Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 129-A)
The purpose of Executive Order No. 129-A is to reorganize and strengthen the Department of Agrarian Reform to effectively implement the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
The declared policy is to abolish remnants of feudalism and unjust tenurial arrangements, establish owner-cultivated family-size farms, prohibit absentee land ownership, rechannel landlord capital to industrial development, assist in preserving prime agricultural lands, and support farmer and farmworker institutions for increased productivity and incomes.
Its functions include acquiring and distributing agricultural lands to qualified beneficiaries, administering public domain lands for agriculture, issuing emancipation patents, resolving agrarian conflicts, implementing alternative land tenure systems, monitoring agrarian reform progress, and providing legal and technical assistance to beneficiaries.
The Department, through the Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board, has quasi-judicial powers to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters, issue subpoenas, punish for contempt, and enforce decisions, which are immediately executory even if appealed to Regional Trial Courts.
It consists of the Department Proper (including the Office of the Secretary, Undersecretaries, Assistant Secretaries, Public Affairs Staff, Special Concerns Staff, Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board), several bureaus (Land Acquisition and Distribution, Land Development, Agrarian Legal Assistance, Information and Education, Beneficiaries Development), and field offices at regional, provincial, and municipal levels.
The Secretary of Agrarian Reform has the authority and responsibility over the Department and is appointed by the President.
The Board adjudicates agrarian reform cases under Executive Order No. 229 and EO No. 129-A, with powers delegated to regional offices. It consists of the Secretary as Chairman, designated Undersecretaries, Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs, and additional members appointed by the President.
Yes, the Department has exclusive authority to approve or disapprove the conversion, restructuring, or readjustment of agricultural lands into non-agricultural uses as provided by law.
Personnel whose positions are not included in the new structure or who are not reappointed will be deemed separated and are entitled to retirement benefits under existing laws or receive compensation equivalent to one month salary per year of service, not exceeding twelve months' salary.
The Department must submit progress reports annually to the Office of the President, Congress, and the public, and formulate a performance evaluation system to objectively measure its performance annually.