THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM LAW

Republic Act No. 6657, as amended

I. Introduction

A. Constitutional Basis

1. Article II, Section 21: The State shall promote comprehen-

sive rural development and agrarian reform.

2. Article XII, Section 1: x x x The State shall promote indus-

trialization and full employment based on sound agricultural
development and agrarian reform, x x x

3. Article XIII, Section 3: x x x The State shall regulate the

relations between workers and employers, recognizing the
right of labor to its just share in the fruits of production and
the right of enterprises to reasonable returns on investments,
and to expansion and growth.

4. Article XIII, Section 4: The State shall, by law, undertake

an agrarian reform program founded on the rights of farmers
and regular farmworkers, who are landless, to own directly or
collectively the lands they till or, in the case of other farm-
workers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof. To this
end, the State shall encourage and undertake the just
distribution of all agricultural lands, subject to such priorities
and reasonable retention limits as the Congress may prescribe,
taking into account ecological, developmental, or equity con-
siderations, and subject to the payment of just compensation.
In determining retention limits, the State shall respect the
right of small landowners. The State shall further provide
incentives for voluntary land-sharing.

5. Article XIII, Section 5: The State shall recognize the rights

of farmers, farmworkers, and landowners, as well as coopera-
tives, and other independent farmers' organizations to
participate in the planning, organization, and management of
the program, and shall provide support to agriculture through
appropriate technology and research, and adequate financial,
 production, marketing, and other support services.

6. Article XIII, Section 6: The State shall apply the principles

of agrarian reform or stewardship, whenever applicable in
accordance with law, in the disposition or utilization of other
natural resources, including lands of the public domain under
lease or concession suitable to agriculture, subject to prior
rights, homestead rights of small settlers, and the rights of
indigenous communities to their ancestral lands.
The State may resettle landless farmers and farmworkers in
its own agriculture estates which shall be distributed to them
in the manner provided by law.

7. Article XIII, Section 8: The State shall provide incentives to

landowners to invest the proceeds of the agrarian reform
program to promote industrialization, employment creating,
and privatization of public sector enterprises. Financial
instruments used as payment for their lands shall be honored
as equity in enterprises of their choice.

B. Declaration of Principles and Policies [Section 2]

It is the policy of the State to pursue a Comprehensive

Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The welfare of the landless
farmers and farmworkers will receive the highest consideration to
promote social justice and to move the nation toward sound rural
development and industrialization, and the establishment of
owner cultivatorship of economic-size farms as the basis of
Philippine agriculture.

The State shall promote industrialization and full employment

based on sound agricultural development and agrarian reform,
through industries that make full and efficient use of human and
natural resources, and which are competitive in both domestic
and foreign markets: Provided, That the conversion of
agricultural lands into industrial, commercial or residential lands
shall take into account, tillers' rights and national food security.
Further, the State shall protect Filipino enterprises against unfair
foreign competition and trade practices.
 The State recognizes that there is not enough agricultural land
to be divided and distributed to each farmer and regular
farmworker so that each one can own his/her economic-size
family farm. This being the case, a meaningful agrarian reform
program to uplift the lives and economic status of the farmer and
his/her children can only be achieved through simultaneous
industrialization aimed at developing a self-reliant and
independent national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.

To this end, the State may, in the interest of national welfare

or defense, establish and operate vital industries.

A more equitable distribution and ownership of land, with due

regard to the rights of landowners to just compensation,
retention rights under Section 6 of Republic Act No. 6657, as
amended, and to the ecological needs of the nation, shall be
undertaken to provide farmers and farmworkers with the
opportunity to enhance their dignity and improve the quality of
their lives through greater productivity of agricultural lands.

The agrarian reform program is founded on the right of

farmers and regular farmworkers, who are landless, to own
directly or collectively the lands they till or, in the case of other
farmworkers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof. To this
end, the State shall encourage and undertake the just distribution
of all agricultural lands, subject to the priorities and retention
limits set forth in this Act, taking into account ecological,
developmental, and equity considerations, and subject to the
payment of just compensation. The State shall respect the right
of small landowners, and shall provide incentive for voluntary
land-sharing.

As much as practicable, the implementation of the program

shall be community-based to assure, among others, that the
farmers shall have greater control of farmgate prices, and easier
access to credit.

The State shall recognize the right of farmers, farmworkers

and landowners, as well as cooperatives and other independent
farmers' organizations, to participate in the planning,
organization, and management of the program, and shall provide
support to agriculture through appropriate technology and
research, and adequate financial, production, marketing and
other support services.

The State shall recognize and enforce, consistent with existing

laws, the rights of rural women to own and control land, taking
into consideration the substantive equality between men and
women as qualified beneficiaries, to receive a just share of the
fruits thereof, and to be represented in advisory or appropriate
decision-making bodies. These rights shall be independent of
their male relatives and of their civil status.

The State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform, or

stewardship, whenever applicable, in accordance with law, in the
disposition or utilization of other natural resources, including
lands of the public domain, under lease or concession, suitable to
agriculture, subject to prior rights, homestead rights of small
settlers and the rights of indigenous communities to their
ancestral lands.

The State may resettle landless farmers and farm workers in

its own agricultural estates, which shall be distributed to them in
the manner provided by law.

By means of appropriate incentives, the State shall encourage

the formation and maintenance of economic-size family farms to
be constituted by individual beneficiaries and small landowners.
The State shall protect the rights of subsistence fishermen,
especially of local communities, to the preferential use of
communal marine and fishing resources, both inland and
offshore. It shall provide support to such fishermen through
appropriate technology and research, adequate financial,
production and marketing assistance and other services. The
State shall also protect, develop and conserve such resources.
The protection shall extend to offshore fishing grounds of
subsistence fishermen against foreign intrusion. Fishworkers shall
receive a just share from their labor in the utilization of marine
and fishing resources.

The State shall be guided by the principles that land has a

social function and land ownership has a social responsibility.
 Owners of agricultural land have the obligation to cultivate
directly or through labor administration the lands they own and
thereby make the land productive.

The State shall provide incentives to landowners to invest the

proceeds of the agrarian reform program to promote
industrialization, employment and privatization of public sector
enterprises. Financial instruments used as payment for lands
shall contain features that shall enhance negotiability and
acceptability in the marketplace.

The State may lease undeveloped lands of the public domain

to qualified entities for the development of capital-intensive
farms, and traditional and pioneering crops especially those for
exports subject to the prior rights of the beneficiaries under this
Act.

C. Definition of Agrarian Reform

1. Agrarian Reform means the redistribution of lands, regardless

of crops or fruits produced, to farmers and regular farm-
workers who are landless, irrespective of tenurial arrange-
ment, to include the totality of factors and support services
designed to lift the economic status of the beneficiaries and all
other arrangement alternative to the physical redistribution of
lands, such as production or profit-sharing, labor
administration, and the distribution of stock, which will allow
beneficiaries to receive a just share of the fruits of the lands
they work. [Section 3(a) of RA 6657]

2. Distinguished from Land Reform

* Land Reform is the physical redistribution of land such as

the program under Presidential Decree No. 27. Agrarian
reform means the redistribution of lands including the
totality of factors and support services designed to lift the
economic status of the beneficiaries. Thus, agrarian reform
 is broader than land reform.

D. RA 6657 is Constitutional

In the case of Association of Small Landowners in the

Philippines, Inc. v. Secretary of Agrarian Reform, 1 the Supreme
Court held:

"The case before us presents no knotty complication insofar as

the question of compensable taking is concerned. To the extent
that the measures under challenge merely prescribe retention
limits for landowners, there is an exercise of the police power for
the regulation of private property in accordance with the
Constitution. But where, to carry out such regulation, it becomes
necessary to deprive such owners of whatever lands they may
own in excess of the maximum area allowed, there is definitely a
taking under the power of eminent domain for which payment of
just compensation is imperative. The taking contemplated is not
a mere limitation of the use of the land. What is required is the
surrender of the title to and the physical possession of the said
excess and all beneficial rights accruing to the owner in favor of
the farmer-beneficiary. This is definitely an exercise not of the
police power but of the power of eminent domain.

