EVOLUTION OF MAJOR

AGRARIAN REFORM LAWS

AND PROGRAMS
 MANUEL L. QUEZON
1935 - 1944
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.

Act No. 4054 (Rice Share Tenancy Act)

This is the first law on crop-sharing which legalized
the 50-50 share between landlord and tenant
 MANUEL A. ROXAS
1946 - 1948
RA 34 amended certain sections of Rice
Share Tenancy Act
- established a 70-30 sharing arrangement between tenant
and landlord
- provided that whoever shouldered the expenses of planting
and harvesting and provided the work animals would be
entitled to 70 percent of the harvest
- reduced the interest on landowner loans to tenant at no
more than 6% instead of 10%
 ELPIDIO R. QUIRINO
1948-1953
EO 355
- Created the Land Settlement Development
Corporation (LASEDECO) which took over the
responsibilities of the Agricultural Machinery
Equipment Corporation and the Rice and Corn
Production Administration to accelerate the
resettlement program which was launched shortly
before World War II
 RAMON MAGSAYSAY
1953 - 1957
1. RA 1160 (NARRA Law)
Abolished the Land Settlement Development Corporation
(LASEDECO) and created in its place the National
Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) in
order to hasten free distribution of agricultural lands of the
public domain to landless tenants and farmworkers
It was particularly aimed at the peasant base of the HUK
movement (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon HUKBALAHAP)
It was successful in attracting farmers-turned-rebels to a
peaceful life by giving them homelots and farms in NARRA
settlements in Palawan and in some parts of Mindanao
 RAMON MAGSAYSAY
2. RA 1199 (Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954) An
Act to Govern the Relations Between Landholders
and Tenants of Agricultural Lands (Leasehold and
Share Tenancy
first land reform law which regulated all forms and aspects
of tenure relations, except civil lease
gave share tenants the right to shift to leasehold where
they pay landowners a fixed rental instead of a variable
share
provided security of tenure to tenants by prohibiting the
ejectment of tenants unless the Court of Agrarian Relations
found just cause
allowed the purchase or expropriation of private lands to
be subdivided and resold to tenants at cost
created the Court of Agrarian Relations (CAR)
 RAMON MAGSAYSAY
3. RA 1400 (Land Reform Act of 1955)
Provided for the acquisition of large tenanted rice and corn
lands over 300 hectares if owned by individuals and 600
hectares, if owned by corporations
Also known as "Land to the Landless Program", it sought to:
1. reduce large landholdings and consolidate smaller,
uneconomic holdings into plots of adequate sizes;
2. resettle tenants in areas where land was abundant;
3. provide adequate credit facilities for small
landholders;
4. reduce rental and interest rates in order to provide
security for those who would remain tenants;
5. secure land titles for small holders; and
6. reform the property tax structure.
 DIOSDADO P. MACAPAGAL
1961 - 1965
RA 3844 (Agricultural Land Reform Code/Code of
Agrarian Reforms)
Aimed to make the farmers owners of the land they tilled
lowered the retention limit from 300 to 75 hectares
abolished share tenancy and instituted the leasehold system
Invested rights of preemption and redemption for tenant
farmers
Institutionalized a judicial system of agrarian cases
Incorporated extension, marketing and supervised credit
system of services to farmer beneficiaries
 DIOSDADO P. MACAPAGAL
RA 3844 (cont.)
One of the law's basic objectives was to establish owner-
cultivatorship and the economic family-sized farm as the
basis of Philippine agriculture and as a consequence, divert
landlord capital in agriculture to industrial development
created the Land Authority headed by a Governor (under
the control and supervision of the President) for its
implementation and to carry out the aforementioned basic
objective
incorporated some of the features of previous land reform
laws
exempted coverage of plantation crops which were deemed
too important as export earners that time
 FERDINAND E. MARCOS
1965 - 1986
1. RA 6389 amended several provisions of RA
3844
Created the Department of Agrarian Reform, a
separate administrative agency for agrarian
reform, replacing the Land Authority
Instituted the Code of Agrarian Reforms

