Topic: Policies on Agrarian Reform/ Property Rights and

Land Markets
Introduction:
         Agrarian Reform is an age-old issue in Philippine society that’s basically a social, economic, and
political issue that has been, and still is, considered an unfinished state business for centuries. In fact, it
remains to be one of the most difficult domestic policy issue in the country. 

Why has land reform been taking so long?

1.  Agrarian reform program is used as an instrument of the state in curbing peasant unrest instead of
making it as a tool for improving their lives.
2.  Agrarian reform is conceived not as a reform but as a tread-off of the public officials with the
landed elite.
3.  The state does not have the determination and political will to implement a genuine agrarian
reform.

History of the Philippines and Land Reforms

Philippine history is marked by several major epochs. All these epochs influenced culture and
society in a way that affected the land distribution. In essence, land distribution tended to become
concentrated in landed elites and land masses of peasants were displaced and became landless.

Pre-Hispanic Era
“This land is Ours God gave this land to us”

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.

Spanish Era
“United we stand, divided we fall”

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).
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.

First Philippine Republic

“The yoke has finally broken”

When the First Philippine Republic was established in 1899, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo declared in
the Malolos Constitution his intention to confiscate large estates, especially the so-called Friar lands.
However, as the Republic was short-lived, Aguinaldo’s plan was never implemented.

American Era
“Long live America”
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 Era
“Government for the Filipinos”

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 Occupation
“The Era of Hukbalahap”

The Second World War II started in Europe in 1939 and in the Pacific in 1941.
Hukbalahap controlled whole areas of Central Luzon; landlords who supported the Japanese lost their
lands to peasants while those who supported the Huks earned fixed rentals in favor of the tenants.
Unfortunately, the end of war also signaled the end of gains acquired by the peasants.
Upon the arrival of the Japanese in the Philippines in 1942, peasants and workers organizations
grew in strength. Many peasants took up arms and identified themselves with the anti-Japanese group, the
HUKBALAHAP (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon).

Philippine Republic

“The New Republic”

After the establishment of the Philippine Independence in 1946, issues of land tenure kept on
emerging. These became worse in certain areas. Thus the Congress of the Philippines revised the tenancy
law.
President Manuel A. Roxas (1946-1948) enacted the following laws:
 Republic Act No. 34 -- Established the 70-30 sharing arrangements and regulating share-tenancy
contracts.
 Republic Act No. 55 -- Provided for a more effective safeguard against arbitrary ejectment of
tenants.

Elpidio R. Quirino (1948-1953) enacted the following law:

Executive Order No. 355 issued on October 23, 1950 -- Replaced the National Land Settlement
Administration with Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) which takes over the
responsibilities of the Agricultural Machinery Equipment Corporation and the Rice and Corn Production
Administration.

Ramon Magsaysay (1953-1957) enacted the following laws:

 Republic Act No. 1160 of 1954 -- Abolished the LASEDECO and established the National
Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) to resettle dissidents and landless
farmers. It was particularly aimed at rebel returnees providing home lots and farmlands in
Palawan and Mindanao.
 Republic Act No. 1199 (Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954) -- governed the relationship between
landowners and tenant farmers by organizing share-tenancy and leasehold systems. The law
provided the security of tenure of tenants. It also created the Court of Agrarian Relations.
 Republic Act No. 1400 (Land Reform Act of 1955) -- Created the Land Tenure Administration
(LTA) which was responsible for the acquisition and distribution of large tenanted rice and corn
lands over 200 hectares for individuals and 600 hectares for corporations.
 Republic Act No. 821 (Creation of Agricultural Credit Cooperative Financing Administration) --
Provided small farmers and share tenants loans with low interest rates of six to eight percent.

President Carlos P. Garcia (1957-1961)

Continued the program of President Ramon Magsaysay. No new legislation passed.