"Classification has been defined as the grouping of persons or

things similar to each other in certain particulars and different
from each other in these same particulars. To be valid, it must
conform to the following requirements: (1) it must be based on
substantial distinctions; (2) it must be germane to the purpose of
the law; (3) it must not be limited to existing conditions only;
and (4) it must apply equally to all the members of the class.
The Court finds that all these requisites have been met by the
measures here challenged as arbitrary and discriminatory.

"Equal protection simply means that all persons or things

similarly situated must be treated alike both as to the rights
conferred and the liabilities imposed. The petitioner have not
shown that they belong to a different class and entitled to a
1 175 SCRA 343.
different treatment. The argument that not only landowners but
also owners of other properties must be made to share the
burden of implementing land reform must be rejected. There is a
substantial distinction between these two classes of owners that
is clearly visible except to those who will not see. There is no
need to elaborate on this matter. In any event, the Congress is
allowed a wide leeway in providing for a valid classification. Its
decision is accorded recognition and respect by the courts of
justice except only where its discretion is abused to the detriment
of the Bill of Rights.

"It is worth remarking at this juncture that a statute may be

sustained under the police power only if there is a concurrence of
the lawful subject and the lawful method. Put otherwise, the
interests of the public generally as distinguished from those of a
particular class require the interference of the State and, no less
important, the means employed are reasonably necessary for the
attainment of the purpose sought to be achieved and not unduly
oppressive upon individuals. As the subject and purpose of
agrarian reform have been laid down by the Constitution itself,
we may say that the first requirement has been satisfied. What
remains to be examined is the validity of the method employed
to achieve the Constitutional goal.

"Eminent domain is an inherent power of the State that enable

it to forcibly acquire private lands intended for public use upon
payment of just compensation to the owner. Obviously, there is
no need to expropriate where the owner is willing to sell under
terms also acceptable to the purchaser, in which case an ordinary
deed of sale may be agreed upon by the parties. It is only where
the owner is unwilling to sell, or cannot accept the price or other
conditions offered by the vendee, that the power of eminent
domain will come into play to assert the paramount authority of
the State over the interest of the property owner. Private rights
must then yield to the irresistible demands of the public interest
on the time-honored justification, as in the case of the police
power, that the welfare of the people is the supreme law.

"But for all its primacy and urgency, the power of expro-
priation is by no means absolute (as indeed no power is abso-
lute). The limitation is found in the constitutional injunction that
"private property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation" and in the abundant jurisprudence that has
evolved from the interpretation of this principle. Basically, the
requirements for a proper exercise of the power are: (1) public
use and (2) just compensation.

"[T]he determination of just compensation is a function

addressed to the courts of justice and may not be usurped by any
other branch or official of the government. EPZA v. Dulay re-
solved a challenge to several decrees promulgated by President
Marcos providing that the just compensation for property under
expropriation should be either the assessment of the property by
the government or the sworn valuation thereof by the owner,
whichever was lower.

"With these assumptions, the Court hereby declares that the

content and manner of the just compensation provided for in the
afore-quoted Section 18 of the CARP Law is not violative of the
Constitution. We do not mind admitting that a certain degree of
pragmatism has influenced our decision on this issue, but after all
this Court is not a cloistered institution removed from the realities
and demands of society or oblivious to the need for its
enhancement. The Court is as acutely anxious as the rest of our
people to see the goal of agrarian reform achieved at last after
the frustrations and deprivations of our peasant masses during all
these disappointing decades. We are aware that invalidation of
said section will result in the nullification of the entire program,
killing the farmer's hopes even as they approach realization and
resurrecting the specter of discontent and dissent in the restless
countryside. That is not in our view the intention of the Constitu-
tion, and that is not what we shall decree today.

"Accepting the theory that payment of the just compensation

is not always required to be made fully in money, we find further
that the proportion of cash payment to the other things of value
constituting the total payment, as determined on the basis of the
areas of the lands expropriated, is not unduly oppressive upon
the landowner. It is noted that the smaller the land, the bigger
the payment in money, primarily because the small landowner
will be needing it more than the big landowner, who can afford a
bigger balance in bonds and other things of value. No less
 importantly, the government financial instruments making up the
balance of the payment are "negotiable at any time." The other
modes, which are likewise available to the landowner at his
option, are also not unreasonable because payment is made in
shares of stock, LBP bonds, other properties or assets, tax
credits, and other things of value equivalent to the amount of just
compensation."

II. Scope

A. Lands Covered

1. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover,

regardless of tenurial arrangement and commodity produced,
ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AGRICULTURAL LANDS as
provided in Proclamation No. 131 and Executive Order No.
229, including other lands of the public domain suitable for
agriculture: Provided, That landholdings of landowners with a
total area of five (5) hectares and below shall not be covered
for acquisition and distribution to qualified beneficiaries. [Sec-
tion 4]

a. Agricultural land refers to land devoted to agricultural

activity and not classified as mineral, forest, residential,
commercial or industrial land [Section 3(c)].
b. Agricultural activity means the cultivation of the soil,
planting of crops, growing of fruit trees, raising of fish,
including the harvesting of such farm products, and other
farm activities and practices performed by a farmer in
conjunction with such farming operations done by persons
whether natural or juridical [Section 3(b)].

2. Specifically, the following lands are covered by the Compre-

hensive Agrarian Reform Program:

a. All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain

devoted to or suitable for agriculture. No reclassification of
forest or mineral lands to agricultural lands shall be
undertaken after the approval of this Act until Congress,
 taking into account ecological, developmental and equity
considerations, shall have determined by law, the specific
limits of the public domain;

b. All lands of the public domain in excess of the specific limits

as determined by Congress in the preceding paragraph;

c. All other lands owned by the Government devoted to or

suitable for agriculture; and

d. All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture

regardless of the agricultural products raised or that can be
raised thereon.

B. Exclusions from the Coverage of CARL

1. Under Section 102, excluded from the coverage of the CARL

are lands actually, directly and exclusively used for:

a. Parks;
b. Wildlife;
c. Forest reserves;
d. Reforestation;
e. Fish sanctuaries and breeding grounds;
f. Watersheds and mangroves.

2. Private lands actually, directly and exclusively used for prawn

farms and fishponds shall be exempt from the coverage of this
Act: Provided, That said prawn farms and fishponds have
not been distributed and Certificate of Land Ownership
Award (CLOA) issued to agrarian reform beneficiaries
under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
In cases where the fishponds or prawn farms have been
subjected to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, by
voluntary offer to sell, or commercial farms deferment or
notices of compulsory acquisition, a simple and absolute
majority of the actual regular workers or tenants must consent
to the exemption within one (1) year from the effectivity of
this Act. When the workers or tenants do not agree to this
2 As amended by Republic Act No. 7881.
 exemption, the fishponds or prawn farms shall be distributed
collectively to the worker-beneficiaries or tenants who shall
form a cooperative or association to manage the same.

3. Likewise, execluded from the coverage the CARL are lands

actually, directly and exclusively used and found to be
necessary for:

a. National defense;
b. School sites and campuses including experimental farm
stations operated by public or private schools for
educational purposes;
c. Seeds and seedling research and pilot production center;
d. Church sites and convents appurtenant thereto;
e. Mosque sites and Islamic centers appurtenant thereto;
f. Communal burial grounds and cemeteries;
g. Penal colonies and penal farms actually worked by the
inmates; and
h. Government and private research and quarantine centers.

4. All lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope and over which
are not developed for agriculture are exempted from the
coverage of CARL.

* An eighteen percent slope is not equivalent to an eighteen

degree angle. Eighteen percent slope is obtained by having
a 100 meter run and an 18 meter rise.

5. In the case of Luz Farms v. Secretary of Agrarian Reform,3 the

Supreme Court has excluded agricultural Lands Devoted to
Commercial Livestock, Poultry and Swine Raising from the
coverage of CARL.

