Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 3844)
The main purpose of the Agricultural Land Reform Code is to establish owner-cultivatorship and economic family-size farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture, abolish agricultural share tenancy, implement land reforms, provide agencies for acquisition and distribution of agricultural land, and improve productivity and incomes of small farmers.
The policy is to abolish agricultural share tenancy and replace it with an agricultural leasehold system to create more independent and self-reliant small farmers with security of tenure.
It is established by operation of law upon the abolition of share tenancy, or by oral or written agreement, expressly or impliedly, between the agricultural lessor and lessee.
The parties are the agricultural lessor (owner, civil law lessee, usufructuary, or legal possessor) who furnishes the landholding, and the agricultural lessee who personally cultivates the land.
Rights include security of tenure, right to possession and peaceful enjoyment, right to manage and mechanize the farm, right to contract on fair terms, right to pre-emption and redemption upon sale of the land, and right to be indemnified for labor and improvements.
Just compensation is determined by the court, considering the annual lease rental income capitalized at six percent per annum, among other factors.
The Land Authority is responsible for implementing land reform, including expropriation, subdivision, resettlement, financing, land classification, and project administration for redistribution of agricultural lands.
The Land Bank finances acquisition of landed estates for division and resale to small farmers, and the purchase of landholdings by agricultural lessees; it also issues bonds and manages financial operations to support land reform.
They have rights to self-organization, concerted activities, minimum wage, eight-hour workday, compensation for work-related injuries or death, and protection against unjust suspension or lay-off.
The penalty is a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos with subsidiary imprisonment under the Revised Penal Code; in case of juridical persons, managers or persons in charge are liable.
It means an area of farm land that permits efficient use of labor and capital resources by a farm family and provides a modest standard of living including food, clothing, shelter, education, loan payments, and reserves for income fluctuation.
An agricultural lessee cannot be ejected from the landholding without court authorization based on just causes such as non-payment of rent, failure to comply with contract terms, or land conversion with proper compensation.
Rentals shall not exceed 25% of the average normal harvest of the preceding three agricultural years after deducting costs such as seeds and harvesting; increases follow court determination or agreement.
Contracts, if in writing, must be signed by parties and witnesses, acknowledged before a justice of the peace, and registered with the municipal treasurer who maintains a registry; no fees or stamps shall be charged.
It is a relationship where two persons agree in a joint undertaking for agricultural production with one furnishing land and the other labor, with produce divided between landlord and tenant, and the tenant cultivating personally with household labor aid.