President Diosdado P. Macapagal (1961-1965) enacted the following law:

Republic Act No. 3844 of August 8, 1963 (Agricultural Land Reform Code) -- Abolished share
tenancy, institutionalized leasehold, set retention limit at 75 hectares, invested rights of preemption and
redemption for tenant farmers, provided for an administrative machinery for implementation,
institutionalized a judicial system of agrarian cases, incorporated extension, marketing and supervised
credit system of services of farmer beneficiaries.
The RA was hailed as one that would emancipate Filipino farmers from the bondage of tenancy.

President Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965-1986)

Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972 ushered the Period of the New Society. Five days
after the proclamation of Martial Law, the entire country was proclaimed a land reform area and
simultaneously the Agrarian Reform Program was decreed.
President Marcos enacted the following laws:
 Republic Act No. 6389, (Code of Agrarian Reform) and RA No. 6390 of 1971 -- Created the
Department of Agrarian Reform and the Agrarian Reform Special Account Fund. It strengthen
the position of farmers and expanded the scope of agrarian reform.
 Presidential Decree No. 2, September 26, 1972 -- Declared the country under land reform
program. It enjoined all agencies and offices of the government to extend full cooperation and
assistance to the DAR. It also activated the Agrarian Reform Coordinating Council.
 Presidential Decree No. 27, October 21, 1972 -- Restricted land reform scope to tenanted rice and
corn lands and set the retention limit at 7 hectares.
President Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992)
The Constitution ratified by the Filipino people during the administration of President Corazon C.
Aquino provides under Section 21 under Article II that “The State shall promote comprehensive rural
development and agrarian reform.”
On June 10, 1988, former President Corazon C. Aquino signed into law Republic Act No. 6657
or otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). The law became effective on
June 15, 1988.
Subsequently, four Presidential issuances were released in July 1987 after 48 nationwide
consultations before the actual law was enacted.

President Corazon C. Aquino enacted the following laws:

 Executive Order No. 228, July 16, 1987 – Declared full ownership to qualified farmer-
beneficiaries covered by PD 27. It also determined the value remaining unvalued rice and corn
lands subject of PD 27 and provided for the manner of payment by the FBs and mode of
compensation to landowners.
 Executive Order No. 229, July 22, 1987 – Provided mechanism for the implementation of the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
 Proclamation No. 131, July 22, 1987 – Instituted the CARP as a major program of the
government. It provided for a special fund known as the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF), with an
initial amount of Php50 billion to cover the estimated cost of the program from 1987-1992.
 Executive Order No. 129-A, July 26, 1987 – streamlined and expanded the power and operations
of the DAR.
 Republic Act No. 6657, June 10, 1988 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law) – An act which
became effective June 15, 1988 and instituted a comprehensive agrarian reform program to
promote social justice and industrialization providing the mechanism for its implementation and
for other purposes. This law is still the one being implemented at present.
 Executive Order No. 405, June 14, 1990 – Vested in the Land Bank of the Philippines the
responsibility to determine land valuation and compensation for all lands covered by CARP.
 Executive Order No. 407, June 14, 1990 – Accelerated the acquisition and distribution of
agricultural lands, pasture lands, fishponds, agro-forestry lands and other lands of the public
domain suitable for agriculture.

President Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998)

When President Fidel V. Ramos formally took over in 1992, his administration came face to face
with publics who have lost confidence in the agrarian reform program. His administration committed to
the vision “Fairer, faster and more meaningful implementation of the Agrarian Reform Program.
President Fidel V. Ramos enacted the following laws:
 Republic Act No. 7881, 1995 – Amended certain provisions of RA 6657 and exempted fishponds
and prawns from the coverage of CARP.
 Republic Act No. 7905, 1995 – Strengthened the implementation of the CARP.
 Executive Order No. 363, 1997 – Limits the type of lands that may be converted by setting
conditions under which limits the type of lands that may be converted by setting conditions under
which specific categories of agricultural land are either absolutely non-negotiable for conversion
or highly restricted for conversion.
 Republic Act No. 8435, 1997 (Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act AFMA) – Plugged
the legal loopholes in land use conversion.
 Republic Act 8532, 1998 (Agrarian Reform Fund Bill) – Provided an additional Php50 billion for
CARP and extended its implementation for another 10 years.

