Law Summary
Declaration of Principles and Policies
- The State prioritizes the welfare of landless farmers and farmworkers.
- A fair redistribution of agricultural lands will be pursued, ensuring just compensation to landowners and considering ecological needs.
- Farmers and farmworkers have the right to own lands they till or receive just shares of the produce.
- The program encourages voluntary land-sharing and promotes participation of farmers, farmworkers, cooperatives, and landowners.
- Stewardship principles apply to other natural resources, respecting prior rights and indigenous communities.
- Resettlement opportunities on government estates are provided.
- The rights of subsistence fishermen to communal resources are protected.
- Agricultural land ownership carries a social function and responsibility.
- Landowners are obligated to cultivate or manage lands productively.
- Incentives are provided for landowners to invest proceeds productively.
- The State may lease public lands for capital-intensive farms under specified conditions.
Definitions
- Agrarian Reform: Redistribution of lands to landless farmers and regular farmworkers, including support services.
- Agriculture: Cultivation, livestock raising, and related farming activities.
- Agricultural Land: Land devoted to agricultural activities, excluding mineral, forest, residential, commercial, or industrial land.
- Agrarian Dispute: Disputes regarding tenurial arrangements, compensation, and transfer of ownership.
- Idle or Abandoned Land: Agricultural land not cultivated or economically used for three years prior to government notice.
- Farmer: A natural person whose primary livelihood is land cultivation.
- Farmworker: A person rendering service for value in agricultural enterprises, including regular and seasonal workers.
- Cooperatives: Organizations of small agricultural producers governed by one member, one vote.
Coverage
- CARP covers all public and private agricultural lands suitable for agriculture, regardless of tenurial arrangement or commodity.
- Includes alienable public lands, public lands in excess of legal limits, government lands, and private agricultural lands.
- No reclassification from forest or mineral lands to agricultural lands without Congressional approval.
Implementation Schedule
- CARP distribution to commence immediately and be completed within ten years.
- Priority phases:
- Phase One: Rice/corn lands under PD 27, idle and abandoned lands, government lands, foreclosed lands.
- Phase Two: Alienable and disposable public agricultural lands, large private lands over 50 hectares.
- Phase Three: Private lands from 24-50 hectares, then from retention limits up to 24 hectares.
- PARC may prioritize certain regions for earlier implementation.
Retention Limits
- Landowners may retain agricultural land up to five hectares.
- Each child may be awarded up to three hectares if meeting conditions.
- Landowners under previous laws or original homestead grantees retain prior limits.
- The landowner chooses the retained areas, with tenant options if area is tenanted.
- Any disposition of lands in violation of the Act post-effectivity is void.
- Registrars must report transactions exceeding five hectares to the DAR.
Multinational Corporations
- Public lands leased or owned by multinationals shall be acquired and distributed within three years.
- Lease and service contracts limited to set area ceilings must comply or extinguish by August 29, 1992.
- Distribution primarily direct to workers; if division is infeasible, formation of cooperatives for collective ownership.
- Benefits and employment status of workers must not be diminished during implementation.
- Production/income-sharing provisions apply.
Ancestral Lands
- Ancestral lands include lands occupied by indigenous cultural communities; Torrens System respected.
- Rights of these communities protected economically, socially, culturally.
- Traditional land systems and dispute resolutions recognized.
- PARC may suspend CARP implementation on ancestral lands for delineation.
- Autonomous regions may enact their own laws within constitutional bounds.
Exemptions and Exclusions
- Lands for parks, wildlife, forest reserves, watersheds, national defense, educational purposes, religious sites, cemeteries, and lands with 18% slope or greater are exempted.
Commercial Farming
- Commercial farms' private agricultural lands are subject to compulsory acquisition after 10 years.
- During deferment, government may initiate acquisition and facilitate cooperative management.
- Production and income-sharing rules apply.
Tenurial and Labor Relations
- DAR mandated to fix and adjust lease rentals to improve farmers' economic status.
- Enterprises with production-sharing schemes must execute plans within 90 days.
- Benefits under existing agreements preserved or may be enhanced.
Registration
- Landowners must register all agricultural lands within 180 days of the Act’s effectivity.
- Registering includes disclosure of land description, tenants, crops, incomes, and encumbrances.
- DAR and local committees to register qualified beneficiaries with public posting of lists.
