Agrarian

Reform in the
Philippines
Week 5
Pre-Colonial Period

Natives lived in villages or

'barangays' that were ruled
by chieftains or datus.

There were also maharlikas

(freeman), aliping
mamamahay (serfs) and
aliping saguiguilid (slaves)

Everyone has access to the

fruits of the soil, money is
unknown and rice is the
medium of exchange.
Spanish Colonial Period

ENCOMIENDIA SYSTEM: giving

Royal Land Grants to
Conquistadores.

This system grants that

Encomienderos should defend
their land, maintain peace and
order within, and support
missionaries.

Natives who used to freely

cultivate lands became shared
tenants.
 Agrarian Uprising

Agrarian Revolt happened

between 1745-1746 in Batangas,
Laguna, Cavite, and Bulacan.

Cause of the revolt involves

Catholic religious orders to take
lands from the natives which
angered them and demanded they
want their lands based on
ancestral domain.
Agrarian Uprising

When King Philip VI knew about the

conflict he appointed an Oidor, judge of
the Royal Audencias and Chancillerias,
Pedro Calederon Enriquez to
investigate the brought charges and to
ascertain the validity of their titles

Later the governor-general dispossessed

the friars of the land which were said to
have been illegally occupied, restoring
the lands to the Crown. But, in the end,
the Friars won the case and retained the
land and their ownership remained intact
even after the end of the Spanish regime
 Agrarian Policies during American
Period
Set the ceilings on the hectarage of private
Philippine Bill of
individuals and corporations may acquire: 16 has. for
1902
private individuals and 1,024 has. for corporations.

Land Registration Act Provided for a comprehensive registration of land

of 1902 (Act No. 496) titles under the Torrens system.

It introduced the homestead system in the

Public Land Act of 1903
Philippines.

Tenancy Act of 1933 It regulated relationships between landowners and

(Act No. 4054 and 4113) 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.
 Agrarian Policies Commonwealth Period
"The promotion of social justice to ensure the well-being
1935 Constitution and economic security of all people should be the concern
of the State"

Commonwealth Act No.

Provided for certain controls in the landlord-tenant
178 (An Amendment to
Rice Tenancy Act No. 4045)
relationships

National Rice and Corn

Established the price of rice and corn thereby help the
Corporation (NARIC),
1936 poor tenants as well as consumers.

President Manuel L. Quezon Rural Program

Provided the purchase and lease of haciendas and
espoused the "Social Administration,
their sale and lease to the tenants.
created March 2, 1939
Justice" program to arrest
the increasing social
unrest in Central Luzon. Specified reasons for the dismissal of tenants and only
Commonwealth Act.
with the approval of the Tenancy Division of the
No. 461, 1937
Department of Justice.

Commonwealth Act Created the National Settlement Administration with

No. 441 a capital stock of P20,000,000
Agrarian Policies during
Japanese Occupation

HUKBALAHAP (Hugpong Bayan

Laban sa mga Hapon)

HUKBALAHAP was a communist guerilla

movement formed by the farmers of
central Luzon.

Upon the arrival of the Japanese in the

Philippines in 1942, a group of peasant
farmers make an organization called
HUKBALAHAP against the Japanese
soldiers.
 Agrarian Policies by the President of the Philippines
Even after the implementation of Philippines independence, there are still rampant
problems with regards to land tenure. In order to address this issue the Congress had to
revise the tenancy law.

President Manuel A. Roxas (1946-1948)

In the time of Former President Manuel Roxas, he

authorized these two laws in order to lessen this
issue.

States that there must be a 70 to 30 sharing when it comes to tenancy

Republic Act No. 34
contracts.

Protects tenants from being unlawfully ejected from the property they are
Republic Act No. 55
occupying.
 President Elpidio R. Quirino (1948-1953)

Moving on to Former President Quirino, he enacted

the Executive Order No. 355 wherein it mandates the
replacement the National Settlement
Administration into Land Settlement Development
Corporation (LASEDECO).

Republic Act No. 1160 of 1954 Abolishes the LASEDECO

Agricultural Tenancy Act of Improved the share-tenancy and leasehold system

1954 or the Republic Act No. 1199 among land owners and tenants.

