QuestionsQuestions (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 316)
PD No. 316 was issued to prohibit the ejectment of tenant-farmers (tenant-tillers) from agricultural farmholdings primarily devoted to rice and corn, pending the issuance of the rules implementing PD No. 27, and to curb ejectment suits and harassment that disturb peace and order in rural areas.
Tenant-farmers/tenant-tillers cultivating agricultural lands primarily devoted to rice and corn are protected from ejectment or removal from their farmholdings.
No tenant-farmer in agricultural lands primarily devoted to rice and corn shall be ejected or removed from his farmholding until the respective rights of the tenant-farmer and the landowner have been determined under the rules and regulations implementing PD No. 27.
Only after the rights of the tenant-farmer and landowner have been determined in accordance with the rules and regulations implementing PD No. 27.
Agricultural lands primarily devoted to rice and corn.
Section 2 limits when courts can take cognizance of ejectment or harassment cases involving tenants of rice and corn lands, requiring certification by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform unless the case is certified as proper for trial.
Unless certified by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform as a proper case for trial/hearing, no judge or fiscal/tribunal shall take cognizance of such ejectment or harassment case; the case must first be referred to the Secretary or authorized representative for a preliminary determination of the relationship between the parties.
If the Secretary finds the case is proper for court or a competent hearing officer, he shall certify it, and the court/judge/hearing officer may then assume jurisdiction over the dispute.
No. PD No. 316 directs that the court/judge or fiscal shall not take cognizance of such case unless it has first been certified by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform as proper for trial/hearing.
The decree mentions judges of the Court of Agrarian Relations, Court of First Instance, municipal or city courts, or any other tribunal, as well as a fiscal—none shall take cognizance of ejectment/harassment cases unless certified by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform.
The case must first be referred to the Secretary of Agrarian Reform or authorized representative to conduct a preliminary determination of whether there is a tenant-landowner relationship.
Government officials must exert efforts to maintain the status quo in the relationship between tenant-farmers and landowners as embodied in existing presidential instructions.
It generally means preserving the existing tenant-farmer/landowner relationship and preventing actions that would effectively eject or dispossess the tenant pending proper determination of rights.
All provisions of existing laws, orders, rules, and regulations (or parts thereof) that conflict or are inconsistent with PD No. 316 are repealed or modified accordingly.
It took effect immediately upon issuance (October 22, 1973).
While the operative sections focus on ejectment and jurisdiction limits, the recitals acknowledge that landowners filed criminal cases arising from possession/cultivation, and PD No. 316 is intended to prevent harassment ejection-type actions and to maintain peace/order while agrarian rules are being implemented.
Because the ejectment suits or harassment were intended to remove tenants, undermining social justice and threatening rural peace and order; the decree seeks to protect tenant-farmers while rights are legally determined.