The Supreme Court said:

"The transcripts of the deliberations of the Constitutional

Commission of 1986 on the meaning of the word "agricultur-
al," clearly show that it was never the intention of the framers
of the Constitution to include livestock and poultry industry in
the coverage of the constitutionally-mandated agrarian reform
3 192 SCRA 51.
program of the Government.

"The Committee adopted the definition of "agricultural land"

as defined under Section 166 of RA 3844, as lands devoted to
any growth, including but not limited to crop lands, saltbeds,
fishponds, idle and abandoned land (Record, CONCOM, August
7, 1986, Vol. III, p. 11).

"The intention of the Committee is to limit the application of

the word "agriculture." Commissioner Jamir proposed to insert
the word "ARABLE" to distinguish this kind of agricultural land
from such lands as commercial and industrial lands and
residential properties because all of them fall under the
general classification of the word "agricultural." This proposal,
however, was not considered because the Committee
contemplated that agricultural lands are limited to arable and
suitable agricultural lands and therefore, do not include
commercial, industrial and residential lands (Record, CONCOM,
August 7, 1986, Vol. III, p. 30).

"In the interpellation, then Commissioner Regalado (now a

Supreme Court Justice), posed several questions, among
others, quoted as follows:

xxx xxx xxx

"Line 19 refers to genuine reform program founded on the
primary right of farmers and farmworkers. I wonder if it
means that leasehold tenancy is thereby proscribed under
this provision because it speaks of the primary right of
farmers and farmworkers to own directly or collectively the
lands they till. As also mentioned by Commissioner Tadeo,
farmworkers include those who work in piggeries and
poultry projects.
I was wondering whether I am wrong in my appreciation
that if somebody puts up a piggery or a poultry project and
for that purpose hires farmworkers therein, these
farmworkers will automatically have the right to own
eventually, directly or ultimately or collectively, the land on
 which the piggeries and poultry projects were constructed.
(Record, CONCOM, August 2, 1986, p. 618).
xxx xxx xxx"

"The question were answered and explained in the

statement of the then Commissioner Tadeo, quoted as follows:

xxx xxx xxx

"Sa pangalawang katanungan ng Ginoo ay medyo hindi
kami nagkaunawaan. Ipinaaalam ko kay Commissioner
Regalado na hindi namin inilagay ang agricultural worker sa
kadahilanang kasama rito ang piggery, poultry at livestock
workers. Ang inilagay namin dito ay farm worker kaya hindi
kasama ang piggery, poultry at livestock workers (Record,
CONCOM, August , 1986, Vol. II, p. 621).

"It is evident from the foregoing discussion that Section 11

of RA 6657 which includes "private agricultural lands devoted
to commercial livestock, poultry and swine raising" in the
definition of "commercial farms" is invalid, to the extent that
the aforecited agro-industrial activities are made to be covered
by the agrarian reform program of the State. There is simply
no reason to include livestock and poultry lands int he
coverage of agrarian reform. (Rollo, p. 21).

"PREMISES CONSIDERED, the instant petition is hereby

GRANTED. Sections 3(b), 11, 13 and 32 of R.A. No. 6657
insofar as the inclusion of raising of livestock, poultry and
swine in its coverage as well as the Implementing Rules and
Guidelines promulgated in accordance therewith, are hereby
DECLARED null and void for being unconstitutional and the writ
of preliminary injunction issued is hereby MADE permanent."

III. Schedule of Implementation

A. Period for Implementation [Section 5]

1. The DAR, in coordination with the Presidential Agrarian Reform

 Council (PARC) shall plan and program the final acquisition
and distribution of all remaining unacquired and undistributed
agricultural lands from the effectivity of this Act until June 30,
2014.

B. Priorities [Section 7]

1. Guiding Principle: In effecting the transfer, priority must be

given to lands that are tenanted.

2. Factors to consider in the Implementation

a. Need to distribute lands to the tillers at the earliest practical

time;
b. Need to enhance agricultural productivity; and
c. Availability of funds and resources to implement and
support the program

3. Phases of Implementation

Phase One: During the five (5)-year extension period

hereafter all remaining lands above fifty (50) hectares shall be
covered for purposes of agrarian reform upon the effectivity of
this Act. All private agricultural lands of landowners with
aggregate landholdings in excess of fifty (50) hectares which
have already been subjected to a notice of coverage issued on or
before December 10, 2008; rice and corn lands under Presidential
Decree No. 27; all idle or abandoned lands; all private lands
voluntarily offered by the owners for agrarian reform: Provided,
That with respect to voluntary land transfer, only those submitted
by June 30, 2009 shall be allowed: Provided, further, That after
June 30, 2009, the modes of acquisition shall be limited to
voluntary offer to sell and compulsory acquisition: Provided,
furthermore, That all previously acquired lands wherein valuation
is subject to challenge by landowners shall be completed and
finally resolved pursuant to Section 17 of Republic Act No. 6657,
as amended: Provided, finally, as mandated by the Constitution,
Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, and Republic Act No.
3844,as amended, only farmers (tenants or lessees) and regular
farmworkers actually tilling the lands, as certified under oath by
the Barangay Agrarian Reform Council (BARC) and attested under
oath by the landowners, are the qualified beneficiaries. The
intended beneficiary shall state under oath before the judge of
the city or municipal court that he/she is willing to work on the
land to make it productive and to assume the obligation of paying
the amortization for the compensation of the land and the land
taxes thereon; all lands foreclosed by government financial
institutions; all lands acquired by the Presidential Commission on
Good Government (PCGG); and all other lands owned by the
government devoted to or suitable for agriculture, which shall be
acquired and distributed immediately upon the effectivity of this
Act, with the implementation to be completed by June 30, 2012.
Phase Two: (a) Lands twenty-four (24) hectares up to fifty
(50) hectares shall likewise be covered for purposes of agrarian
reform upon the effectivity of this Act. All alienable and
disposable public agricultural lands; all arable public agricultural
lands under agro-forest, pasture and agricultural leases already
cultivated and planted to crops in accordance with Section 6,
Article XIII of the Constitution; all public agricultural lands which
are to be opened for new development and resettlement: and all
private agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate
landholdings above twenty-four (24) hectares up to fifty (50)
hectares which have already been subjected to a notice of
coverage issued on or before December 1O, 2008, to implement
principally the rights of farmers and regular farmworkers, who
are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till,
which shall be distributed immediately upon the effectivity of this
Act, with the implementation to be completed by June 30, 2012;
and

(b) All remaining private agricultural lands of landowners with

aggregate landholdings in excess of twenty-four (24) hectares,
regardless as to whether these have been subjected to notices of
coverage or not, with the implementation to begin on July 1,
2012 and to be completed by June 30, 2013

Phase Three: All other private agricultural lands commencing

with large landholdings and proceeding to medium and small
landholdings under the following schedule:
(a) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings above ten
(10) hectares up to twenty- four (24)hectares, insofar as the
excess hectarage above ten (10) hectares is concerned, to
begin on July 1,2012 and to be completed by June 30, 2013;
and

(b) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings from the

retention limit up to ten (10) hectares, to begin on July 1,
2013 and to be completed by June 30, 2014; to implement
principally the right of farmers and regular farmworkers who
are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till.

The schedule of acquisition and redistribution of all agricultural

lands covered by this program shall be made in accordance with
the above order of priority, which shall be provided in the
implementing rules to be prepared by the PARC, taking into
consideration the following: the landholdings wherein the farmers
are organized and understand ,the meaning and obligations of
farmland ownership; the distribution of lands to the tillers at the
earliest practicable time; the enhancement of agricultural
productivity; and the availability of funds and resources to
implement and support the program: Provided, That the PARC
shall design and conduct seminars, symposia, information
campaigns, and other similar programs for farmers who are not
organized or not covered by any landholdings. Completion by
these farmers of the aforementioned seminars, symposia, and
other similar programs shall be encouraged in the
implementation of this Act particularly the provisions of this
Section.

