The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law was laid down in the year 1988, to protect the

agricultural workers in Philippines. The comprehensive agrarian reform law aimed at helping
the small and marginal farmers of Philippines by providing them easy access to land and
other necessary inputs.

A brief history: Agrarian Condition in Philippines

For a long period of time, the agrarian system of Philippines was being controlled by the large
landlords. The small farmers in Philippines were struggling for their rights to land and other natural
resources. It was observed that about 2.9 million small farms occupied about half of the total arable
land of Philippines, whereas the medium and large farms occupied about 11.5% of the total
farmland. The agrarian system in Philippines followed a feudalistic approach.

Implementation of Agrarian Reform in Philippines: Drawbacks

The implementation of Agrarian reforms proceeded at a very slow pace. This was due to the lack of
political will. The redistribution of land was also very slow. As a consequence, a large amount of
agrarian land in Philippines was converted to industrial land.

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law: Philippines

The Republic Act No. 6657, alternatively called the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law was
signed by President Corazon C. Aquino on 10th June, 1988. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Law is responsible for the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)
in Philippines. The law focussed on industrialisation in Philippines together with social justice.

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law: Objectives

The primary objective of instituting the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform law was to successfully
devise land reform in Philippines. It was President Arroyo, who signed the Executive Order No. 456
on 23rd August to rename the Department of Land Reform as Department of Agrarian Reform. This
had been done to expand the functional area of the law. Apart from land reform, the Department of
Agrarian Reform began to supervise other allied activities to improve the economic and social status
of the beneficiaries of land reform in Philippines.