Land Acquisition
- DAR sends notice to acquire lands with compensation offer.
- Owner may accept or reject within 30 days.
- In absence of acceptance, DAR conducts proceedings to determine just compensation.
- Payment made in cash, government bonds, or other instruments.
- DAR takes possession and proceeds with redistribution.
- Disputes on compensation may be brought to court.
Compensation
- Just compensation considers acquisition cost, property values, owner's sworn valuation, use, income, and government contributions.
- Payment modes include cash (varying percentages based on land size), government financial instruments (LBP bonds), stock shares, tax credits.
- LBP bonds feature market interest, maturity schedules, negotiability, and specified permissible uses.
- Voluntary sellers receive additional cash incentives.
Voluntary Land Transfer
- Landowners may enter into direct voluntary land transfers to beneficiaries within first year.
- Unresolved negotiations after one year result in government acquisition.
- Terms must be no less favorable than government offers.
- DAR monitors and approves such transfers.
- Beneficiaries may finance acquisition through LBP.
Land Redistribution
- Priority beneficiaries include landless lessees, farmworkers, actual tillers, cooperatives.
- Children of landowners who qualify receive preference.
- Tenant tillers shall not be removed.
- Beneficiary qualifications include willingness and capacity to cultivate.
- Monitoring of beneficiaries includes sanctions for misuse.
- Maximum ownership per beneficiary is three hectares.
Awards and Payment
- Awarded lands evidenced by Certificate of Land Ownership Award, recorded and annotated on title.
- Beneficiaries pay in 30 annual amortizations at six percent interest, with initial reduced payments possible.
- LBP holds mortgage lien and may foreclose after default.
- Transfer of awarded lands restricted for 10 years except for hereditary succession, government, LBP, or fellow beneficiaries.
Corporate Farms
- Lands of corporate farms are generally distributed to individual workers or collectively via cooperatives.
- Members get home lots and farmlots for family use.
- Corporations may transfer stock equivalents to beneficiaries.
- Rights of beneficiaries to dividends and representation ensured.
- Failure to comply with stock distribution leads to compulsory coverage.
- Existing agreements continue until redistribution.
Production-Sharing
- Farms with gross sales above certain thresholds must distribute shares of gross sales and net profits to farmworkers.
- A transitory period compensates management groups.
Support Services
- DAR’s Office of Support Services provides irrigation, infrastructure, credit, technological assistance, training, marketing services.
- At least 25% of agrarian reform appropriations reserved for support services.
- Beneficiaries receive land surveys, credit, extension services, infrastructure, organic fertilizer research.
- Misuse of support services leads to penalties including forfeiture.
- Affected landowners receive investment and financial counseling and incentives to invest in rural industry.
Special Areas of Concern
- Principles apply to subsistence fishing, logging and mining concessions, sparsely occupied public lands, idle or abandoned lands.
- Women in agriculture assured equal rights.
- Special consideration given to veterans, retirees, agriculture graduates.
Implementation Bodies
- Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) chaired by the President, includes relevant Cabinet Secretaries and representatives of landowners and beneficiaries.
- Executive Committee of PARC for interim decision-making.
- Secretariat headed by Secretary of Agrarian Reform.
- Provincial and Barangay Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committees established for local implementation and monitoring.
Administrative Adjudication
- DAR has exclusive original jurisdiction over agrarian reform matters, except DA and DENR jurisdiction.
- DAR empowered to issue summons, subpoenas, and hear cases informally but fairly.
- Appeals only via certiorari to Court of Appeals.
- BARC mediation certification required before DAR hearing.
Judicial Review and Special Agrarian Courts
- Special Agrarian Courts created in RTC branches for land and criminal cases under the Act.
- Courts must decide cases within 30 days.
- Appeals from decisions timely filed with Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
- Courts give preferential attention to agrarian cases.
Financing
- Initial ten-year funding from Agrarian Reform Fund via EO No. 229.
- Additional appropriations from asset sales, recovered ill-gotten wealth, foreign aid and government funds.
- Land Bank of the Philippines as financial intermediary prioritizing social justice.
General Provisions
- Conversion of awarded lands allowed after 5 years if no longer agriculturally feasible.
- Transfers exempt from capital gains and related taxes, but arrears deductible.
- Registers of Deeds to process CARP-related regist