The PARC shall establish guidelines to implement the above

priorities and distribution scheme, including the determination of
who are qualified beneficiaries: Provided, That an owner-tiller
may be a beneficiary of the land he/she does not own but is
actually cultivating to the extent of the difference between the
area of the land he/she owns and the award ceiling of three (3)
hectares: Provided, further, That collective ownership by the
farmer beneficiaries shall be subject to Section 25 of Republic Act
 No. 6657, as amended: Provided, furthermore, That rural women
shall be given the opportunity t o participate in the development
planning and implementation of this Act: Provided, finally, That in
no case should the agrarian reform beneficiaries' sex, economic,
religious, social, cultural and political attributes adversely affect
the distribution of lands.

C. Exceptions from the Implementation Phases

1. Land acquisition and distribution shall be completed by June

30, 2014 on a province-by- province basis. In any case, the
PARC or the PARC Executive Committee (PARC EXCOM), upon
recommendation by the Provincial Agrarian Reform
Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM), may declare certain
provinces as priority land reform areas, in which case the
acquisition and distribution of private agricultural lands therein
under advanced phases may be implemented ahead of the
above schedules on the condition that prior phases in these
provinces have been completed: Provided, That
notwithstanding the above schedules, phase three (b) shall not
be implemented in a particular province until at least ninety
percent (90%) of the provincial balance of that particular
province as of January 1, 2009 under Phase One, Phase Two
(a), Phase Two (b),,and Phase Three (a), excluding lands
under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR), have been successfully completed.
PARC, upon recommendation of the Provincial Agrarian Reform
Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM), may declare certain
provinces or regions as priority land reform areas, in which
case the acquisition and distribution of private agricultural
lands therein may be implemented ahead of schedule. [Section
7]

2. The PARC may suspend the implementation of CARL with

respect to ancestral lands for purpose of identifying and
delineating such lands. [Section 9]

IV. Improvement of Tenurial and Labor Relations

 A. Leasehold Tenancy

1. Tenancy in General

a. Definition: Agricultural tenancy is the physical possession

by a person of land devoted to agriculture, belonging to or
legally possessed by another for the purpose of production
through the labor of the former and of the members of his
immediate farm household in consideration of which the
former agrees to share the harvest with the latter or to pay
a price certain or ascertainable, either in produce or in
money, or in both [Section 3 of RA 1199, Guerrero v. CA4]

b. Types of Tenancy Relation

i. Sharehold Tenancy; and
ii. Leasehold Tenancy

2. Leasehold vs. Sharehold Tenancy

* The two tenancy systems are distinct and different form

each other. In sharehold, the tenant may choose to
shoulder, in addition to labor, any one or more of the items
of contributions (such as farm implements, work animals,
final harrowing, transplanting), while in leasehold, the
tenant or lessee always shoulders all items of production
except the land. Under the sharehold system, the tenant
and the landholder are co-managers, whereas in leasehold,
the tenant is the sole manager of the farmholding. Finally,
in sharehold tenancy, the tenant and the landholder divide
the harvest in proportion to their contributions, while in
leasehold tenancy, the tenant or lessee gets the whole
produce with the mere obligation to pay a fixed rental.
[People v. Adillo5]

Sharehold Leasehold
4 142 SCRA 136.

5 68 SCRA 90.
 Expenses of Tenant and Tenant
Production Landowner

Management Tenant and Tenant

Landowner

Payment Tenant and Tenant gets the

landowner divide whole produce with
the harvest in the mere obligation
proportion to their to pay rent.
contributions.

3. Leasehold vs. Civil Lease

* There are important differences between a leasehold tenancy

and a civil law lease. The subject matter of leasehold tenancy
is limited to agricultural lands; that of civil law lease may be
either rural or urban property. As to attention and cultivation,
the law requires the leasehold tenant to personally attend to,
and cultivate the agricultural land, whereas the civil law lessee
need not personally cultivate or work the thing leased. As to
purpose, the landholding in leasehold tenancy is devoted to
agriculture, whereas in civil law lease, the purpose may be for
any other lawful pursuit. As to the law that governs, the civil
law lease is governed by the Civil Code, whereas leasehold
tenancy is governed by special laws. [Gabriel v. Pangilinan6]

Leasehold Tenancy Civil Law Lease

Subject Matter Agricultural lands Both rural and

only urban properties

Attention and Culti- Tenant must Lessee does not

vation personally cultivate have to personally
cultivate

Purpose Agriculture only Any lawful purpose

6 58 SCRA 590.
Governing Law Special laws Civil Code

4. Purpose of the Leasehold Relation: To protect and improve

the tenurial and economic status of the farmers in tenanted
lands. [Section 12]

5. Application [Section 12]

a. Tenanted lands under the retention limit; and

b. Tenanted lands not yet acquired under the CARL

B. Production Sharing Plan

1. Application [Section 13]

a. Any enterprise adopting the scheme provided for in Section

32;
b. Any enterprise operating under a production venture, lease,
management contract or other similar arrangement;
c. Any farm covered by Section 8 (Private agricultural lands
leased by Multinational corporations) and Section 11
(Commercial farming); and
d. Corporate farms pending final land transfer.

2. Period for Compliance: Within ninety (90) days from effect-

ivity of CARL

3. Scheme (Applies to those individuals or enterprises realizing

gross sales in excess of five million pesos per annum,
unless the DAR sets a lower ceiling) [Section 32]

a. Three percent (3%) of the gross sales from the production

of such lands;
b. Distributed within sixty (60) days of the end of the fiscal
year;
c. Treated as additional compensation to regular and other
farmworkers of such lands;
d. During the transitory period (before the land is turned over
to the farmworker-beneficiaries), at least one percent (1%)
 of the gross sales shall be distributed to the managerial,
supervisory and technical group; and
e. If profit is realized, an additional ten percent (10%) of the
net profit after tax shall be distributed to the regular and
other farmworkers within ninety (90) days of the end of the
fiscal year.

V. Registration

A. Within 180 days from the effectivity of CARL, landowners, natural

or juridical, shall file a sworn statement in the assessor's office
the following information:

a. the description and area of the property;

b. the average gross income from the property for at least 3
years;
c. the names of all tenants and farmworkers therein;
d. the crops planted in the property and the area covered by the
crop as of June 1, 1987;
e. the terms of mortgages, leases and management contracts
subsisting as of June 1, 1987; and
f. the latest declared market value of the land as determined by
the city or provincial assessor. (Section 14)

B. The DAR, in coordination with the Barangay Agrarian Reform

Committee (BARC) shall register all agricultural lessees, tenants
and farmworkers who are qualifies to be beneficiaries under the
CARL. These potential beneficiaries shall provide the following
data:

a. names and members of their immediate farm household;

b. owners and administrators of the lands they work on and the
length of tenurial relationship;
c. location and area of the land they work;
d. crops planted; and
e. their share in the harvest or amount of rental paid or wages
received.
VI. Private Land Acquisition

A. Retention Limit [Section 6]

1. Five hectares is the retention limit. No person may own or

retain, directly or indirectly, any public or private agricultural
land, the size of which shall vary according to factors
governing a viable family-sized farm, such as commodity pro-
duced, terrain, infrastructure, and soil fertility as determined
by the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), but in no
case shall the retention limit exceed five (5) hectares.

2. Additional three hectares may be awarded to each child,

subject to the following qualifications:

a. That the child is at least fifteen (15) years of age; and

b. That the child is actually tilling the land or directly
managing the farm.

3. Exceptions to the retention limit of five hectares.

a. Landowners whose lands have been covered by PD 27; and

b. Original homestead grantees or direct compulsory heirs who
still own the original homestead at the time of the approval
of CARL, as long as they continue to cultivate said home-
stead.
C. Provincial, city and municipal government ,units acquiring
private agricultural lands by expropriation or other modes of
acquisition to be used for actual, direct and exclusive public
purposes, such as roads and bridges, public markets, school
sites, resettlement sites, local government facilities, public
parks and barangay plazas or squares, consistent with the
approved local comprehensive land use plan, shall not be
subject to the five (5)-hectare retention limit under this
Section and Sections 70 and 73(a) of Republic Act No.
6657, as amended: Provided, That lands subject to CARP
shall first undergo the land acquisition and distribution
process of the program: Provided, further, That when these
lands have been subjected to expropriation, the agrarian
 reform beneficiaries therein shall be paid just compensation
[Section 6-A].

