Understanding Agrarian Reform

• Agrarian Reform involves redistributing lands to landless farmers and farm workers, regardless of crops produced, with support services to improve their economic status.
• The main goal of agrarian reform is to resolve land ownership conflicts and promote harmony between rural and urban populations, leading to political stability in the country.
• Land Reform consists of integrated measures designed to eliminate obstacles to economic and social development caused by agrarian structure defects.

Aspects of Agrarian Reform

• Economic Aspect: Agriculture is a predominant industry and motivating farmers to own the land they till intends to increase their production, freeing them from landlord control.
• Socio-Cultural Aspect: Aims to shift farmers from self-subsistence to surplus production, improve social order in farmlands, encourage leadership roles, and enable farmers to educate their children due to increased income, while also promoting a modern outlook and receptiveness to family planning.
• Religious Aspect: Based on biblical teachings, God owns the earth and provides for all, granting everyone the right to use and enjoy its fruits for their advancement.

Objectives of Agrarian Reform

• The primary goal is to resolve conflicts related to land ownership.
• Aims to bring equality in terms of opportunities, income, and wealth.
• Programs are primarily designed to facilitate activities such as land acquisition under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)

• Republic Act 6657 (CARP) entails the redistribution of public and private agricultural lands to landless farmers and farmworkers.
• Land Tenure Improvement is a major CARP program that seeks to hasten land distribution to landless farmers.
• Republic Act No. 6657, known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), signed by President Corazon C. Aquino on June 10, 1988, provides the legal basis for CARP.

History of Agrarian Reform

• Pre-Colonial Period: Communities known as barangays, consisting of 30-100 families led by chiefs, had communal land access and resource sharing.
• Spanish Colonization: The Spanish introduced the "pueblo" system, organizing native rural communities into agricultural settlements.
• Japanese Occupation: Peasants and workers formed the HUKBALAHAP on March 29, 1942, as an anti-Japanese group.
• Manuel L. Quezon's Administration: RA 4054 or the Rice Tenancy Law, was the first law on crop sharing, legalizing a 50-50 share between landlord and tenant to protect tenants against landlord abuses.
• Manuel Roxas' Administration: Republic Act No. 34 established a 70-30 sharing arrangement between tenant and landlord.
• Elpidio Quirino’s Administration: Executive Order No. 355 established the Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) to accelerate and expand the government's peasant resettlement program.
• President Magsaysay aimed to pursue an honest land reform program.

Agrarian Reform Laws and Acts

• LAND REFORM ACT OF 1955 (R.A 1400): Defines land tenure policy and allocates funds for implementation.
• REVISED AGRICULTURAL LAND REFORM CODE (R.A 6389): Abolishes personal cultivation, converts share-tenants to leasehold tenants, creates the Department of Agrarian Reform, grants tenant rights on land, increases funding for land reform, and credits rentals in favor of the tenant.

Lands Covered by R.A 6389

• Tenanted areas
• Landed estates
• Old settlements
• Proposed settlements

Lands Covered by CARL

• All alienable and disposal lands of the public domain.
• Lands of the public domain exceeding specific terms.
• All lands owned by the government.
• All private lands.

Qualified Beneficiaries of CARL

• Agricultural lessees and share tenants
• Regular farmworkers
• Seasonal farmworkers
• Other farmworkers
• Actual tillers or occupants of public lands
• Collectives or cooperatives of the above beneficiaries
• Others directly working on the land

CARPER LAW

• Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER LAW) strengthened and improved CARL.
• The CARPER Law has a budget of 150 billion.
• Contains seven new provisions and 26 reform provisions.
• Restored compulsory acquisition and extended the land acquisition and distribution component by five years.
• Aims to balance the interests of landowners, farmers, and the DAR.
• Created the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agrarian Reform (COCAR).

New Constitution of the Philippines

• The etymological definition of the term constitution comes from word "constitution," used for regulations and orders.
• Defined as a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed.

Purpose of the Constitution

• Serves as the fundamental law of the land, superseding all other laws.
• Provides the essential framework of government, defining the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Constitutions of the Philippines

• MALOLOS CONSTITUTION: Known as the La Constitution Politica de Malolos, written in Spanish, and was the first republican constitution in Asia, drafted in 1899.
• THE 1935 CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES: Written in 1934, approved by the Commonwealth, and used by the Third Republic, ensuring U.S. approval for Philippine independence.
• THE 1943 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES: Provided strong executive powers and a National Assembly with limited representation.
• 1973 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES: Shifted from a presidential to a parliamentary system, with the president as head of state and executive power held by the prime minister.
• 1986 PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION: Known as the Freedom Constitution, promulgated by President Corazon C. Aquino on March 25, 1986, granted executive and legislative powers to the president.
• CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES - Ratified on February 2, 1987, is the fourth fundamental law.

Taxation in the Philippines

• Essential for government revenue to support state functions.
• Pre-Colonial Period (900 - 1521): Early Filipinos practiced taxation called “buwis” or "handug”.
• Barangay: Each unit of government was ruled by a “datu” or “raha”.
• “Tumao” class (includes the datu), “Timawa” class (warriors class), “Oripun” class (commoners/slaves) pays taxes.
• SPANISH PHILIPPINES (1521-1898): Taxation implemented under Spanish Rule.
• AMERICANS (1898-1935): Americans followed the Spanish system of taxation.

