpreted as
economic-family size farm under the definition of RA 3844.

The essential requisites of a tenancy relationship are:

1. The parties are the landowner and the tenant;

2. The subject is agricultural land;
3. There is consent;
4. The purpose is agricultural production;
5. There is personal cultivation; and
6. There is sharing of harvests.

All these requisites must concur in order to create a tenancy relationship between the parties. The absence
of one does not make an occupant of a parcel of land, or a cultivator thereof, or a planter thereon, a de
jure tenant. This is so because unless a person has established his status as a de jure tenant, he is not
entitled to security of tenure nor is he covered by the Land Reform Program of the Government under
existing tenancy laws.

Therefore, the fact of sharing alone is not sufficient to establish a tenancy relationship. Certainly, it is not
unusual for a landowner to accept some of the produce of his land from someone who plants certain crops
thereon. This is a typical and laudable provinciano trait of sharing or patikim, a native way of expressing
gratitude for favor received. This, however, does not automatically make the tiller-sharer a tenant thereof
especially when the area tilled is only 60, or even 500, square meters and located in an urban area and in.
the heart of an industrial or commercial zone at that. Tenancy status arises only if an occupant of a parcel
of land has been given its possession for the primary purpose of agricultural production. The circumstances
of this case indicate that the private respondent's status is more of a caretaker who was allowed by the
owner out of benevolence or compassion to live in the premises and to have a garden of some sort at its
south western side rather than a tenant of the said portion.

Anent the second assignment of error, the petitioner argues that since Abajon, is not an agricultural tenant,
the criminal case for malicious mischief filed against him should be declared as proper for trial so that
proceedings in the lower court can resume.