4. Right to choose the area to be retained.

The right to choose the area to be retained, which shall be

compact or contiguous, shall pertain to the landowner. If the
land retained is tenanted, the tenant shall have the option to
choose whether to remain therein or be a beneficiary in the
same or another agricultural land. In case the tenant chooses
to remain in the retained area, he shall be considered a
leaseholder and shall lose his right to be a beneficiary under
this Act. In case the tenant chooses to be a beneficiary in
another agricultural land, he loses his right as a leaseholder to
the land retained by the landowner. The tenant must exercise
this option within a period of one (1) year from the time the
landowner manifest his choice of the area for retention.

B. Procedure

1. Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) [Section 20]

a. Must be submitted to the DAR within one year from

effectivity of the CARl;
b. Must not be less favorable to the transferee than those of
the government's standing ; and
c. Shall include sanctions for non-compliance by either party
and shall be duly recorded and its implementation
monitored by the DAR.
D. Only those submitted by June 30, 2009 shall be allowed.

2. Compulsory Acquisition [Section 16]

a. Notice to acquire the land shall be sent to the landowner

and the beneficiaries. The notice shall also be posted in a
conspicuous place in the municipal building and the baran-
gay hall of the place where the property is located.
b. Within thirty (30) days from receipt of the written notice,
the landowner shall inform the DAR of his acceptance or
 rejection of the offer.
c. If the offer is accepted, the LBP pays the landowner and
within thirty (30) days, the landowner executes and delivers
a deed of transfer to the Government and surrenders the
Certificate of Title and other muniments of title.
d. In case of rejection or failure to reply, the DAR shall
conduct summary administrative proceedings to determine
the compensation. If he does concur with the compensation
determined by the DAR, he can the matter to the Courts.
e. Payment of the just compensation as determined by the
DAR or the Court.
f. Registration with the Register of Deeds for the issuance of
Transfer Certificate of Title in the name of the Republic of
the Philippines.
g. Standing Crops: The landowner shall retain his share of
any standing crops unharvested at the time the DAR shall
take possession of the land and shall be given reasonable
time to harvest the same (Section 28).

C. Compensation

1. Determination of Just Compensation.

In determining just compensation, the cost of acquisition of

the land, the value of the standing crop, the current: value of
like properties, its nature, actual use and income, the sworn
valuation by the owner, the tax declarations, the assessment
made by government assessors, and seventy percent (70%) of
the zonal valuation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR),
translated into a basic formula by the DAR shall be considered,
subject to the final decision of the proper court. The social and
economic benefits contributed by the farmers and the
farmworkers and by the Government t o the property as well
as the nonpayment of taxes or loans secured from any
government financing institution on the said land shall be
considered as additional factors to determine its valuation
[Section 17].

2. Under EO 405 (1990), Land Bank of the Philippines shall be

 primarily responsible for the determination of the land
valuation and compensation.

3. Mode of Payment [Section 18]

a. Cash under the following scheme:

i. For lands above 50 hectares : 25%

ii. For lands above 24 and up to 50 : 30%
iii. For lands 24 and below : 35%

* In case of VOS, the landowner shall be entitled to an

additional 5% cash payment. [Section 19]

b. Balance in any of the following:

i. Shares of stock in government-owned or controlled

corporations, LBP preferred shares, physical assets or
other qualified investments;
ii. Tax credits which can be used against any tax liability;
iii. Land Bank of the Philippines Bonds which shall have the
following features:
* Market interest rates aligned with 91-day treasury bill
rates;
* Ten percent (10%) of the face value of the bonds shall
mature every year from the date of issuance until the
tenth year; and
* Transferability and negotiability

c. Set-off

* All arrearages in real property taxes, without penalty or

interest, shall be deductible from the compensation to
which the owner is entitled. [Section 66]

D. Exemptions from Taxes and Fees

1. Transactions under CARL involving a transfer of ownership,

whether from natural or juridical persons, shall be exempted
from taxes arising from capital gains. These transactions shall
 also be exempted from the payment of registration fees, and
all other taxes and fees for the conveyance or transfer thereof;
Provided, That all arrearages in real property taxes, without
penalty or interest, shall be deducted from the compensation
to which the owner may be entitled. [Section 66]

2. All Registers of Deeds are hereby directed to register, free

from payment of all fees and other charges, patents, titles and
documents required for the implementation of CARP. [Section
67]

VII. Land Redistribution

A. Beneficiaries [Section 22]

Beneficiaries, in their order of priority, are:

1. Agricultural lessees and share tenants;

2. Regular Farmworkers: a natural person who is employed on a
permanent basis by an agricultural enterprise or farm [Section
3(h)];

a. Farmer refers to a natural person whose primary livelihood

is cultivation of land or the production of agricultural crops,
livestock and/or fisheries either by himself/herself, or
primarily with the assistance of his/her immediate farm
household, whether the land is owned by him/her, or by
another person under a leasehold or share tenancy
agreement or arrangement with the owner thereof [Section
3(f)].
b. Farmworker is a natural person who renders service for
value as an employee or laborer in an agricultural enterprise
or farm regardless of whether his compensation is paid on a
daily, weekly, monthly or "pakyaw" basis. It includes an
individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of, or
in connection with, a pending agrarian dispute and who has
not obtained a substantially equivalent and regular farm
employment [Section 3(g)].
 3. Seasonal farmworkers: a natural person who is employed on a
recurrent, periodic or intermittent basis by an agricultural
enterprise or farm, whether as a permanent or an non-perma-
nent laborer, such as "dumaan", "sacada", and the like
[Section 3(i)];

4. Other farmworkers: a farmworker who is not a regular nor a

seasonal farmworker [Section 3(j)];

5. Actual tillers or occupants of public lands;

6. Collective or cooperatives of the above beneficiaries; and

* Cooperatives shall refer to organizations composed

primarily of small agricultural producers, farmers,
farmworkers, or other agrarian reform beneficiaries who
voluntarily organize themselves for the purpose of pooling
land, human, technological, financial or other economic
resources, and operated on the principle of one member,
one vote. A juridical person may be a member of a
cooperative, with the same rights and duties as a natural
person [Section 3(k)].

7. Others directly working on the land.

Before any award is given to a farmer, the qualified children of

the landowner must receive their three hectare award.

Rural women refer to women who are engaged directly or

indirectly in farming and/or fishing as their source of livelihood,
whether paid or unpaid, regular or seasonal, or in food
preparation, managing the household, caring for the children, and
other similar activities [Section 3(l)].

B. Disqualifications of Beneficiaries [Section 22]

1. Beneficiaries under Presidential Decree No. 27 who have

culpably sold, disposed of, or abandoned their land;

2. Beneficiaries guilty of negligence or misuse of the land or any

 support extended to them;

* The mere fact that the expected quantity of harvest, as

visualized and calculated by agricultural experts, is not
actually realized, or that the harvest did not increase, is not
a sufficient basis for concluding that the tenants failed to
follow proven farm practices. [Belmi v. CAR 7]

3. Beneficiaries with at least three (3) hectares of agricultural

land; and

* Under the CARL, a beneficiary is landless if he owns less

than three (3) hectares of agricultural land. [Section 25]

4. Beneficiaries whose land have been the subject of foreclosure

by the Land Bank of the Philippines. [Section 26]

* Under the CARL, the LBP may foreclose on the mortgage for
non-payment of the beneficiary of an aggregate of three (3)
annual amortizations. [Section 26]

C. Awards

1. Emancipation Patents (EPs) are issued for lands covered

under Operation Land Transfer (OLT) of Presidential Decree
No. 27.

2. Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) are issued

for private agricultural lands and resettlement areas covered
under Republic Act No. 6657, otherwise known as the Compre-
hensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988.

