Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Issues

MODULE 5
Learning Objectives

1. Construct a time line of the evolution of the Philippine

Constitution, Agrarian Reform, and taxation; and
 
2. Demonstrate appreciation of the role of the indigenous people
in the formation a nation
A Constitution refers to a body of laws, customs and
conventions that define the composition and powers of
the organs of the state and that regulate the relations of
the various state organs to one another and to the private
citizens (Hood Phillips, O. & Jackson, P. 1987).
Malolos Constitution

• First republican constitution in Asia

• A unicameral national assembly, full control over the executive power
(a president elected by the national assembly) and the judicial system
• The constitution provided for universal and direct elections, the
separation of church and state, compulsory and free education, and
equal legal status for the languages of all the Philippine nationalities
(Guber, A.A. 2010)
• The president can serve for four years without re-election. No vice-
president.
American Occupation

• Philippine Organic Act of 1902, which provided for a Philippine

Assembly composed of Filipino citizens
• Jones Law or the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916- included the
first pledge of Philippine independence. 1902-1935
• Tydings-McDuffie Law or the Philippine Independence Act-
mandated the Philippine Legislature to call for an election of
delegates to a Constitutional Convention to draft a Constitution
for the Philippines .
1935 Constitution

• Submitted to the President of the United States for certification on March

25, 1935; Ratified in plebescite; came into force with inauguration of the
commonwealth
Features:
• president's term at six years, without re-election
• The President and the Vice-President shall be elected by direct vote of the
people
• 1940 Amendents:
• President’s term for six years with no reelection to four years with a
possibility of being reelected for a second term
1943 Constituions

• Preparatory Committee on Philippine Independence- replaced the

1935 Constitution
• used by the Second Republic with Jose P. Laurel as President
Resumption of 1935 Constitution

• Commonwealth Act No. 733- Parity amendment gave United

States citizens equal rights with Filipino citizens to develop
natural resources in the country and operate public utilities.
1973 Constitution

• Before Martila Law Constitutional Convention was already in the

process of deliberating on amending or revising the 1935
Constitution.
• Presidential Decree No. 86, s. 1972, creating citizens assemblies to
ratify the newly drafted constitution by means of a Viva Voce vote
in place of secret ballots.
• 1976 amendments were ratified in the referendum-plebiscite held
in October 1976
1973 Constitution Features

• Semi-parliamentary government with President and the Prime

Minister
• 1976 amendment: National Assembly or the Batasang Pambansa
concurrent legislative authority with the parliament.
• By virtue of Amendment No. 6, Marcos virtually became a one-man
ruler.
• legislative power granted to Pres. Marcos
1987 Constitution

• Proclamation No. 3, suspending certain provisions of the 1973

Constitution and promulgating in its stead a transitory constitution
• Constitutional Commission was tasked with writing a new charter
to replace the 1973 Constitution
• February 2, 1987-National Plebiscite
• The 1987 Constitution finally came into full force and effect that
same day with the President, other civilian officials, and members
of the Armed Forces swearing allegiance to the new charter
1987 Philippine Constitution

• President and the Vice President are directly elected by the

electorates to serve for 6 years
• Vice president may serve for two terms
• Three Branches of Government
• Civilian Authority over the Military
• Constitutional Commissions
- 30 Million hectares land
area
- 9.67 Million hectares farm
land
- Cultivated by almost 5
million farmers
- Employs 12 Million people
- 4% in the National Budget
ARTICLE XIII (1987 Phil. Constitution)
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

AGRARIAN AND NATURAL RESOURCES REFORM

Section 4. The State shall, by law, undertake 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. To this end, the State shall encourage and undertake the just distribution of all
agricultural lands, subject to such priorities and reasonable retention limits as the Congress
may prescribe, taking into account ecological, developmental, or equity considerations, and
subject to the payment of just compensation. In determining retention limits, the State shall
respect the right of small landowners. The State shall further provide incentives for voluntary
land-sharing.
Pre Spanish Era

• Filipinos lived in villages or barangays ruled by chiefs or datus;

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
• Rice used a medium of exchange
Spanish Period

• Encomienda (Royal Land Grants)

• 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
• 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 Republic

• Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo declared in the Malolos Constitution his

intention to confiscate large estates, especially the so-called Friar
lands
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.
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 Provided for certain controls in the landlord-
tenant relationships (Amendment to rice tenancy Act)
• 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.
Japanese Occupation

• landlords who supported the Japanese lost their lands to peasants

while those who supported the Hukbalahap movement earned
fixed rentals in favor of the tenants
Philippine Republic

