Agrarian Reform in the Philippines PDF

**Readings in Philippine History/Finals** **AGRARIAN REFORM FROM THE COLONIAL ERA TO THE PRESENT** **Land Reform** **Land reform,** a purposive change in the way in which agricultural land is held or owned, the methods of cultivation that are employed, or the relation of agriculture to the rest o...

**Readings in Philippine History/Finals** **AGRARIAN REFORM FROM THE COLONIAL ERA TO THE PRESENT** **Land Reform** **Land reform,** a purposive change in the way in which agricultural land is held or owned, the methods of cultivation that are employed, or the relation of agriculture to the rest of the economy. Reforms such as these may be proclaimed by a government, by interested groups, or by revolution. C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (1).jpg  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (2).jpg  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (4).jpg  **What is the Torrens system in the Philippines?** The Philippines uses the Torrens system of land registration. Under this system, a Torrens title is conclusive against third parties, including the government. A holder of a Torrens title in good faith is guaranteed that his/her title is indefeasible, unassailable and imprescriptible. **What is the real purpose of the Torrens system of registration?** The real purpose is to quiet title to the land and stop forever the question on its legality. Once it is registered, the owner can rest assured without having to wait by the doors of court, to avoid losing his land. A collateral or indirect attack is not allowed. **What are the advantages of Torrens system?** One of the main advantages of the Torrens system is that it provides an efficient and reliable method of land title registration. Specifically, the system provides a guarantee of title, allows for the easy transfer of title, and minimizes the risk of fraud or double registration of titles **Who introduced the Torrens system of land registration?** Robert Richard Torrens Under this system, evidence of ownership was in the form of a certificate, and all dealings for the ship were registered on it. In contrast, the land titling system was complex, uncertain and only defensible by those who profited from it. C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (1).jpg  **Who is the father of Torrens system in the Philippines?** Sir Robert Torrens originated the system of land registration known today worldwide as the Torrens system of land registration. **What is the aim of the land registration law?** The Land Registration Act of the Philippines, enacted in 1903, establishes the process for registering land ownership, including the requirement for public lands to be registered upon alienation, grant, or conveyance, and the duties of the register of deeds in recording and registering land titles. **What is the importance purpose of land registration?** The main objects of land title registration are: - to protect property rights, - to facilitate transactions in land, and - to enable land to be used as collateral for a loan. C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\sk-titulo-torrens.jpg  **Pre-Spanish Period** **What was the type of land ownership during the pre-Spanish time?** Landownership was communal in pre-Hispanic Philippine society. Land was owned by the barangay (village) and individuals had rights to use the land and make it productive. The Spaniards introduced private ownership through the granting of legal titles. **What was the pre Spanish government in the Philippines?** Ancient Filipinos lived in scattered communities called barangays, each ruled by a datu or chieftain. There was no unified government, but some barangays formed confederations. The datu implemented laws, maintained order, and acted as judge. **What happened in the pre-Spanish era?** Before the Spanish first occupied the Philippines, the country was already rich with local cultural history ranging from trading interactions with the Chinese, Indians, etc. to engaging with Islamic leaders from the Middle East and eventually spreading Islam. **What are the key features of pre Spanish?** The pre-Spanish period in the Philippines was a time of indigenous societies with diverse cultures and beliefs. It was characterized by animism, oral tradition, the barangay system, trade networks, artistic expressions, an agricultural economy, and a spirit. **What was the system of land cultivation during pre-colonial era?** Nature is important. Land cultivation was done commonly by kaingin system or the slash and burn method wherein land was cleared by burning the bushes before planting the crops or either land was plowed and harrowed before planting. C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\images (1).jpg  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\History-of-agrarian-reform-3-320.jpg C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\20211019194322\_616f1fdaa043f\_agrarian\_reform.pptxpage1.png**SPANISH PERIOD (1521-1896)** **How did land ownership in the Philippines started during the Spanish period?** The Spaniards introduced private ownership through the granting of legal titles. Thus began the accumulation of land by indigenous elite groups in connivance with the Spanish authorities. Landlordism proliferated in the Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog regions, where the main crops planted were rice and coconut. **What happened to land ownership during the Spanish period?** Private ownership of land was introduced. With this arrangement, every municipal resident was given their choice of the land cultivation, free from tax. **What is agrarian reform in the Spanish period?** Agrarian reform is centered on the relationship between production and the distribution of land among farmers. It is also focused on the political and economic class character of the relations of productions and distribution in farming and related enterprises, and how these connect to the wider class structure.  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\images (1).jpg  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\images (2).jpg What was the encomienda system?  