2. PD No. 2 (Proclaiming the Entire Country as a

Land Reform Area)
 FERDINAND E. MARCOS
3. PD No. 27 (Decreeing the Emancipation of Tenants from the
Bondage of the Soil, Transferring to Them the Ownership of
the Land They Till and Providing the Instruments and
Mechanism Therefor)
Restricted land reform scope to tenanted rice and corn lands
provided for tenanted lands devoted to rice and corn to pass
in ownership to the tenants who worked the properties
lowered the ceiling for landholdings to 7 hectares
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
At the time of land transfer, Certificates of Land Transfer
(CLTs) were issued to the new owners and when payments
were completed, Emancipation Patents (EPs) were granted
Before being given a CLT, a beneficiary must join an agrarian
reform cooperative or the Samahang Nayon (SN)
 CORAZON C. AQUINO
1986 - 1992
1987 Constitution (Article II, Sec. 21) "The State shall
promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian
reform

1. Proclamation 131 (Instituting a Comprehensive Agrarian

Reform Program)
Instituted the CARP as a major program of the government
provided for a special fund known as the Agrarian Reform Fund
(ARF) in the amount of 50 Billion Pesos to cover the estimated cost
of the program for the period 1987-1992
covers all agricultural lands regardless of tenurial arrangement and
commodity produced, all public and private agricultural lands,
including other lands of the public domain suitable to agriculture
 CORAZON C. AQUINO
2. EO 229 (Providing the Mechanism for the Implementation of
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program)
Provided the mechanisms for CARP's implementation such as
administrative procedures and mechanics for land registration,
private land acquisition, and compensation procedures to
landowners
It also specified the composition and functions of the governing
entities that will coordinate and supervise the implementation of
the program
3. EO 129-A (Modifying EO 129, Reorganizing and Strengthening
the Department of Agrarian Reform Program and for Other
Purposes)
Provided for the strengthening of the DAR as the lead agency
responsible for the implementation of CARP
Reorganized, streamlined and expanded power and operation of
DAR
 CORAZON C. AQUINO
4. EO 228 (Declaring Full Land Ownership to Qualified Farmer
Beneficiaries Covered by Presidential Decree No. 27;
Determining the Value of Remaining Unvalued Rice and Corn
Lands Subject to P.D. No. 27; and Providing for the Manner of
Payment by the Farmer Beneficiary and Mode of
Compensation to the Landowner)
Declared full landownership to qualified farmer-beneficiaries
covered by P.D. No. 27
Determined the value of remaining unvalued rice and corn land
subject to P.D. No. 27
Provided for the manner of payment by the FB and mode of
compensation to the landowner
 CORAZON C. AQUINO
5. RA 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law)
Pursuant to Section 4, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution, it
undertakes an agrarian reform program founded on the right
of farmers and regular farmworkers, who are landless, to
own directly or collectively the lands they till or, in the case
of other farmworkers, to receive a just share of the fruits
thereof
It covers, regardless of tenurial arrangement and
commodity produced, all public and private agricultural
lands as provided in Proclamation No. 131 and Executive
Order No. 229, including other lands of the public domain
suitable for agriculture
 CORAZON C. AQUINO
5. RA 6657 (cont.)
More specifically, the following lands are covered by CARP:
1. All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain
devoted to or suitable for agriculture;
2. All lands of the public domain in excess of the specific
limits as determined by Congress in Section 4 (a) of
R.A. No. 6657;
3. All other lands owned by the government devoted to or
suitable for agriculture; and
4. All private lands devoted or suitable for agriculture
regardless of the agricultural products raised or that
can be raised thereon
 CORAZON C. AQUINO
6. EO 405 (Vesting in the Land Bank of the Philippines the
Primary Responsibility to Determine the Land Valuation and
Compensation for All Lands Covered Under Republic Act No.
6657, Known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of
1988)

