AGL mid.docx

8/14/2019 AGL mid.docx

1/6

Concepcion, Earl Justin B. AGL Sat 1-3 Atty.Duka

Midterm paper

Extent of Implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

To fully grasp the extent of the implementation of the Comprehensive AgrarianReform Program it must be first establish the lands that are covered of the saidprogram.

The scope of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program are the following:

(a) All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devotedto or suitable for agriculture. No reclassification of forest or mineral landsto agricultural lands shall be undertaken after the approval of this Act

until Congress, taking into account ecological, developmental and equityconsiderations, shall have determined by law, the specific limits of thepublic domain.

(b) All lands of the public domain in excess of the specific limits asdetermined by Congress in the preceding paragraph;

(c) All other lands owned by the Government devoted to or suitablefor agriculture; and

(d) All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardlessof the agricultural products raised or that can be raised thereon.

(e) Lease, management, grower or service contracts covering suchlands covering an aggregate area in excess of 1,000 hectares, leased orheld by foreign individuals in excess of 500 hectares are deemedamended to conform with the limits set forth in Section 3 of Article XII ofthe Constitution.

(f) Contracts covering areas not in excess of 1,000 hectares in the

case of such corporations and associations, and 500 hectares, in thecase of such individuals, shall be allowed to continue under their originalterms and conditions but not beyond August 29, 1992, or their validtermination, whichever comes sooner, after which, such agreementsshall continue only when confirmed by the appropriate governmentagency. Such contracts shall likewise continue even after the lands hasbeen transferred to beneficiaries or awardees thereof, which transfershall be immediately commenced and implemented and completedwithin the period of three (3) years mentioned in the first paragraph

hereof.

There are some exceptions in the coverage subject to the following conditions:

(a)Lands actually, directly and exclusively used and found to benecessary for parks, wildlife, forest reserves, reforestation, fishsanctuaries and breeding grounds, watersheds, and mangroves,


2/6

national defense, school sites and campuses includingexperimental farm stations operated by public or private schools foreducational purposes, seeds and seedlings research and pilotproduction centers, church sites and convents appurtenant thereto,mosque sites and Islamic centers appurtenant thereto, communalburial grounds and cemeteries, penal colonies and penal farmsactually worked by the inmates, government and private researchand quarantine centers

(b) all lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope and over, except thosealready developed

(c)The land owner of the private agricultural land, generally shall haveno more than five hectares subject to exception that Threehectares can be awarded to each child of the land owner that is at

least 15 years old and he is actually tilling the land or directlymanaging the farm

At the beginning of its implementation, CARP expected to cover about 9.8 millionhectares. Subsequent re-assessments of potential areas led to a downward revisionof program scope to 8.2 million hectares. (World Bank 2009)1

CARP Scope and Accomplishment, 20072

Land Type/Mode of Acquisition Scope (ha) % AccomplishmentDARa 4,428,357 89.4

Private Agricultural Land 3,093,251 72.5Operational land transfer 616,233 91.9Government Financing Institutions 243,434 66.7Voluntary Offer to sell 437,970 133.4Compulsory Acquisition 1,507,122 18.4Voluntary Land Transfer 288,492 225.6

Non-Private Agricultural Land 133,106 128.8Settlements 604,116 120.8Land Estates 70,173 115.2

Government Owned lands 660,817 137.5DENRb 3,771,441 81.0Public Alienable Disposable Land 2,502,000 68.7Integrated Social Foresty/ Community Based

Forest Management1,269,411 105.2

Total 8,199,768 85.6Note: aScope pertains to 2006 figures. DAR recently revised this to 2007, though breakdown by program type is notavailable.bAccomplishment is as of 2006.

Computing the total accomplishment approximately 6,969,802.8 hectares havealready been distributed to the farmers by 2007. This means there are only1,229,966.8 hectares to be distributed.

1

According to the file it is not for quotation/ distribution. Work in progress2World Bank. 2009. Land Reform, Rural Development, and Poverty Reduction in the Philippines: Revisiting the Agenda


3/6

According to the report of the Department of Agrarian Reform which was publishedby the Official Gazette. As of January 1, 2013, there are 879,526 hectare (grossarea) that is left for acquisition. From that gross are there are still areas that will bededucted because they are non-CARPABLE portions such as roads, easements,creeks, undeveloped portions of more than 18 slope, and the retention area forprivate agricultural lands. It is estimated that 175,000 hectares will go thelandowners leaving a 704,526 hectares of distributable land. With the 704,526hectares it is estimated that 182,121 are problematic, such as those with pendingcases, technical problems, etc.

Comparing Laos agrarian reform to Philippines agrarian reform

Laos

Laos is a communist state and all lands belong to the nation as a whole andmanaged by the government. Beginning in the 1990s, Lao PDR began to formalizeindividual land-use rights and strengthen tenure security through land titling and landallocation programs. A land title is evidence of permanent land-use rights, which canbe bought and sold, mortgaged or bequeathed (Lastarria-Cornhiel 2007).

In rural areas, the state distributed temporary land-use certificates (TLUCs) foragricultural and forest land. TLUCs are valid for three years, and the use rightsevidenced by a TLUC can be bequeathed and inherited but cannot be sold, leased

or used as collateral.

Rural families may also request a Land Survey Certificate (LSC) to prove permanentland-use rights. Rights evidenced by LSCs can be bought, sold, mortgaged andbequeathed. (GTZ 2009).