President Joseph E. Estrada (1998-2000)

“ERAP PARA SA MAHIRAP’. This was the battle cry that endeared President Joseph Estrada and made
him very popular during the 1998 presidential election.
President Joseph E. Estrada initiated the enactment of the following law:
Executive Order N0. 151, September 1999 (Farmer’s Trust Fund) – Allowed the voluntary
consolidation of small farm operation into medium and large scale integrated enterprise that can access
long-term capital.
During his administration, President Estrada launched the Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang
Agraryo or MAGKASAKA. The DAR forged into joint ventures with private investors into agrarian
sector to make FBs competitive.
However, the Estrada Administration was short lived. The masses who put him into office
demanded for his ouster.

President Gloria Macapacal-Arroyo (2000-2010)

The agrarian reform program under the Arroyo administration is anchored on the vision “To
make the countryside economically viable for the Filipino family by building partnership and promoting
social equity and new economic opportunities towards lasting peace and sustainable rural development.”
Land Tenure Improvement - DAR will remain vigorous in implementing land acquisition and
distribution component of CARP. The DAR will improve land tenure system through land distribution
and leasehold.
Provision of Support Services - CARP not only involves the distribution of lands but also
included package of support services which includes: credit assistance, extension services, irrigation
facilities, roads and bridges, marketing facilities and training and technical support programs.
Infrastrucre Projects - DAR will transform the agrarian reform communities (ARCs), an area focused and
integrated delivery of support services, into rural economic zones that will help in the creation of job
opportunities in the countryside.
KALAHI ARZone - The KALAHI Agrarian Reform (KAR) Zones were also launched. These
zones consists of one or more municipalities with concentration of ARC population to achieve greater
agro-productivity.
Agrarian Justice - To help clear the backlog of agrarian cases, DAR will hire more paralegal
officers to support undermanned adjudicatory boards and introduce quota system to compel adjudicators
to work faster on agrarian reform cases. DAR will respect the rights of both farmers and landowners.

President Benigno Aquino III (2010-2016)

President Benigno Aquino III vowed during his 2012 State of the Nation Address that he would
complete before the end of his term the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), the
centerpiece program of the administration of his mother, President Corazon Aquino.
The younger Aquino distributed their family-owned Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. Apart from the
said farm lots, he also promised to complete the distribution of privately-owned lands of productive
agricultural estates in the country that have escaped the coverage of the program.
Under his administration, the Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support
Services (ARCCESS) project was created to contribute to the overall goal of rural poverty reduction
especially in agrarian reform areas.
Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP) provided credit support for crop production to
newly organized and existing agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOs) and farmers’
organizations not qualified to avail themselves of loans under the regular credit windows of banks.
The legal case monitoring system (LCMS), a web-based legal system for recording and
monitoring various kinds of agrarian cases at the provincial, regional and central offices of the DAR to
ensure faster resolution and close monitoring of agrarian-related cases, was also launched.
Aside from these initiatives, Aquino also enacted Executive Order No. 26, Series of 2011, to mandate the
Department of Agriculture-Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Department of Agrarian
Reform Convergence Initiative to develop a National Greening Program in cooperation with other
government agencies.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016 – 2022) 

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.
 
