Test Your Knowledge on Agrarian Reform in the Philippines

Overview of the History of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines

• Agrarian reform is defined as the redistribution of lands to farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless, and includes factors and support services designed to lift the economic status of beneficiaries.

• Before Spanish colonization, pre-colonial Filipinos lived in villages or barangays, with a social structure divided into nobility, freemen, and dependents or slaves.

• The encomienda system was introduced during early Spanish colonization, allowing encomienderos to collect tributes or taxes from the inhabitants of an area, defend from external attack, maintain peace and order, and support missionaries.

• American colonial government attempted to solve the agrarian problem by purchasing "friar lands" from religious corporations and selling them to servants, leading to tenant uprisings.

• Land reform laws were enacted during the Commonwealth period, including the Rice Tenancy Act and creation of the National Rice and Corn Corporation.

• The Magsaysay administration signed laws that benefited the agricultural sector, such as the Agricultural Tenancy Act and Land Reform Act.

• The Marcos administration declared the entire country a land reform area and created the Department of Agrarian Reform, signing the Code of Agrarian Reform into law.

• The Aquino administration signed the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), which instituted a comprehensive agrarian reform program, and created the Agrarian Reform Fund and Department of Agrarian Reform.

• The Estrada administration launched the Farmer's Trust Fund and Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo (MAGKASAKA).

• The Arroyo administration focused on improving land tenure and providing support services through the CARP, transforming agrarian reform communities into rural economic zones.

• The Aquino III administration created the ARCCESS project, Agrarian Production Credit Program, and legal case monitoring system to support agrarian reform.

• The Duterte administration pursued an "aggressive" land reform program to alleviate the lives of farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless.Agrarian Reform Initiatives in the Philippines under President Duterte

• President Duterte prioritized support services for poor Filipino farmers alongside land distribution.

• The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) launched the 2nd phase of agrarian reform to award undistributed lands to landless farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

• 400 hectares of agricultural lands in Boracay were placed under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

• The DAR under Duterte's administration created an anti-corruption task force to investigate and handle reports of alleged anomalous activities by officials and employees of the department.

• The department pursued "Oplan Zero Backlog" to fast-track the implementation of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and resolve cases involving agrarian justice delivery.

• The DAR also implemented a program to provide credit assistance to agrarian reform beneficiaries to improve their productivity.

• President Duterte signed a law to provide free irrigation services to small farmers.

• The government allocated P10 billion for the development of the agriculture sector.

• The president ordered the distribution of idle government lands to qualified beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

• Duterte approved the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development to address the housing needs of Filipinos, including farmers.

• The government launched a program to provide free seeds and fertilizers to farmers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The president signed an executive order to strengthen the implementation of the National Organic Agriculture Program to promote sustainable agriculture practices.