NOTES FOR FINALS

a. Agrarian reform– rectification of the whole system of agriculture. It refers to the

redistribution of lands, regardless of crops or fruits produced to farmers and regular farm
workers who are landless, irrespective of tenurial arrangement and economic status of the
beneficiaries.

Distinguished from land reform – Land reform is the physical redistribution of lands such as
the programs under Presidential Decree No. 27. Agrarian reform means the distribution of
lands including the totality of factors and support services designed to lift the economic
status of the beneficiaries. Thus, agrarian reform is broader than land reform.

1. History/Evolution of Philippine Agrarian Laws

a. Landownership in the Philippines under Spain
b. Landownership in the Philippines under the Americans
c. Post-War Interventions toward Agrarian Reform
d. Agrarian Reform Efforts under Marcos
e. Post-1986 Agrarian Reform
**Read the references for the discussion of these matters. See Candelaria’s book.

2. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (R.A. 6657)

a. Scope: All public and private agricultural lands, including other lands of the public domain
suitable for agriculture.

b. Definition of terms:
(1). Agricultural land- land devoted to agricultural activity and not classified as mineral,
forest, residential, commercial or industrial land.
(2) Agricultural activity- cultivation of the soil, planting of crops, growing of fruit trees,
raising of fish, including the harvesting of such farm products, and other farm activities and
practices performed by a farmer in conjunction with such farming operations done by
persons whether natural or judicial.

3. Exclusion:
a. Parks;
b. Wildlife;
c. Forest reserve;
d. Reforestation;
e. Fish sanctuaries and breeding grounds;
f. Watersheds and mangroves
g. Private lands;
h. Prawn farms;
 i. Fishponds; and
j. Lands, directly and exclusively used and found to be necessary for national defense; school
sites and campuses, seeds and seedling research; church sites and covenants; mosque sites
and Islamic centers; and communal burial grounds and cemeteries; penal colonies and
government and private research and quarantine centers; and
k. Lands devoted to commercial livestock, poultry and swine raising; and
l. All lands with 18% slope and over which are not developed for agriculture.

4. Factors to consider in implementation:

a. Need to distribute lands to the tillers at the earliest time;
b. Need to enhance agricultural productivity; and
c. Availability of funds and resources to implement and support program.

** Masagana 99- This program was implemented for Filipinos to be able to borrow from banks and
purchase three hectares of plots of lands and agricultural inputs under the Marcos Administration.

a. Doing Historical Research Online

 Cyberspace is a great resource for research if one knows how to use it. It can be
done through the usage of search engine websites. Search engine websites that
can be used are Yahoo! And Google.
 Wikipedia can also be used but sometimes, some of the articles are not credible
and reliable as these are all subject to editing by anyone.
 There are existing websites where individuals can legally download scanned
copies of books and other materials for free, especially those books with expired
copyrights and are in public domain. One example of these is Project Gutenberg
(www.gutenberg.org)
 Philippine government websites are also enriched with sources.

b. Doing Historical Research in Libraries and Archives

 Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) is the new version wherein catalog is
handled digitally. In this system, instead of going through each entry on physical
index cards, a simple search will yield the holdings of the library related to what
you are searching for.
 The National Library of the Philippines in Ermita, Manila provides a rich treasure
cove of materials for a student-researcher interested in Philippine history,
especially in their Filipiniana section.
 The National Archives of the Philippines, also in Manila, is an agency of
government mandated to collect, store, preserve and make available records of the
government and other primary sources pertaining to the history and development
of the Philippines.
  Libraries in the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City are rich in
resources especially in Filipiniana section, serials, theses and dissertations. On the
other hand, the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City holds a large
American Historical Collection.

c. Doing Life Histories and Bibliographical Research

d. Doing Local and Oral History
 Local history is the study of history of a community or a smaller unit of
geography.
e. Interacting with History through Historical Shrines and Museums