Marcos Era Reforms
         Ferdinand Marcos ran for the Presidency in 1965 and won the election. Marcos initiated an
ambitious spending program on public works, health and education. He maintained his popularity through
his first term and in 1969 was the first President of the Philippines to win a second term in office.
However, his popularity declined precipitously in the second term because his government failed to
address many of the grievances of the landless and the poor. Marcos halted the evolution of Philippine
democracy with his martial law declaration in 1972. Marcos justified martial law in part as a means of
breaking the landed elite’s grip on Philippine politics and attempting land distribution reform.
         The first major attempt at land reform was Presidential Decree No. 27, declared by President
Marcos in 1971 under Martial Law. Data on land distribution in 1971 showed over half of all agricultural
land was controlled by the top 15 percent of landowners. Marcos declared the entire Philippines a land
reform area. PD 27 contained the specifics of his land reform program. On paper, the program was the
most comprehensive ever attempted in the Philippines, notwithstanding the fact that only rice and corn
lands were included.
         Sharecroppers on holdings of less than seven hectares were to the Marcos land reform program
succeeded in breaking up many of the large haciendas in Central Luzon, a traditional center of agrarian
unrest where landed elite and Marcos allies were not as numerous as in other parts of the country. In the
country as a whole, however, the program was generally considered a failure. Only 20 percent of rice and
corn land, or 10 percent of total farmland, was covered by the program, and in 1985, thirteen years after
Marcos’ proclamation, 75 percent of the expected beneficiaries had not become owner-cultivators. In fact,
as Marcos searched for ways to maintain power, he abandoned his initial impetus for agrarian reform and
switched to favouring industrial and agricultural elite.
 
Conclusion on History of the Philippines and Land Reforms:
         The conclusion of this historical profile of the Philippines is that there have been repeated, but
ineffective, attempts to address land-tenure problems in the Philippines. An important legacy of the
Spanish colonial period was the high concentration of land ownership, and consequent widespread
poverty and agrarian. United States administrations and several Philippine presidential administrations
launched land reform programs to maintain social stability in the countryside. Lack of sustained political
will, however, as well as landlord resistance, severely limited the impact of the various initiatives.
 Agrarian Issues in the 1980s
• The agrarian situation of the Philippines in the 1980s reflected decades if not centuries of
neglect of the needs of the peasant.
• The overall agricultural performance was poor with yields lower than in other
comparable areas in Asia. This is ironic considering that the Philippines is the site of the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a bastion of the green revolution.
• This situation of the Philippine agricultural and agrarian sector was in part a factor of the
demise of Marcos with the People Power Revolution in 1986. Marcos successor, Corazon
Aquino, took the issue of land reform in consideration to launch her administration. 
• The Aquino administration expedited the distribution of emancipation parents under
Operation Land Transfer, thus the number of beneficiaries receiving formal title increased
substantially.

Recent Interventions on Land Tenure and Property Rights: CARP

• The predecessor of CARP was the Accelerated Land Reform Program (ALRP), initiated
after the ratification of the Constitution in February 1987. 
• The ALRP, as did PD 27, imposed a ceiling of seven hectares for all croplands, the
distribution of large privately-owned farms, rice and corn farms, small farms, alienable and
disposable (A&D) lands, exempting areas such as ancestral tribal lands and those that are
used for public service. 
• Aquino continued to support land reform measures. A land reform commission was
formed, and in July 1987, one week before the new Congress convened and her decree-
making powers would be curtailed, Aquino proclaimed the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program (CARP). 
• The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), instituted in Act No. 6657
declares two objectives in its title: to promote social justice and to promote industrialization.
Section 2 of the Act confirms the attention placed into the issue of land redistribution to
alleviate rural poverty and unrest.
• A year after the proclamation, on June 10, 1988, Congress passed the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). Landowners were allowed to retain up to five hectares plus
three hectares for each heir at least fifteen years of age. The program was to be implemented
in phases.
• CARP used about instruments as documentation to certify ownership. For example,
emancipation patents (EPs) are the certificates that indicate ownership rights over the land.  

Assessment of Impacts of Property Rights Interventions

         CARP has been implemented continuously since its approval in 1988 and during the
administration of Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
There is consensus among the sources consulted (Batara, 1996; Riedinger, 1990, 1995; Putzel, 1992;
Thiesenhusen, 1991; Adriano, 1991; Cornista, 1990) that progress was slow in the first years of the
implementation of CARP and that the process was plagued by many difficulties.
 