President Manuel A. Roxas

• 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 Qurino
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
• National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) to resettle
dissidents and landless farmers.
• Republic Act No. 1199 (Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954) -- governed the
relationship between landowners and tenant farmers by organizing share-
tenancy and leasehold system. The law provided the security of tenure of
tenants. It also created the Court of Agrarian Relations.
President Carlos P. Garcia
• Continued the program of President Ramon Magsaysay. No new legislation
passed.
President Diosdado P. Macapagal
• 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.
President Ferdinand E. Marcos
• The entire country was proclaimed a land reform area and
simultaneously the Agrarian Reform Program was decreed
• Created the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Agrarian Reform
Special Account Fund
• 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.
• Restricted land reform scope to tenanted rice and corn lands and set the
retention limit at 7 hectares.
• President Corazon C. Aquino
• Section 21 under Article II that “The State shall promote comprehensive
rural development and agrarian reform.”
• Republic Act No. 6657 or otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law (CARL) 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. 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
• Republic Act No. 7905, 1995 – Strengthened the implementation of
the CARP.
• 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
• 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.
• “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.”
• 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.
•  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.
• President Benigno Aquino III
• 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.
• President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
• 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).
• public lands, including military reserves, under agrarian reform.
• 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
• Taxation is the inherent power of the sovereign, exercised through
the legislature, to impose burdens upon subjects and objects
within its jurisdiction for the purpose of raising revenues to carry
out the legitimate objects of government.
• Taxes are the enforced proportional contributions from persons
and property levied by the law-making body of the State by virtue
of its sovereignty for the support of the government and all public
needs.
Pre-Spanish Time

• “handog”, “buwis” or “alay” (offer)

• customary practice in rendering involvement and support to the
government
• Non-payment of taxes was already punishable during this period
(Santiago, Garcia, and David, 2017)
Spanish Era

• Nature of tax system is tribute or “tributo”

• Paid in cash, in kind, or by personal servitude or “polo y servicio”
• bandala, a system implemented by the Spanish authorities in the
Philippines that required native Filipino farmers to sell their goods to
the government (Funtecha and Padilla, 2010)
• Encomienda System
• 1884, the tribute was replaced by the Cedula personal, wherein
colonists were required to pay for personal identification. This form of
compulsory tax collection shows evidence and proof of the sovereignty
of an imperial government.
American Period and Independence

• cedula, were abolished with the coming of American rule and

no such tax would be imposed
• 1973 Local Tax code, with amendments on the allocation of the residence
tax and on who are covered under it, as well as payment provisions
• Value-Added Tax (VAT) It is an indirect tax, which may be shifted or passed
on to the buyer, transferee or lessee of goods, properties or services
WHAT D O E S TRAIN AIM F O R ?

TRAIN aims to make the current tax

system simpler, fairer, and more
efficient.
Reduce the poverty rate from 26% to
By 2020
17% uplifting about 10 million Filipinos
from poverty
Achieve middle – income status
By 2040 Eradicate extreme poverty, provide
equal opportunities through inclusive
economic and political institutions
and achieve high income status.
HIGHLIGHTS OF TRAIN
INCOME TAXES
Starting 1 January 2018, compensation earners, self-
employed and professional taxpayers (SEP) whose annual
taxable incomes are P250, 000 and below or less than
P21,000 a month is exempted from the personal income
tax (PIT).

SEPs whose gross receipts or sales are below P3 million

have the option to choose from the 8% flat tax rate or the
TRAIN’s new personal income tax table.

SEPs whose annual salaries are P500,000 and below are

exempt from 3% percentage tax.
HIGHLIGHTS O F TRAIN

• The 13th month pay and other bonuses amounting to

P90,000 are likewise tax-exempt.
• TRAIN repeals Section 35 of the National Internal
Revenue Code on personal exemptions of individual
taxpayers. Whether the taxpayer is single, married,
head of the family, with or without dependents, the
taxpayer is exempted from paying personal income tax
(PIT) as long as he /she is earning less than P21,000 a
month.
W H A T A R E T H E B E N E F I T S O F TRAIN?

EDUCATION
Create a more conducive learning environment
with the ideal teacher-to-student ratio

In the next 5 years, the tax reform can fund 629,120 public
school classrooms, or 2,685,101 public school teachers.
W H A T A R E T H E B E N E F I T S O F TRAIN?

H EA LTH CA RE S E R V I C E S

In the next 5 years, the tax reform can fund

60,483 rural health units, or 484,326 barangay

health stations, or 1,324 provincial hospitals.
W H A T A R E T H E B E N E F I T S O F TRAIN?

INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS
Additional funds from the tax reform will be used for the
projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways
which consists of major highways, expressways, and flood
control projects.

In the next 5 years, the tax reform can fund:

35,745 km of paved roads, or

786,400 km of temporary bridge upgrades, or