Local authorities may also issue a Land Tax Declaration or a Land Tax Receipt. Inrural areas, land users sometimes use these documents as proof of land-use rightsor to assert compensation claims when land concessions occur. However, thesedocuments cannot be used to transfer land rights. (GTZ 2009).

Communal tenure, under which local communities control common property such asupland areas, grazing land, village-use forests and sacred forests, is prevalent inrural areas, although the state does not yet formally recognize such tenure. Ruralfamilies may also hold informal rights to agricultural land allocated by traditionalauthorities under informal or customary rules.

A Land Tax Declaration, issued by the District Land Tax Division, allows the holderto use the land, and may be used to record transfer of the right by inheritance. Localauthorities also issue Land Tax Receipts for tax payments. Although Land TaxReceipts are not transferable by law, villagers do use them as evidence of theirrights, including for the purpose of selling or leasing out the land. Most rural landusers have at least a Land Tax Receipt showing that they have paid tax on the landthey claim. Citizens can use Land Tax Declarations and Receipts as evidence ofland use when applying for an LSC (GTZ 2009; Ngaosrivathana and Rock 2007).


4/6

Under the 2003 Land Law, the state may only expropriate land for public interest useor public purposes. Compensation must be paid prior to commencement of projectconstruction and may include voluntary contribution, an exchange for another pieceof land and/or cash payments. The criteria establishing who is eligible forcompensation are unclear; some decrees include all affected persons, while othersrequire compensation only for those with land-use rights (GOL Land Law 2003b;Ngaosrivathana and Rock 2007).

Philippines

Land distribution is skewed. In the rural sector, there are an estimated 2.9 millionsmall farms that average 2 hectares and 13,681 large private landholdings of up to20,000 hectares. There are 10.2 million marginal farmers and farm workers, 70% ofwhom are landless. Since the 1930s, the State has instituted various land reforms,

the latest of which is the 1988 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law. Whileconsiderable swaths of land have been redistributed, the most contentious privateagricultural lands, which are also the most productive and fertile, remain with wealthyprivate landowners (FAO 1997; Borras and Franco 2007). In the Philippines, landsare either public domain (State-owned) or privately owned. Under the 1987Constitution, only public agricultural lands may be leased up to 1000 hectares toprivate corporations, and leased up to 500 hectares or acquired by purchase,homestead or grant of up to 12 hectares by individual citizens (GOP Constitution1987a, Art. 12, Sec. 3).

The major land reform laws are the 1988 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law(CARL) and the 1992 Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA). The CARLbroadened the scope of rural land reform by including private and public agriculturallands regardless of crops and tenure arrangements, and providing for supportservices to agrarian reform beneficiaries, including infrastructure, capability-buildingand credit/marketing assistance. Lands were to be distributed to landless farmersand farm workers within a period of 10 years, but when this was not achieved, thelaw was extended for another 10 years, and then again extended until 2014.

The CARL provides retention limit on ownership by a landowner which shall notexceed five (5) hectares. Three (3) hectares may be awarded to each child of thelandowner, subject to the following qualifications: (1) that he is at least fifteen (15)years of age; and (2) that he is actually tilling the land or directly managing the farm.The lands that will be taken are also subject to fair market value.

There are still lands that are exempt from the agrarian reform these are landsactually, directly and exclusively used and found to be necessary for parks, wildlife,forest reserves, reforestation, fish sanctuaries and breeding grounds, watersheds,and mangroves, national defense, school sites and campuses including experimentalfarm stations operated by public or private schools for educational purposes, seedsand seedlings research and pilot production centers, church sites and conventsappurtenant thereto, mosque sites and Islamic centers appurtenant thereto,communal burial grounds and cemeteries, penal colonies and penal farms actuallyworked by the inmates, government and private research and quarantine centersand all lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope and over, except those alreadydeveloped shall be exempt.


5/6

Conclusion

As to a clear program regarding land reform. The Philippines has a better programcompared to Laos. The Philippines has a clear law as to its land reform which is

manifested in R.A 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law which providesthe guidelines in implementing land reform. The Philippines also transfers ownershipof the land to the qualified beneficiaries. In Laos there is no clear program or aspecific special law that governs the agrarian reform. The farmers are only giventemporary use of agricultural lands which after three years will expire. What happenis that the farmers only have informal use of the lands which are owned the state. Itfollows, that the farmers do not have security over their crops anytime thegovernment can take their land as long as it is used for public purpose.

As to recognition of communal ownership. In the Philippines the ownership of the

communal property is formally recognized through the Indigenous People Rights Actand the cooperative ownership of farmers to parcels of land. In Laos the existence ofsuch communal tenure is recognized since they are not given such rights as to itsownership or tenure.


6/6

Sources:

R.A 6657 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law

USAID. 2013. Land Tenure Profile Laos. Available at Accessed August 18, 2013

USAID. 2011. Land Tenure Profile Philippines. Available at Accessed August 18, 2013

World Bank. 2009. Land Reform, Rural Development, and Poverty Reduction in thePhilippines: Revisiting the Agenda Availableat Accessed

August 18, 2013

Report on the Land Acquisition and Distribution Aspect of Agrarian Reform, January13, 2013. 2013. Available at Accessed August 18, 2013

AGL mid.docx

Documents

Transcript of AGL mid.docx