Riedinger (1990,1995) expresses scepticism and highlights the main shortcomings of CARP.
·         The 10-year implementation schedule encouraged evasion especially with the exemption of
commercial farms. Several exception laws facilitated the exclusion of certain large estates from
CARP. These exemptions occurred in some areas where landlessness was the highest.
 ·         There was the issue of the corporate fams and their constitutional right to own land. With a
retention limit of 5 hectares, almost 85% of the land would be off-limits for the reform.
·         The practice of anticipatory and fraudulent land transders.
·         A complex and unfair land valuation system, which favoured landowners and gave rise to
corruption.
·         The penalties for non-compliance with the CARP were weal and the financial support was
meagre.
Putzer (1992) had already highlighted the role of a Congress controlled by the landed interests in
weakening the scope and implementation of agrarian reforms, including CARP.
Cornista (1990) had also identified some of the problems of CARP during an International Colloquium
on Land Reform held in Manila in 1990.
Thiesenhusen (1990) also pointed out to several barriers to CARP including the economies of rowing the
rice and corn, the influence of this ration on the ability to pay land-depts. This issue was not clear in
CARP strategy. The circumvention of CARP through “voluntary land sharing” in lieu of actual land
division also confirmed the practice of exemptions in the implementation of the redistribution.
Thiesenhusen and Adriano (1991) also highlighted the issues of land violation and financial support for
the reform.
Riedinger (1995) concludes that the Aquino and Ramos administrations made substantial progress in
implementing the reform of rice and corn land and distributing public lands, both programs dating to the
Marcos era. Aquino and Ramos governments distributed more private agricultural land than all previous
Philippine governments combined. However, notwithstanding its accomplishments, the first years of
CARP were characterized by scandals, continuing landowners resistance, and continuing abuses of
peasant’s rights.
 
 
Estrada Administration
         It focused on fast-tracking land acquisition and distribution. It aimed to reduce distortions and
uncertainties in land market in the rural areas to be able to help increase farmers’ productivity and the
private sector investment as well. Another major step was the intensification of the delivery of support
services and social infrastructure to boost incomes of agrarian reform beneficiaries. It also prioritized the
improvement and protection of the tenure status of stakeholders and the promotion of agri-
industrialization in CARP areas through joint ventures, cooperatives, contract farming and other types of
production and marketing arrangements. It also aimed for completion of land parcel mapping covered by
collective Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs).
 
 
 
 
CARP-IMPACT Assessment
         In 2000, joint efforts between the Department of Agrarian Reform and the donor community
paved the way for an impact assessment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). With
funding support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO), the European Union and counterpart
contributions of the governments of the Philippines, the CARP Impact Assessment was launched. Hans
Meliczek was appointed as an advisor to the research project.
         One of the conclusions of the study relevant for this country brief is that various forms of rural
land market transactions have evolved because they fill actual needs of the various parties involved
(Habito et al., 2001).
  The issue of land distribution and agrarian reform will continue to be one of the main issues for
the Philippine government in the near and mid future. The Department of Agrarian Reform states its
commitment to continue and complete the implementation of CARP. It is expected that the impact
assessment research project will continue to monitor progress and impacts of CARP.

 
Conclusions
        The Philippines has one of the worse land tenure problems in the developing world,
with high percentage of landlessness, rampant poverty in the rural sector and poor
agricultural performance.
        The pre-Hispanic, Spanish, American, and Japanese influences on geography, history,
and culture have contributed to a pattern of unequal land distribution and a firmly
established and powerful landed aristocracy.
        Up until 1986, a number of attempts at land reform produced only modest outcomes,
the continuation of land disputes, and a skewed allocation of land.
        The democratic transition in 1986 brought a new attempt to develop and implement a
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
         Poverty continues to be high in the Philippines and it is in the agricultural sector.
         Initial investigations show unequivocal evidence of benefits to those who benefited
from the agrarian reform. Unexpected effects of CARP on non-beneficiaries, especially
on farmers who are still in poverty and without land. The ability of the poor and the
landless to access land through established markets appears to have decreased throughout
the course of the program period.