Encomienda (roughly translated: trustee) was a formal system of forced labor in Spanish colonies in Latin America and the Philippines, intended to encourage conquest and colonization. Under this system, leaders of the indigenous community paid tribute to colonists with food, cloth, minerals, or by providing laborers. The encomienda was a Spanish labor system that rewarded conquerors with the labor of conquered non-Christian peoples. The laborers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they labored, including military protection and education. **What is encomienda in Philippine history?** When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, the concept of encomienda (Royal Land Grants) was introduced. This system grants that Encomienderos must defend his encomienda from external attack, maintain peace and order within, and support the missionaries. **What were the two main purposes for the encomienda system?** The Spanish Crown provides a grant (encomienda) to a Spanish colonizer (encomendero) stipulating access to Natives, who are expected to provide labor and tributes to the encomenderos. Encomenderos are also mandated through these grants to convert natives to Christianity and endorse Spanish as their primary language. **What are the three characteristics of the encomienda system?** **Three characteristics** of the Encomienda system were: - Natives paid tribute to the conquistadors, - Conquistadors became trustees of the land, and - indigenous population got to keep their lands. **How did the encomienda system benefit?** The encomienda system allowed for a vast accumulation of wealth by the conquistadors and the Spanish crown. They benefited from the discovery of gold and silver in the New World, and the mining of those metals by their laborers. C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (4).jpg  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\maxresdefault.jpg  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\images (3).jpg Agrarian Revolt of 1745. The Agrarian Revolt was a revolt undertaken between the years 1745 and 1746 in much of the present-day Calabarzon (specifically in Batangas, Laguna, and Cavite) and in Bulacan, with its first sparks in the towns of Lian and Nasugbu in Batangas. **What was the main cause of the Tagalog revolt in 1745?** However, it can be agreed upon that the common underlying cause of these revolts were the generally repressive policies of the Spanish colonial government against the native Filipinos. **What was the agrarian unrest of 1745?** Maharlikas (freemen), followed by the aliping mamamahay (serfs) and aliping saguiguilid (slaves). However, despite the existence of different classes in the socio-political structure, everyone in the community had access to the fruits of the soil. **What happened in the agrarian revolt?** Indigenous landowners rose in arms over the land grabbing of Spanish friars or Catholic religious orders, with native landowners demanding that Spanish priests return their lands on the basis of ancestral domain. The Filipinos burned the local churches, looted the convents and ruined the ranches of the priests **The three major sources of agrarian unrest in the Philippines** 1. the dispute between tenants and landlords, 2. the confrontation between wage laborers and haciendero-planters in traditional plantations, and 3. the confrontation of wage laborers with corporate management C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (8).jpg  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (1).jpg The uprising resonated in other towns of the neighboring province, notably Binan, Imus, Silang, Kawit, Bacoor, San Mateo, Taguig, Paranaque, and Hagonoy. The agrarian conflicts reached the ear of King Philip VI who appointed Oidor ( a judge of the Royal Audiencias and Chancillerias) Pedro Calderon Enriquez to investigate the charges brought against the religious order and to ascertain the validity of their titles to the lands in question. The friars were ordered to submit their titles to a secular judge, but refused to comply, claiming ecclesiastical exemption. In the face of their opposition, the governor general dispossessed the friars of their lands which were said to have been illegally occupied by the friar and which they were continuing to hold without legitimate title, restoring the lands to the Crown. The case was appealed by the friars to the Royal Audencia of Manila and that tribunal upheld the first decision; then the case was further appealed to the Council of the Indies in Spain and again the decision was confirmed. But the whole matter did not stop here; subsequently, the friars won their case and retained the disputed lands, and their ownership of the lands remained intact even after the end of the Spanish regime.  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (3).jpg AMERICAN PERIOD (1898-1935) **What was the land reform during the American period in the Philippines?**  American period\ \ Instead, the United States Congress, influenced by agricultural interests that did not want competition from the Philippines, in the 1902 Land Act, set a limit of 16 hectares of land to be sold or leased to American individuals and 1,024 hectares to American corporations. **What initiated the Americans to focus on land reform?