3. Free Patents are issued for public agricultural lands.

* Under Section 15 of EO 229 (1987), all alienable and

disposable lands of the public domain suitable for
agriculture and outside proclaimed settlements shall be
redistributed by the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR).
7 7 SCRA 812.
 4. Certificates of Stewardship Contracts are issued for forest
areas under the Integrated Social Forestry Program.

D. Manner of Payment [Section 26]

1. Lands awarded shall be paid by the beneficiaries to the LBP in

thirty (30) annual amortizations at six percent (6%) interest
per annum. The payments for the first three (3) years after
the awards may be at reduced amounts as established by the
PARC: Provided, That the first five (5) annual payments may
not be more than five percent (5%) of the value of the annual
gross production as established by the DAR. Should the
scheduled annual payments after the fifth year exceed ten
percent (10%) of the annual gross production and the failure
to produce accordingly is not due to the beneficiary's fault, the
LBP may reduce the interest rate or reduce the principal
obligation to make the repayment affordable.

2. Payment shall be:

a. Thirty (30) annual amortizations (First 3 years may be at

reduced amounts);
b. Six percent (6%) interest per annum; and
c. First five (5) annual payments may not be more than five
percent (5%) of the value of the annual gross production.

E. Ownership Limitations on the Awarded Lands

1. Transferability of Awarded Lands. - Lands acquired by

beneficiaries may not be sold, transferred or conveyed except
through hereditary succession, or to the government, or to the
Land Bank of the Philippines, or to other qualified beneficiaries
for a period of ten (10) years. [Section 27]

* If the land is sold to the government or to the LBP, the

children or the spouse of the transferee shall have a right to
repurchase within a period of two (2) years.
 2. Conversions of Lands. - An application for conversion may
be entertained only after the lapse of five (5) years from the
award, when the land ceases to be economically feasible and
sound for agricultural purposes or the locality has become
urbanized and the land will have a greater economic value for
residential, commercial or industrial purpose. [Section 66]

VIII. Corporate Farms

A. Definition

* Corporate farms are farms which are owned or operated by

corporations or other business associations. [Section 29]

B. Distribution

1. Land Transfer (Voluntarily Offer to Sell or Compulsory Acquisi-

tion)

a. General rule: Lands shall be distributed directly to the

individual farmworker-beneficiaries.
b. Exception: However, if it is not economically feasible and
sound to divide the land, then it shall be owned collectively
by the farmworker-beneficiaries through a workers'
cooperative or association. [Section 29]
c. In case the land is transferred to a cooperative or
association, the individual members of the cooperatives
shall be provided with homelots and small farmlots for their
family use, to be taken from the land owned by the cooper-
ative. [Section 30]

2. Capital Stock Transfer [Section 31]

a. This is a non-land transfer. Corporations or associations

which voluntarily divest a proportion of their capital stock,
equity or participation in favor of their workers or other
qualified beneficiaries shall be deemed to have complied
with CARL.
 b. Amount to be divested: Corporations owning agricultural
lands may give their qualified beneficiaries the right to
repurchase such proportion of the capital stock of the
corporation that the agricultural land, actually devoted to
agricultural activities, bears in relation to the company's
total assets.

* Agricultural activity means the cultivation of the soil,

planting of crops, growing of fruit trees, raising of fish,
including the harvesting of such farm products, and other
farm activities and practices performed by a farmer in
conjunction with such farming operations done by
persons whether natural or juridical [Section 3(b)].

c. Conditions of the Capital Stock Transfer.

i. The books of the corporation shall be subject to periodic

audit by certified public accountants chosen by the
beneficiaries;
ii. The beneficiaries shall be assured of at least one (1)
representative in the board of directors, or in a
management or executive committee, if one exists;
iii. Any share acquired by the beneficiaries shall have the
same rights and features as all other shares; and
iv. Any transfer of shares of stock by the original bene-
ficiaries shall be void ab initio unless said transaction is in
favor of a qualified and registered beneficiary within the
same corporation.

d. Period for Compliance: If within TWO (2) YEARS from the

approval of CARL or from the approval of the PARC of the
plan for stock distribution, the stock transfer is not made or
realized, the agricultural land shall be subject to compulsory
coverage of the CARL.

IX. Support Services

A. General Support and Coordinative Services [Section 35]

 1. Irrigation facilities;
2. Infrastructure development and public works projects in areas
and settlements that come under agrarian reform;
3. Government subsidies for the use of irrigation facilities;
4. Price support and guarantee for all agricultural produce;
5. Extending the necessary credit;
6. Promoting, developing and extending financial assistance to
small and medium scale industries in agrarian reform areas;
7. Assigning sufficient numbers of agricultural extension workers
to farmers' organizations;
8. Undertaking research, development and dissemination of
information on agrarian reform and low-cost and ecologically
sound farm inputs and technologies to minimize reliance on
expensive and imported agricultural inputs;
9. Development of cooperative management through intensive
training;
10. Assistance in the identification of ready markets for agri-
cultural produce and training in other various aspects of
marketing; and
11. Administration, operation, management and funding of
support service programs and projects including pilot projects
and models related to agrarian reform.

B. Support Services to Beneficiaries [Section 37]

1. Land surveys and titling;

2. Liberalized terms on credit facilities and production loans;
3. Extension services by way of planting, cropping, production
and post-harvest technology transfer, as well as marketing and
management assistance and support to cooperatives and
farmers' organizations;
4. Infrastructure such as access trail, mini-dams, public utilities,
marketing and storage facilities; and
5. Research, production and use of organic fertilizers and other
local substances necessary in farming and cultivation.

C. Support Services to Landowners [Section 38]

 1. Investment information, financial and counselling assistance;
2. Facilities, programs and schemes for the conversion or
exchange of bonds issued for payment of the lands acquired
with stocks and bonds issued by the National Government, the
Central Bank and other government institutions and instru-
mentalities;
3. Marketing of LBP bonds, as well as promoting the marketabil-
ity of said bonds in traditional and non-traditional financial
markets and stock exchanges;
4. Other services designed to utilize productively the proceeds of
the sale of such lands for rural industrialization;
5. Incentives granted to a registered enterprise engaged in a
pioneer or preferred area of investment as provided for in the
Omnibus Investment Code or granted by the PARC, the LBP or
other government financial institutions for those who invests in
rural-based industries; and
6. Redemption by the LBP of up to thirty percent (30%) of the
face value of the its bonds for landowners who will invest the
proceeds of the redemption in a BOI-registered company or in
any agri-business or agro-industrial enterprise in the region
where they have previously made investments.

D. Funding

* At least twenty-five percent (25%) of all appropriations for

agrarian reform shall be immediately set aside and made
available for support services. In addition, the DAR shall be
authorized to package proposals and receive grants, aid and
other forms of financial assistance from any source. [Section
36]

X. Special Areas of Concern [Section 40]

A. Subsistence Fishing: Small fisherfolk, including seaweed

farmer, shall be assured of greater access to the utilization of
water resources.
B. Logging and Mining Concessions: Subject to the requirement
of a balanced ecology and conservation of water resources,
suitable areas in logging, mining and pasture areas, shall be
opened up for agrarian settlements whose beneficiaries shall be
required to undertake reforestation and conservation production
methods.

* Certificates of Stewardship Contracts are issued for forest

areas under the Integrated Social Forestry Program.

C. Sparsely Occupied Public Agricultural Lands: Sparsely

occupied agricultural lands of the public domain shall be
surveyed, proclaimed and developed as farm settlements for
qualified landless people.

* Agricultural land allocations shall be made for ideal family-size

farms.

* Uncultivated lands of the public domain shall be made avail-

able on a lease basis to interested and qualified parties.
Priority shall be given to those who will engage in the
development of capital-intensive, traditional or pioneering
crops.

D. Idle, Abandoned, Forecloses and Sequestered Lands: Idle,

abandoned, foreclosed and sequestered lands shall be planned
for distribution as home lots and family-size farmlots to actual
occupants. If land area permits, other landless families shall be
accommodated in these lands.

