Agrarian Reform from the Spanish Colonial Philippines to the Present Flashcards
Gained great significance all over the world as it aims to achieve social justice and full development of human dignity; Throughout time, the issue of Land reform has been persistent, demanding measures to stop social unrest.
Land Reform
Filipinos already lived in villages and barangays even before the Spaniards came to the Philippines; The settlements were ruled by chieftains or datus who comprised the nobility. There were also the maharlikas (freeman), the aliping mamamahay (serfs) and aliping saguiguilid (slaves); Despite the existence of a social structure, everyone had access to the fruits of the soil; Rice was the medium of exchange as money was yet unknown.
Pre-Spanish Period
The Spaniards introduced the concept of encomienda to the Philippines.
Spanish Period (1521-1896)
a system of giving lands (Royal Land Grants) to the Spanish conquerors that were loyal to the Spanish monarch.
Encomienda
must defend his encomienda from external attack, maintain peace and order within, and support the missionaries; given the right to collect taxes (tribute) from the indios (natives); started to abuse their power by renting their lands to a few powerful landlords, and the natives who once freely cultivated the land became share tenants
Encomienderos
Taxation was not only the reasons for the revolts of the Filipinos during the Spanish period, but the agrarian unrest as well.
Agrarian Uprising (1745-46)
Agrarian Revolt happened between 1745 and 1746 in Batangas, Laguna and Cavite, and Bulacan; The revolt happened in the towns of Lian and Nasugbu in Batangas; The grabbing of lands by the Catholic religious orders angered the native lands owners and demanded that their lands be returned based on ancestral domain; However, the Spanish priests refused which resulted to riots and massive looting of convents and the burning down of churches and ranches. Troops were sent from Manila to Batangas to quell the disturbance. The encounter was bloody and those who surrendered were pardoned. The uprising resonated in other towns of the neighboring provinces, notably Biñan, Imus, Silang, Kawit, Bacoor, San Mateo, Taguig, Parañaque, and Hagonoy. The agrarian conflicts reached the ear of King Philip VI who appointed Oidor (a judge of the Royal Audiencias and Chancillerías) Pedro Calderon Enriquez to investigate the charges brought against the religious orders 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 the lands which were said to have been illegally occupied by the friars 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 Audiencia 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.
Agrarian Revolt
President: Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo came to power in 1899; Actions: the Malolos Constitution was crafted intended to confiscate the so-called Friar lands and other large estates; Problems: the First Philippine Republic was short-lived so that the plan to confiscate the lands was never executed.
The First Philippine Republic
There were some noteworthy regulations enacted during the American period; Challenge: 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.
American Period (1998 – 1935)
set the ceilings on the hectarage of private individuals to 16 hectares, and 1,024 hectares for corporations
Philippine Bill of 1902
Act No. 469; provided for a comprehensive registration of land titles under the Torrens system
Land Registration Act of 1902
introduced the homestead system in the Philippines
The Public Land Act of 1903
Act No. 4054 and 4113; regulated relationships between landowners and tenants of rice (50-50 sharing) and sugar cane lands
The Tenancy Act of 1933
President: Manuel L. Quezon; Actions: Social Justice program to block the increasing social unrest in Central Luzon.
Commonwealth Period (1935-1942)
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.
1935 Constitution
An Amendment to Rice Tenancy Act No. 4045; enacted on Nov. 13, 1936, provided for certain controls in the landlord-tenant relationships
Commonwealth Act No. 178
established the price of rice and corn that helped the poor tenants as well as consumers
National Rice and Corn Corporation (NARIC) of 1936
specified the reasons for dismissal of tenants and only with the approval of the Tenancy Division of the Department of Justice
Commonwealth Act. No. 461, 1937
created on March 2, 1939; provided the purchase and lease of haciendas and their sale and lease to the tenants
Rural Program Administration
enacted on June 3, 1939; created the National Settlement Administration with a capital stock of P20,000,000
Commonwealth Act No. 441
The problems of land tenure in the Philippines remained even after the Philippine Independence in 1946. To address the problem, the Philippines Congress revised the tenancy law.
Japanese Occupation
Hukbo Laban sa Hapon; Controlled the areas of Central Luzon during the Second World War; Composed of peasants and workers who took up ars against the Japanese forces; Peasants who supported them earned fixed rentals; Landowners who supported the Japanese lost their lands to peasants; Short-lived because it ended with WWII
Hukbalahap
During Roxas’ administration, the laws were enacted.
President Manuel Roxas (1946 – 1948)
established the 70-30 sharing arrangements and regulated the share-tenancy contracts
Republic Act No. 34
provided for a more effective safeguard against arbitrary ejectment of tenants
Republic Act No. 55
Passed LASEDECO
President Elpido Quirino (1948 – 1953)
issued on October 23, 1950; replaced the National Land Settlement Administration with Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO); took over the responsibilities of the Agricultural Machinery Equipment Corporation and the Rice and Corn Production Administration
Executive Order No. 355
President Ramon Magsaysay enacted laws.
President Ramon Magsaysay (1953 – 1957)
abolished the LASEDECO and established the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) to resettle dissidents and landless farmers; It was particularly aimed at rebel returnees providing home lots and farmlands in Palawan and Mindanao
Republic Act No. 1160 of 1954
Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954; governed the relationship between landowners and tenant farmers by organizing share-tenancy and leasehold system; It also created the Court of Agrarian Relations
Republic Act No. 1199
Land Reform Act of 1955; created the Land Tenure Administration (LTA) which was responsible for the acquisition and distribution of large tenanted rice and corn lands over 200 hectares for individuals and 600 hectares for corporations.