** Realizing that being landless was the main cause of social unrest and revolt at that time, the Americans sought to put an end to the miserable conditions of the tenant tillers and small farmers by passing several land policies to widen the base of small landholdings and distribute land ownership among the greater number of Filipino tenants and farmers. **Philippine Bill of 1902** - provided regulations on the disposal of public lands wherein a private individual can own 16 hectares of land while the corporate land holdings can avail 1,024 hectares. - The Public Land Act of 1903- introduced the homestead system in the Philippines - The Tenancy Act of 1933 Act no 4054 and 4113) which regulated relationships between landowners and tenants of rice (50-50) sharing and sugar cane lands. However, the Land Registration Act of 1902 did not completely solve the problem of land registration under the Torrens system because the lands owners might not have been aware of the law or that they could not pay the survey cost and other fees required in applying for a Torrens title. C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (6).jpg COMMONWEALTH PERIOD (1935-1942) What was the Commonwealth period of agrarian reform? Land reform in the Philippines - Wikipedia  Commonwealth Period C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\images.jpg During the American Colonial Period, tenant farmers complained about the sharecropping system, as well as by the dramatic increase in population which added economic pressure to the tenant farmers\' families. As a result, an agrarian reform program was initiated by the Commonwealth. The *1935 Constitution*, which was promulgated for the promotion of social justice to ensure the well-being and economic security of all people, should be the concern of the State. The Commonwealth Act No. 178 (An amendment to Rice Tenancy Act No. 40451 enacted on November 13, 1936, provided for certain controls in the landlord-tenant relationships. The purpose of Commonwealth Act No. 178 is to enhance the rights and responsibilities of tenants in agricultural lands in the Philippines. It specifically focuses on tenants in rice lands and aims to promote their well-being and regulate their relations with landlords. What is Commonwealth Act No. 461 all about? The purpose of Commonwealth Act No. 461 is to regulate the relationship between landowners and tenants in the Philippines. It aims to protect tenants from unjust dispossession and provide a mechanism for resolving disputes through compulsory arbitration and the Court of Industrial Relations.  The National Rice and Corn Corporation (NARIC) 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. Commonwealth Act No. 441 enacted on June 3, 1939 -- Created the National Settlement Administration with a capital stock of P20,000,000. C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\images (2).jpg  **Japanese Occupation** "The Era of Hukbalahap" The Second World War II started in Europe in 1939 and in the Pacific in 1941. Hukbalahap controlled whole areas of Central Luzon; landlords who supported the Japanese lost their lands to peasants while those who supported the Huks earned fixed rentals in favor of the tenants. Unfortunately, the end of war also signaled the end of gains acquired by the peasants. Upon the arrival of the Japanese in the Philippines in 1942, peasants and workers organizations grew strength. Many peasants took up arms and identified themselves with the anti-Japanese group, the HUKBALAHAP (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon). C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (3).jpg  PRESIDENT MANUEL ROXAS (1946-1948) C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (3).jpg  President Manuel A. Roxas (1946-1948) enacted the following laws: 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. President Elpidio Quirino (1948-1953) As part of his agrarian reform agenda, President Quirino issued Executive Order No. 355 on October 23, 1950, which replaced the National Land Settlement Administration with Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) which takes over the responsibilities of the Agricultural Machinery Equipment CorporationC:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\Elpidio+Quirino+(1948+--+1953).jpg President Ramon Magsaysay (1953-1957)  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (6).jpg What was the land reform during the term of Ramon Magsaysay? During the last special session Magsaysay enacted Republic Act No. 1400, known as the Land Tenure Reform Law. The Administration established by this law has taken the first steps to acquire landed estates for redistribution. The NARRA continued to do a commendable job of resettling families in public lands. What is the Court of agrarian Relations Magsaysay? The Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954 led to a more mutually beneficial relationship between landlords and farmers. Magsaysay pushed for the creation of the Court of Agrarian Relations to resolve conflicts and settle disputes between tenants and landowners. **Ramon Magsaysay (1953-1957)** enacted the following laws: - - - - President Carlos P. Garcia (1957-1961)  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download (1).jpg **President Carlos P. Garcia (1957-1961)** Continued the program of President Ramon Magsaysay. No new legislation passed. President Diosdado Macapagal (1961-1965) C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\images.jpg The Agricultural Land Reform Code (RA 3844) was a major Philippine land reform law enacted in 1963 under President Diosdado Macapagal. To make the small farmers more independent, self-reliant and responsible citizens, and a source of genuine strength in our democratic society. RA 3844 salient points: - 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 Sr. (1965-1986) September 10, 1971, President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed the Code of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines into law which established the Department of Agrarian Reform, effectively replacing the Land Authority. In 1978, the DAR was renamed the Ministry of Agrarian Reform. C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\images (2).jpg **President Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965-1986)** Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972 ushered the Period of the New Society. Five days after the proclamation of Martial Law, the entire country was proclaimed a land reform area and simultaneously the Agrarian Reform Program was decreed. President Marcos Sr. enacted the following laws: - - - President Corazon C. Aquino **President Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992)** The Constitution ratified by the Filipino people during the administration of President Corazon C. Aquino provides under Section 21 under Article II that "The State shall promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform." On June 10, 1988, former President Corazon C. Aquino signed into law Republic Act No. 6657 or otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). The law became effective on June 15, 1988. Subsequently, four Presidential issuances were released in July 1987 after 48 nationwide consultations before the actual law was enacted. President Corazon C. Aquino enacted the following laws: - - - - - - -  C:\\Users\\ay\\Downloads\\download.jpg The Hacienda Luisita Massacre **What is the issue in Hacienda Luisita?