7. EO 406
Emphasized that CARP is central to the government's efforts to
hasten countryside agro-industrial development
Directed the implementing agencies to align their respective
programs and projects with the CARP
This created CARP Implementing Teams from the national to the
municipal levels
It also identified and gave priority to 24 Strategic Operating Provinces
(SOP) where the bulk of CARP workload lies, without prejudice to
program implementation in other provinces of the country
 CORAZON C. AQUINO
8. EO 407 (Accelerating the Acquisition and Distribution of
Agricultural Lands, Pasture Lands, Fishponds, Agro-Forestry
Lands and Other Lands of the Public Domain Suitable for
Agriculture)

9. EO 448
Amended EO 407, series of 1990, providing that:
"All lands or portions thereof reserved by virtue of Presidential
proclamations for specific public uses by the government, its agencies and
instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations
suitable for agriculture and no longer actually, directly and exclusively used
or necessary for the purposes for which they have been reserved, as
determined by the Department of Agrarian Reform in coordination with the
government agency or instrumentality concerned in whose favor the
reservation was established, shall be segregated from the reservation and
transferred to the Department of Agrarian Reform for distribution to qualified
beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program."
 CORAZON C. AQUINO
10. EO 506 - further Amended EO 407
It declared that except national parks and other protected areas, all
lands or portions of the public domain reserved by virtue of
proclamation or law for specific purposes or uses by departments,
bureaus, offices and agencies of the Government, which are
suitable for agriculture and no longer actually, directly and
exclusively used or necessary for the purpose for which they have
been reserved as determined by the Department of Agrarian
Reform in coordination with the government agency or
instrumentality concerned in whose favor the reservation was
established, shall be segregated from the reservation and
transferred to the Department of Agrarian Reform for distribution
to qualified beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program.
 CORAZON C. AQUINO
10. EO 506 (cont.)
It also provided that all existing and proposed National
Parks, Game Refuge and Bird Sanctuaries, Wildlife
Reserves, Wilderness Areas and Other Protected Areas,
including old growth or virgin forests, and all forests
above 1,000 meters elevation or above 50 percent
slope, are hereby excluded from the present
segregation, acquisition and distribution procedures
being conducted by the Department of Agrarian Reform
until such time as these area shall have been identified,
studied and determined to be either retained and
reclassified under the National Integrated Protected
Areas System of DENR or to be segregated for
agricultural purposes.
 FIDEL V. RAMOS
1992 - 1998
1. RA 7881
Amended certain provisions of RA 6657, more significantly
Section 10 thereof on exemptions and exclusions from CARP,
to wit:
1. Lands actually, directly or exclusively used for parks and
wildlife, forest reserves, reforestation, fish sanctuaries
and breeding grounds, watersheds and mangroves;
2. Private lands actually, directly or exclusively used for
prawn farms and fishponds: Provided, That said prawn
farms and fishponds have not been distributed and
Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) issued to
agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under CARP;
 FIDEL V. RAMOS
1. RA 7881 (cont.)
3. Lands actually, directly and exclusively used and found
to be necessary for sites and institutions, and all lands
with 18% slope and over, except those already
developed.