Civil Government in the Philippines

• William H. Taft (1902)
• Luke E. Wright (1904)
• Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) created on July 2, 1904, through Reorganization Act No. 1189.
• August 1, 1904: BIR was formally organized.
• The bureau is mandated by law to assess and collect all national internal revenue taxes, fees, and charges
• The Internal Revenue Law of 1904-licensed and excise taxes, taxes on banks, doc. Stamp taxes, cedula, taxes on insurance company, forest products, mining concessions, taxes on business, occupational licenses were introduced.
• 1907: Changes in cedula and industrial tax.
• The cedula under the new law went through changes as the rate was fixed per adult male.
• Some places were authorized to double the fee for the cedula.
• The industrial tax was charged.
• October 3, 1913: Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act U.S Pres. Woodrow Wilson Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison ensured to reduce levies on manufactured and semi-manufactured goods and to eliminate duties on most raw materials.

Taxation

• Income tax (1914).
• Inheritance Tax (1919).
• Nov. 15, 1937: Abolition of Cedula Tax
• The cedula tax was abolished by the National Assembly of the Philippines because of the heavy burden that brings to the poor people.

Taxation during the Commonwealth Period

• January 1, 1940: Imposing of Residence Tax
• Every inhabitant of the Philippines over eighteen years of age who has been regularly employed on a wage or salary basis and on every corporation no matter how created or organized is subject to residence tax.
• Exemptions are the ff.:
• US high commissioner and member of his staff,
• Commissioned officers and enlisted soldiers of US army and navy
• -Representative and officers of foreign powers
• -Transient visitors staying less than 3 months in Philippines
• National Internal Revenue Code of 1939 introduced a new tax system.

Japanese Regime (1942-1945)

• The Bureau was combined with the Customs Office and was headed by a Director of Customs and Internal Revenue.
• Post-War Era - July 4, 1946: Bureau was re-established separately with reorganization on October 1, 1947 by virtue of Executive Order No. 94.

Reorganization on October 1, 1947

• The Accounting Unit and the Revenue Accounts and Statistical Division were merged into one.
• All records in the Records Section under the Administrative Division were consolidated.
• All legal work were centralized in the Law Division.
• Revenue Regulations No. V-2 dated October 23, 1947, divided the country into 31 inspection units, each of which was under a Provincial Revenue Agent.
• The second major reorganization of the Bureau took place on January 1, 1951 through the passage of Executive Order No. 392.
• Three new departments were created, namely: Legal, Assessment, and Collection.
• Memorandum Order No. V-188 created the Withholding Tax Unit.
• Implementation of the withholding tax system was adopted by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 690.
• The third major reorganization of the Bureau took effect on March 1, 1954 through Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No.41.
• The Specific Tax Division, Litigation Section, Processing Section, and the Office of the City Revenue Examiner were created.
• By September 1, 1954, a Training Unit was created through RMO No. V-4-47.
• The Bureau created Regional Offices in Cebu and in Davao on July 20, 1955 per RMO No. V-536.
• Each Regional Office was headed by a Regional Director, assisted by Chiefs of five Branches: Tax Audit, Collection, Investigation, Legal, and Administrative.
• In January 1957, the position title of the head of the Bureau was changed from Collector to Commissioner.

1958 Taxation Changes

• Establishment of the Tax Census Division and the corresponding Tax Census Unit for each Regional Office sought to consolidate all statements of assets, incomes, and liabilities of all individual and resident corporations in the Philippines into a National Tax Census.
• RA No. 233 or the Rewards Law was passed on June 19, 1959.
• In 1964, the Philippines was re-divided anew into 15 regions and 72 inspection districts.
• Marcos Administration:The appointment of Misael Vera as Commissioner in 1965 led the Bureau to a "new direction" in tax administration.
• The "Blue Master Program" was adopted to curb the abuses of both the taxpayers and BIR personnel.
• The "Voluntary Tax Compliance Program" was designed to encourage professionals in the private and government sectors to report their true income and to pay the correct amount of taxes.
• Providing each taxpayer with a permanent Tax Account Number (TAN) in 1970 facilitated the identification of taxpayers.
• The payment of taxes through banks (per Executive Order No.206),
• Martial Law on September 21, 1972 marked the advent of the New Society and ushered in a new approach to the developmental efforts of the government.

Changes in taxation during Martial Law Period (1972-1980)

• In 1976, the Bureau's National Office transferred from the Finance Building in Manila to its own 12-story building in Quezon City.
• President Marcos promulgated the National Internal Revenue Code of 1977 , which updated the 1934 Tax Code.
• On August 1, 1980, the Bureau was further reorganized.

Taxation

• Taxation is "the lifeblood of any state".
• It is the inherent power of any state, acting through the legislature to impose and collect revenues to support the government and its recognized object.

Qualities of Taxes

• Enforced contribution.
• Payable in money.
• Proportionate in character.
• Imposed on persons or property.
• Imposed by the state which has jurisdiction over the person or property.
• Imposed by the law-making body of the state.
• It is levied for public purposes.

Kinds of taxes under existing laws

• Direct taxes- these are paid and shouldered directly by the taxpayer.
• Capital gains tax
• Withholding tax
• Income tax
• Donors tax
• Estate tax
• Indirect taxes-there are paid by the taxpayer but which he can shift or pass on to others.
• Value added tax
• Excise tax
• Documentary stamp tax

Four canons for good taxation

• Equity- must be based on ability to pay.
• Certainty- the amount to be paid and the manner for payment must be certain.
• Convenience- the time for payment and the manner of collection must not be oppressive.
• Economy- the tax to levied must be just enough to sustain the government and its function.

Three phases of taxation

• Levy or imposition
• Assessment and collection
• Payment