** The case involves Hacienda Luisita, a large agricultural estate in the Philippines. The issue is the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and the stock distribution option (SDO) in relation to the agricultural lands in Hacienda Luisita. **How many were killed in Hacienda Luisita?** 14 people The farmer leader is also said to be a witness in the massacre that happened in Hacienda Luisita last November 16, 2004, during which 14 people were killed and several hundred others were injured **What is the story of Hacienda Luisita massacre?** The enforcers utilized tear gas, water cannons, guns, and military vehicles to disseminate the crowd. Seven of the people participating in the rally were killed, an estimated number of 121 people, adults and children, were injured, and 133 people were arrested and detained. President Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998) **President Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998)** When President Fidel V. Ramos formally took over in 1992, his administration came face to face with publics who have lost confidence in the agrarian reform program. His administration committed to the vision "Fairer, faster and more meaningful implementation of the Agrarian Reform Program. President Fidel V. Ramos enacted the following laws: - - - - - President Joseph E. Estrada (1998-2000) **President Joseph E. Estrada (1998-2000)** "ERAP PARA SA MAHIRAP'. This was the battle cry that endeared President Joseph Estrada and made him very popular during the 1998 presidential election. President Joseph E. Estrada initiated the enactment of the following law: 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. During his administration, President Estrada launched the Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA. The DAR forged into joint ventures with private investors into agrarian sector to make FBs competitive. However, the Estrada Administration was short lived. The masses who put him into office demanded for his ouster. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010) Executive Order No. 379 s 2004amending EO 364 Titled Transforming the Department of Agrarian Reform into the Department of Land Reform (DLR) which broadened the scope of the Department by making it responsible for all land reform in the country. It also placed the Philippine Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP) under its supervision and control. DLR was also responsible for the recognition of the ownership of the ancestral domain by indigenous peoples, under the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). The agrarian reform program under the Arroyo administration is anchored on the vision "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 - DAR will remain vigorous in implementing land acquisition and distribution component of CARP. The DAR will improve land tenure system through land distribution and leasehold. 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. Infrastructure 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. KALAHI ARZone - The KALAHI Agrarian Reform (KAR) Zones were also launched. These zones consists of one or more municipalities with concentration of ARC population to achieve greater agro-productivity. 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. DAR will respect the rights of both farmers and landowners. President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino (2010-2016) **President Benigno Aquino III (2010-2016)** President Benigno Aquino III vowed during his 2012 State of the Nation Address that he would complete before the end of his term the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), the centerpiece program of the administration of his mother, President Corazon Aquino. The younger Aquino distributed their family-owned Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac (which was never materialized as it was substituted with SDC). Apart from the said farm lots, he also promised to complete the distribution of privately-owned lands of productive agricultural estates in the country that have escaped the coverage of the program (nothing was materialized too). Under his administration, the 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. The legal case monitoring system (LCMS), a web-based legal system for recording and monitoring various kinds of agrarian cases at the provincial, regional and central offices of the DAR to ensure faster resolution and close monitoring of agrarian-related cases, was also launched. Aside from these initiatives, Aquino also enacted Executive Order No. 26, Series of 2011, to mandate the Department of Agriculture-Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Department of Agrarian Reform Convergence Initiative to develop a National Greening Program in cooperation with other government agencies. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016-June 30, 2022) Under his leadership, the President wants to pursue an "aggressive" land reform program that would help alleviate the life of poor Filipino farmers by prioritizing the provision of support services alongside land distribution. 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). 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. 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. The Department also pursues an "Oplan Zero Backlog" in the resolution of cases in relation to agrarian justice delivery of the agrarian reform program to fast-track the implementation of CARP. Digested by Sir Aex V. Abelos References: Ligan, V. et. Al (2018). Readings in Philippine history. Valenzuela City. Mutya Publications. Cantal, D.F. et.al. (2014). Philippine history. Malabon City. Mutya Publications.