2. RA 7905
- It aimed to strengthen the implementation of the CARP by amending
certain provisions of Republic Act No. 6657, particularly the
provisions on the creation of support services office (Section 35),
funding for support services (Section 36), Provincial Agrarian Reform
Coordinating Committee (Section 44) and province-by-province
implementation of CARP (Section 45).
 FIDEL V. RAMOS
3. RA 8532
Strengthened further the CARP
It authorized the appropriation of an additional amount
of not more than P50 billion needed to implement the
CARP until year 2008
It provided for yearly appropriations of not less than P3
billion from the General Appropriations Act
 FIDEL V. RAMOS
4. ARCs (Agrarian Reform Communities)
The DAR, under the leadership of President Fidel V. Ramos and
Secretary Ernesto D. Garilao, pursued the "development of agrarian
reform communities (ARCs) as its key program for national
development."
An ARC is a barangay at the minimum or a cluster of contiguous
barangays where there is a critical mass of farmers and farmworkers
awaiting the full implementation of agrarian reform. These farmers
and farmworkers will anchor the integrated development of the
area.
In order to optimize the allocation and use of limited resources and
create an impact, the DAR has adopted a geographical focus and
realigned its priorities towards the development of viable ARCs. In
these areas, DAR shall intensify its interventions to increase farm
production, improve household income, and promote sustainable
development.
ARCs shall serve as growth points in the countryside.
 JOSEPH E. ESTRADA
1998 - 2001
1. EO 26 (Providing Opportunities for the Development of
Beneficiaries Under the Comprehensive Land Reform Program
to Become Productive Entrepreneurs, Providing the Mechanism
Therefor and for Other Purposes)
It provided that lands covered by Certificates of Land
Ownership Award (CLOA) shall now be accepted as collateral
to secure loans by their registered owners, with the consent of
the farmers cooperative to which they are members, with the
government financial institutions, as well as, with the private
financial institutions: Provided, That the loan proceeds shall
be used exclusively in the furtherance of the agricultural
productivity of the land and related activities.
 JOSEPH E. ESTRADA
1998 - 2001
1. EO 26 (Providing Opportunities for the Development of
Beneficiaries Under the Comprehensive Land Reform Program
to Become Productive Entrepreneurs, Providing the Mechanism
Therefor and for Other Purposes)
It provided that lands covered by Certificates of Land
Ownership Award (CLOA) shall now be accepted as collateral
to secure loans by their registered owners, with the consent of
the farmers cooperative to which they are members, with the
government financial institutions, as well as, with the private
financial institutions: Provided, That the loan proceeds shall
be used exclusively in the furtherance of the agricultural
productivity of the land and related activities.
 JOSEPH E. ESTRADA
1998 - 2001
2. MAGKASAKA (Magkabalikat sa Kaunlarang Agraryo)
To ensure adequate support services, there is a need for greater private
sector participation, both civil society and business, in the development of
agrarian reform areas.
MAGKASAKA, pursued under the framework of Joint Economic Enterprises,
aimed to bring investments into the countryside. Investors will be
encouraged to become partners of the farmers in establishing rural
business enterprises, particularly in agrarian reform communities (ARCs).
They will contribute capital, technology and management support, while
the farmers will contribute the use of their land but not the land itself.
The land cannot be used to settle obligations of the enterprise. This
ensures that ownership of the land remains in the hand of the farmers.
 GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO
2001-2010
1. Bayan-Anihan (Bayan-Anihan Program for Rural
Development BPRD)
It is DAR's banner program under the Arroyo
Administration to hasten the implementation of
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP)
 GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO
2001-2010
1. Bayan-Anihan (cont.)
The six main thrusts of Bayan-Anihan are the
following:
1. fast tracking of land acquisition and distribution;
2. integrating, rationalizing and institutionalizing the
delivery of support services;
3. swift delivery of agrarian justice;
4. promoting peace;
5. intensifying and institutionalizing social marketing; and
6. modernizing the DAR bureaucracy.
 BENIGNO SIMEON C. AQUINO
2010 - 2016
1. Sustained the gains of agrarian reform through its
3 major components:
1. Land Tenure Improvement
2. Program Beneficiaries Development
3. Agrarian Justice Delivery

2. RA 9700 - Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

Extension with the Reforms (CARPER)
- Focused on large-size private agricultural lands
- Redeployment of competent DAR personnel to the 20 LAD
provinces
 BENIGNO SIMEON C. AQUINO
2010 - 2016
3. Streamline LAD processes and procedures

4. Enhanced the database of landholdings for Ease in

targeting and monitoring the LAD
 RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
2016 - present
1. Genuine Land Reform

2. Rectifying the policy mistakes of the old DAR to

begin the process of implementing genuine Agrarian
Reform in the first 100 days of Duterte
Administration

3. Presidential Agrarian Reform Council the highest

policy and decision-making body for Agrarian Reform
matters and disputes
 RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
2016 - present
3. An executive Order is now pending in Malacaang
to effect the implementation on the moratorium on
land conversion