It is in charge of the acquisition and distribution of

Republic Act No. 1400 or the
large tenanted rice and corn lands over 200 hectares
Land Reform of 1955 President Ramon
for individuals and 600 hectares for corporations.
Magsaysay (1953-
1957)
Republic Act No. 821 Reduced the interest rates loans by 6-8%.
 President Carlos P. Garcia (1957-1961)

Unexpectedly, Former President Ramon Magsaysay

passed away thus President Carlos P. Garcia took
over his position and continued to implement the
programs planned by the late President Magsaysay.
But, there was no law passed with regards to
agrarian concerns.

President Diosdado P. Macapagal (1961-1965)

As President Diosdado Macapagal came to power, the

Republic Act No. 3844 of August 8, 1963 also termed
as Agricultural Land Reform Code was imposed. Its
sole purpose is to free the tenants from bonds of
tenancy. Its main goals were to support and enable
the development of family-sized farms as the
foundation of Philippine agriculture.
 President Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965-1986)
enacted the following laws:

Republic Act No. 6389 Code of Agrarian Reform

Created the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Agrarian Reform Special
RA No. 6390 of 1971
Account Fund

Declared the country under land reform, activated the Agrarian Reform
Presidential Decree No. 2
Coordinating Council

Restricted land reform scope to tenanted rice and corn lands and set the retention
Presidential Decree No. 27
limit at 7 hectares.
 President Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992) enacted
the following laws:

Executive Order No. 228 Gave ownership to qualified farmers under PD 27

Executive Order No. 229 Implementation aspect of the CARP

Proclamation No. 131 Agrarian Reform fund (with 500pesos) for 1987-1992

Executive Order No. 129-A DAR Power Expanded

Republic Act No. 6657 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, Basis of the Land Reform Program until Present

Executive Order No. 405 LBP to set value and compensation of Lands

Executive Order No. 407 Sped up the Acquisition distribution of lands of the public domain
President Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998) enacted the
following laws:

R.A. No. 7881 Exempted fishponds and prawns from the CARP

R.A. No. 7905 Strengthen the CARP Implementation

Protection of areas non-negotiable for

Exec. Order No. 363
conversion

R.A. No. 8435 Agri and Fisheries Modernization Act AFMA

R.A. No. 8532 Agrarian Reform Fund Bill

President Joseph E. Estrada (1998-2000) initiated

the enactment of the following law:

Exec. Order No. 151 Farmer’s Trust Fund

Magsasaka Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo

 President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2000-2010)
“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

•Provision of Support Services - credit assistance, extension

services, irrigation facilities, roads and bridges, marketing

facilities and training and technical support programs.

•Infrastructure Projects - DAR will transform the agrarian reform

communities (ARCs),

•KALAHI ARZone - The KALAHI Agrarian Reform (KAR) Zones

were also launched.

•Agrarian Justice - To help clear the backlog of agrarian cases.

 President Benigno C. Aquino III (2010-2016)
enacted the following:

• Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP),

•privately-owned lands of productive agricultural estates

•Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support

Services (ARCCESS)

•Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP) provided credit support

for crop production to newly organized and existing agrarian reform

beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOs)

•The Legal Case Monitoring System (LCMS),

•Aquino also enacted Executive Order No. 26, Series of 2011

 President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016 – present)

•“aggressive” land reform program

•The President directed the DAR to launch the 2nd phase of

agrarian reform

•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.

•DAR created an anti-corruption task force

•The Department also pursues an “Oplan Zero Backlog”

REFERENCES:
• Agrarian reform history. Department of Agrarian Reform RSS. (n.d.). Retrieved

March 2, 2022, from https://www.dar.gov.ph/about-us/agrarian-reform-history/?

fbclid=IwAR0-ix-NMwGe4RD_VGaXdjUg0vrloR8AOAh0X7xOTmouDeBQTKKKcd4xqlA.

• F Mad Follow. (n.d.). History of agrarian reform. SlideShare. Retrieved March 2,

2022, from https://www.slideshare.net/FayeMadrigal1/history-of-agrarian-reform?

fbclid=IwAR1CxeXc-dpFnTm9TUnQmpRAHEcvsHdYqK57XlKb0yAY4J0_8feeGmBguRk.

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzwy3al6o8U•The President also placed 400

hectares of agricultural lands in Boracay under CARP.

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I1H3a8SP_M.

•GE 8- SIM