E. Rural Women: All qualified women members of the agricultural

labor force must be guaranteed and assured equal rights to
ownership of the land, equal shares of the farm's produce, and
representation in advisory or appropriate decision-making bodies.

F. Veterans and Retirees: Landless ware veterans and veterans

of military campaigns, their surviving spouses and orphans,
retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Integrated
National Police, returnees, surrenderees and similar beneficiaries
shall be given due consideration in the disposition of agricultural
lands of the public domain.
 G. Agriculture Graduates: Graduates of agricultural schools who
are landless shall be assisted by the government in their desire to
own and till agricultural lands.

XI. Program Implementation

A. Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC)

1. Composition [Section 41]

a. Chairman: President of the Philippines

b. Vice-Chairman: Secretary of Agrarian Reform
c. Members:
i. Secretary of Agriculture;
ii. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources;
iii. Secretary of Budget and Management;
iv. Secretary of Local Government;
v. Secretary of Public Works and Highways;
vi. Secretary of Trade and Industry;
vii. Secretary of Finance;
viii. Secretary of Labor and Employment;
ix. Director-General of National Economic and Development
Authority;
x. President of Land Bank of the Philippines;
xi. Administrator of National Irrigation Authority;
xii. Three (3) representatives of affected landowners to
represent Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; and
xiii. Six (6) representatives of agrarian reform beneficiaries,
two (2) each from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,
provided that one of them shall be from cultural
communities.

2. Functions and Duties [EO 229, 1987]

a. Formulate and implement policies, rules and regulations

necessary to implement the CARP;
b. Recommend small farm economy areas;
 c. Schedule the acquisition and distribution of specific agrarian
reform areas; and
d. Control mechanisms for evaluating the owner's declaration
of current fair market value.

3. Executive Committee (EXCOM) of the PARC [Section 42]

a. There shall be an Executive Committee of the PARC which

shall meet and decide on any and all matters in between
meetings of the PARC: Provided, however, That its decision
must be reported in the PARC immediately and not later
than the next meeting.
b. Composition: The Secretary of Agrarian Reform shall be the
Chairman and its members shall be designated by the
President, taking into account Article XIII, Section 5 of the
Constitution (Rights of farmers to participate in the
planning, organization and management of the CARP).

4. PARC Secretariat [Section 43]

a. A PARC Secretariat is established to provide general support

and coordinative services such as inter-agency linkages,
program and project appraisal and evaluation and general
operations monitoring for the PARC.
b. Composition: The Secretariat shall be headed by the
Secretary of Agrarian Reform who shall be assisted by an
Undersecretary and supported by a staff whose composition
shall be determined by the PARC Executive Committee.

B. Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee

(PARCCOM)

1. Composition (Section 44)

a. Chairman: an appointee of the President upon recom-

mendation of the PARC EXCOM;
b. Executive Officer: Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer;
c. Members:
i. Representative from the Department of Agriculture;
ii. Representative for the Department of Environment and
 Natural Resources;
iii. Representative for the Land Bank of the Philippines;
iv. One representative each from existing farmers' orga-
nizations, agricultural cooperatives and non-govern-
mental organizations in the province;
v. Two representatives from the landowners, at least one of
whom shall be a producer representing the principal crop
of the province;
vi. Two representatives from farmers and farmworker bene-
ficiaries, at least one of whom shall be a farmer or
farmworker representing the principal crop of the
province; and
vii. In areas where there are cultural communities, there
shall be one representative from them.

2. Functions and Duties

a. Coordinate and monitor the implementation of the CARP in

the province;
* The PARC shall provide the guidelines for a province-by-
province implementation of the CARP. The ten-year
program of distribution of public and private lands in
each province shall be adjusted from year to year by the
province's PARCCOM, in accordance with the level of
operations previously established by the PARC, in every
case ensuring that support services are available or have
been programmed before actual distribution is effected.
[Section 45]
b. Provide information on the following:
i. Provisions of the CARP;
ii. Guidelines issued by the PARC; and
iii. Progress of the CARP in the province.

C. Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC)

1. Composition [EO 229, 1987]

* The BARC shall be operated on a self-help basis and will be

composed of the following:
 a. Representatives of farmer and farmworker beneficiaries;
b. Representatives of farmer and farmworker non-benefi-
ciaries;
c. Representatives of agricultural cooperatives;
d. Representatives of other farmer organizations;
e. Representatives of the Barangay Council;
f. Representatives of non-governmental organization (NGOs);
g. Representatives of landowners;
h. Department of Agriculture official assigned to the area;
i. Department of Environment and Natural Resources official
assigned to the area;
j. DAR Agrarian Reform Technologist assigned to the area;
and
k. Land Bank of the Philippines representative.

2. Functions [EO 229, 1987 and Section 47]

* The BARC shall have the following functions:

a. Mediate and conciliate between parties involved in an

agrarian dispute;
b. Assist in the identification of qualified beneficiaries and
landowners within the barangay;
c. Attest to the accuracy of the initial parcellary mapping of
the beneficiary's tillage;
d. Assist qualified beneficiaries in obtaining credit from lending
institutions;
e. Assist n the initial determination of the value of the land;
f. Assist the DAR representative in the preparation of periodic
reports on the CARP implementation;
g. Coordinate the delivery of support services to beneficiaries;
h. Participate and give support in the implementation of CARP;
and
i. Perform such other functions as may be assigned by the
PARC and DAR.

D. Others
 1. No injunction, restraining order, prohibition or mandamus shall
be issued by the lower courts against the DAR, DA, DENR and
DOJ in their implementation of CARP. [Section 68]

* This does not apply to the Supreme Court.

2. The PARC, in the exercise of its functions, is hereby authorized

to call upon the assistance and support of other government
agencies, bureaus and offices, including government-owned or
controlled corporations. [Section 69]

XII. Administrative Adjudication

A. Jurisdiction

1. The Department of Agrarian Reform is hereby vested with

primary jurisdiction to determine and adjudicate
agrarian reform matters and shall have exclusive
original jurisdiction over all matter involving the
implementation of agrarian reform, except those falling
under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of
Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources. [Section 50]

2. DAR Adjudicator

a. Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board

(DARAB)
i. Exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction
ii. Exercises functional supervision over the RARADs and
PARADs

b. Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (RARAD)

i. Executive Adjudicator in his region
ii. Receives, hears and adjudicates cases which the PARAD
cannot handle because the latter is disqualified or inhibits
himself or because the case is complex or sensitive

c. Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD)

 3. Exclusive Jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agrarian Reform

* Matter involving strictly the administrative implemen-

tation of the CARP and agrarian laws and regulations
shall be the exclusive prerogative of and cognizable by the
Secretary of Agrarian Reform

B. BARC Certification Requirement

1. The DAR shall not take cognizance of any agrarian dispute of

controversy unless a certification from the BARC that the
dispute has been submitted to it for mediation and conciliation
without any success of settlement is presented. [Section 53]

* Failure to present a BARC certification is not a ground for

dismissal of the action. The complainant or petitioner will
be given every opportunity to secure the BARC certification.
[Rule III, Section 1(c) of the DARAB Rules]

2. Exceptions to the BARC Certification Requirement:

a. Failure of the BARC to issue a certification within thirty (30)
days after a matter or issue is submitted to it;
b. The required certification cannot be complied with for valid
reasons like the non-existence or non-organization of the
BARC or the impossibility of convening it. A certification to
that effect may be issued by the proper agrarian reform
officer in lieu of the BARC certification; [Rule III, Section
1(b) of DARAB Rules]
c. The issue involves the valuation of the land to determine
just compensation; [Rule III, Section 2 of DARAB Rules]
d. The parties reside in different barangays, unless they adjoin
each other;
* Where the lands involved in the dispute straddles two or
more barangays, the BARC of the Barangay where the
biggest portion lies, shall have the authority to conduct
the mediation or conciliation proceeding.
e. One of the party is a public or private corporation, a
partnership, association or juridical person, or a public
officer or employee and the dispute relates to the
 performance of his official functions;
f. The issue involves merely the administrative implemen-
tation of agrarian reform law, rule, guideline or policy; and
g. The issue is beyond the pale of mediation, conciliation or
compromise, as determined by the Secretary of Agrarian
Reform.

