Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 1199)
The primary purpose is to establish agricultural tenancy relations between landholders and tenants on the principle of social justice, protect the rights of both, insure equitable division of produce, provide incentives for efficient production, and encourage rural community development.
Agricultural tenancy is the physical possession by a person of land devoted to agriculture belonging to, or legally possessed by another, for production using the tenant's labor and immediate farm household, with the tenant agreeing to share the harvest or pay a price certain in produce, money, or both.
The two systems are share tenancy, where the produce is divided proportionally to contributions, and leasehold tenancy, where the tenant pays a fixed or ascertainable price for the use of the land.
A tenant is a person who cultivates the land of another with consent, using his and his immediate farm household's labor, sharing produce under share tenancy or paying a set price under leasehold tenancy.
Once tenancy is established, verbally or in writing, the tenant has security of tenure and cannot be dispossessed without just cause, only by court order as specified by the law.
Causes include bona fide intention by the landholder to cultivate personally or use machinery (with conditions), tenant's violation of contract or Act provisions, failure to pay agreed rental unless due to force majeure, misuse of land, failure to follow farm practices, negligence causing serious injury to land, or conviction of a crime against landholder or family.
Violations can result in a fine not exceeding two thousand pesos, imprisonment for up to one year, or both, at the court's discretion.
The tenant's dwelling cannot be removed without consent unless tenancy is severed or the tenant is ejected for cause, and after 45 days following severance or dismissal. If dismissed without just cause, tenant may remove dwelling at landholder's cost or demand its value.
Contracts must be in writing in quadruplicate, signed or thumb-marked before witnesses, with copies to parties and municipal treasurer for registration. Registration is free of charge and no stamps or fees are required.
Tenant’s share is computed based on contributions: land 30%, labor 30%, farm implements 5%, work animals 5%, final harrowing 5%, and transplanting 25%, with respective shares of the gross produce after deductions.