Republic Act No. 1400
Creation of Agricultural Credit Cooperative Financing Administration; provided loans to small farmers and share tenants with interest rates of as low six to eight percent
Republic Act No. 821
_ who succeeded the presidency after the death of President Ramon Magsaysay continued the program.
President Carlos P. Garcia
President Diosdado Macapagal enacted one law.
President Diosdado Macapagal (1961 – 1965)
Agricultural Land Reform Code of August 8, 1963 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
Republic Act No. 3844
The Philippines “New Society” (Kilusang Bagong Lipunan) was ushered in by the proclamation of Martial law (Proclamation No. 1081) on September 21, 1972. During this time, the Agrarian Reform program was put into law and land reform program was implemented.
President Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1986)
created the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Agrarian Reform Special Account Fund and expanded the scope of agrarian reform
Republic Act No. 6389, (Code of Agrarian Reform) and RA No. 6390 of 1971
September 26, 1972; declared the country under land reform program and activated the Agrarian Reform Coordinating Council. All government agencies were ordered to fully cooperate and assist the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
Presidential Decree No. 2,
October 21, 1972; restricted the land reform scope to tenanted rice and corn lands and set the retention limit at 7 hectares
Presidential Decree No. 27
Article II, Sec. 21 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that “The State shall promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform.”
President Corazon C. Aquino (1986 – 1992)
July 16, 1987; declared full land ownership to qualified farmer-beneficiaries covered by PD 27
Executive Order No. 228
July 22, 1987; provided the mechanism for the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)
Executive Order No. 229
July 22, 1987; instituted the CARP as a major program of the government; provided for a special fund known as the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF), with an initial amount of Php. 50 billion to cover the estimated cost of the program from 1987-1992
Proclamation No. 131
Special fund for CARP
Agrarian Reform Fund
July 26, 1987; streamlined and expanded the power and operations of the DAR
Executive Order No. 129-A
June 10, 1988; Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL); instituted a comprehensive agrarian reform program to promote social justice and industrialization. This law is still at work until the present
Republic Act No. 6657
June 14, 1990; conferred in the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) the responsibility to determine land valuation and compensation for all lands covered by CARP
Executive Order No. 405
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
Executive Order No. 407
President Fidel V. Ramos enacted laws that would promote a more meaningful agrarian reform program.
President Fidel V. Ramos (1992 – 1998)
amended certain provisions of RA 6657 and exempted fishponds and prawns from CARP coverage
Republic Act No. 7881 of 1995
strengthened CARP Implementation
Republic Act No. 7905 of 1995
prescribed the guidelines for the protection of areas non-negotiable for conversion and monitoring compliance with Section 20 of the Local Government Code
Executive Order No. 363 of 1997
Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act AFMA; prescribing urgent related measures to modernize the agriculture and fisheries sectors of the country in order to enhance their profitability and prepare said sectors for the challenges of globalization through an adequate, focused and rational delivery of necessary support services, appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes
Republic Act No. 8435 of 1997
He passed Farmer’s Trust Fund, MAGKASAKA and Agrikulturan Maka Masa
President Joseph E. Estrada (1998 – 2000)
September 1999; Farmer’s Trust Fund; established the farmers trust development program and provided institutional reforms and fund mechanisms for mobilizing long term private sector capital for rural development
Executive Order NO. 151
The DAR forged into joint ventures with private investors into agrarian sector
MAGKASAKA
achieved an output growth of 6 percent, which lowered the inflation rate from 11 percent in January 1999 to just a little over 3 percent by November of the same year. This was a record high at the time
Agrikulturang Maka Masa
Pres. _ envisioned making 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; So, on September 27, 2004, President _, signed 3 orders.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2001-2010)
amending Executive Order No. 364; Transforming the Department of Agrarian Reform into the Department of Land Reform (DLR): broadened the scope of the Department by making it responsible for all land reform in the country; placed the Philippine Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP) under its supervision and control; responsible for the recognition of the ownership of ancestral domain by indigenous peoples, under the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)
Executive Order No. 379 s 2004
operationalized the development of Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Agrarian Reform Zones (KALAHI ARZones).
Memorandum Circular No. 4 s 2003
an act strengthening the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP); extending the acquisition and distribution of all agricultural lands, instituting necessary reforms, amending for the purpose certain provisions of republic act no. 6657, otherwise known as the comprehensive agrarian reform law of 1988, as amended, and appropriating funds therefor
Republic Act No. 9700 s 2009
together with farmers, Catholic bishops, and other land reform advocates developed a plan of action for the implementation of the ComprehensiveAgrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER)
President Benigno Simeon Cojuanco Aquino III (2010 – 2016)
multi-stakeholders mechanism, composed of representatives from the Department of Agrarian Reform and other CARP implementing agencies of the government, Church officials, non-governmental organizations, peoples organizations, and other farmers’ groups and federations to monitor the implementation of the CARP
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER)
coverage and distribution of agricultural lands; movement and performance of Department of Agrarian Reform personnel; delivery of support services to the beneficiaries; and budget allocation and utilization
Focuses of CARPER
The issue of land reform has been persistent even up to the present time; The _ administration is committed to pursuing the agrarian reform program in the country. President _, who is also the chairman of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), has included land tenure security in his 10-point socio-economic agenda to improve the quality of life of farmers and raise their productivity.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016-2022)