C. Rules of Procedure

1. It shall not be bound by technical rules of procedure and

evidence but shall proceed to hear and decide all cases,
disputes or controversies in a most expeditious manner,
employing all reasonable means to ascertain the facts of every
case in accordance with justice and equity and the merits of
the case. [Section 50]

2. Responsible leaders shall be allowed to represent themselves,

their fellow farmers, or their organizations in any proceedings
before the DAR [Section 50]

3. To discourage frivolous or dilatory appeals from the decision or

order on the local or provincial levels, the DAR may impose
reasonable penalties, including but not limited to fines or
censures upon erring parties. [Section 52]

D. Enforcement Powers

1. It shall have the power to summon witnesses, administer

oaths, take testimony, require submission of reports, compel
the production of books and documents and answers to inter-
rogatories and issue subpoena, and subpoena duces tecum
and to enforce its writs through sheriffs or other duly depu-
tized officers. It shall likewise have the power to punish direct
and indirect contempt in the same manner and subject to the
same penalties as provided in the Rules of Court. [Section 50]

2. The DAR has executed a Memorandum of Agreement with the

Philippine National Police, in order that the latter may assist
the DAR in the enforcement of its orders.
 E. Judicial Review

1. Any decision, order, award or ruling of the DAR on any

agrarian dispute or on any matter pertaining to the applica-
tion, implementation, enforcement or interpretation of the
CARL and other pertinent laws on agrarian reform may be
brought to the Court of Appeals by certiorari within
fifteen (15) days from receipt of a copy thereof. [Section
54]

2. The findings of fact of the DAR shall be final and conclusive if

based on substantial evidence.

3. Notwithstanding an appeal to the Court of Appeals, the

decision of the DAR shall be immediately executory. [Section
50]

XIII. Special Agrarian Court

A. Jurisdiction [Section 57]

1. The Special Agrarian Courts (Regional Trial Courts) shall have

original and exclusive jurisdiction over:

a. All petitions for the determination of just compensation to

landowners; and
b. The prosecution of all criminal offenses under the CARL.

2. The Special Agrarian Courts, upon their own initiative or at the

instance of any of the parties, may appoint one or more
commissioners to examine, investigate and ascertain facts
relevant to the dispute, including the valuation of properties
and to file a written report thereof with the court.

B. Appeals
 1. Appeal from the Decision of the Special Agrarian Court

* Within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the decision of

the Special Agrarian Court, an appeal may be taken by filing a
petition for review with the Court of Appeals.

2. Appeal from the Decision of the Court of Appeals

* Within a non-extendible period of fifteen (15) days from

the receipt of the decision of the Court of Appeals, an appeal
may be taken by filing a petition for review with the Su-
preme Court.

XIV. Prohibited Acts and Omissions

A. Prohibited Acts and Omissions

1. Section 73. The following are prohibited.

a. The ownership or possession, for the purpose of circum-

venting the provisions of CARL, of agricultural lands in
excess of the total retention limits or award ceilings by any
person, natural or juridical, except those under collective
ownership by farmer-beneficiaries.
b. The forcible entry or illegal detainer by persons who are not
qualified beneficiaries to avail themselves of the rights and
benefits of the CARP.
c. The conversion by any landowner of his agricultural land
into non-agricultural uses with intent to avoid the
application of CARL to his landholdings and to dispossess
his tenant farmers of the land tilled by them.
d. The willful prevention or obstruction by any person,
association or entity of the implementation of the CARP.
e. The sale, transfer, conveyance or change of the nature of
lands outside of urban centers and city limits either in whole
or in part after the effectivity of CARL.
i. Upon the effectivity of CARL, any sale, disposition, lease,
management contract or transfer of possession of private
lands executed by the original landowner in violation of
 CARL shall be null and void; Provided, however, that
those executed prior to CARL shall be valid only when
registered with the Register of Deeds within a three (3)
months after the effectivity of CARL. [Section 6]

*Exception: Banks and other financial institutions allowed

by law to hold mortgage rights or security interests in
agricultural lands to secure loans and other obligations of
borrowers, may acquire title to these mortgaged
properties, regardless of area, subject to existing laws on
compulsory transfer of foreclosed assets and acquisition
as prescribed under Section 16 of CARL [Section 71]

ii. Disposition of private lands is in violation of CARL if it is

over the retention limit.

iii. The date of registration of the deed of conveyance in the

Register of Deeds with respect to title lands and the date
of the issuance of the tax declaration to the transferee of
the property with respect to untitled lands shall be
conclusive for this purpose.

f. The sale, transfer of conveyance by a beneficiary of the

right to use or any other usufructuary right over the land he
acquired by virtue of being a beneficiary, in order to
circumvent the provisions of CARL. [Refer to VII(E) of this
Outline]

2. Any person who knowingly or willfully violates the provisions of

CARL shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one
(1) month to not more than three (3) years or a fine of not
less than one thousand pesos (P 1,000.00) and not more than
fifteen thousand pesos (P 15,000.00), or both at the discretion
of the court.
If the offender is a corporation or association, the officer
responsible therefor shall be criminally liable.

B. Conversions

1. Authority to Allow Conversion of Agricultural Land for Non-

 agricultural Uses

a. Under Executive Order No. 129-A, Series of 1987, the

Department of Agrarian Reform is authorized to:
i. Approve or disapprove the conversion, restructuring or
readjustment of agricultural lands into non-agricultural
uses; [Section 4(j)]
ii. Have exclusive authority to approve or disapprove
conversion of agricultural lands for residential,
commercial, industrial and other land uses as may be
provided for by law. [Section 5(l)]

b. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law provides that the

DAR ... may authorize the reclassification or conversion on
the land and its disposition. [Section 65]

2. Conversion

a. After the lapse of five (5) years from its award, when the
land ceases to be economically feasible and sound for
agricultural purposes, or the locality has become highly
urbanized and the land will have greater economic value for
residential, commercial or industrial purposes, the DAR,
upon application of the beneficiary or the landowner, may
authorize the reclassification or conversion on the land and
its disposition: Provided, That the beneficiary shall have
fully paid his obligation. [Section 65]

b. Grounds for conversion

i. Five (5) years had lapsed from the award of the land;
ii. The land ceases to be economically feasible and sound
for agricultural purposes, or the locality has become
highly urbanized and the land will have greater economic
value for residential, commercial or industrial purposes;
and
iii. Beneficiary shall have fully paid his obligation.

c. Administrative Order No. 20, Series of 1992 [Took effect on

30 December 1992]
 * President Fidel V. Ramos directed the observance by all
agencies and local government units the following interim
guidelines on agricultural land use conversion.

i.All irrigated or irrigable agricultural lands shall not be

subject to and non-negotiable for conversion;
ii. All other agricultural lands may be converted only
upon strict compliance with existing laws, rules and
regulations.

3. Disturbance Compensation

* Section 36(1) of Republic Act No. 3844, as amended

provides: the agricultural lessee shall be entitled to
disturbance compensation equivalent to five years rental on
his landholding.

* Displaced farmers are entitled to disturbance compensation

which varies depending on the agreement between the
farmers and the landowners.

XV. Relation to Other Laws

A. Suppletory Application: The provisions of Republic Act No. 3844,

as amended, Presidential Decree Nos. 27 and 266, as amended,
Executive Order Nos. 228 and 229, both Series of 1987; and
other laws not inconsistent with this Act shall have suppletory
effect. [Section 75]

B. Repealing Clause: Section 35 of Republic Act No. 3844,

Presidential Decree No. 316, the last two paragraphs of Section
12 of Presidential Decree No. 946, Presidential Decree No. 1038,
and all other laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations, issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with CARL are
hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

XVI. Effectivity
 * CARL takes effect immediately after publication in at least two (2)
national newspapers of general circulation. CARL was printed 15
June 1988.

Prepared by: Atty. Ferdinand M. Casis