LandBank's Role in Agrarian Reform Land Valuation

Republic Act No. 6657 (the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988) governs the acquisition and compensation of private agricultural lands through Voluntary Offer to Sell (VOS) or Compulsory Acquisition (CA).
Republic Act No. 6657, Section 17 requires that, in determining just compensation, the following factors are considered:
- cost of acquisition of the land;
- current value of like properties;
- nature of the land;
- actual use and income;
- sworn valuation by the owner;
- tax declarations;
- assessment made by government assessors;
- social and economic benefits contributed by farmers and farm-workers and by the Government; and
- non-payment of taxes or loans secured from any government financing institution.
Republic Act No. 6657, Section 18 provides that compensation is either:
- the amount agreed upon by the landowner and the DAR and the LBP, in accordance with the criteria in Sections 16 and 17 and other pertinent provisions; or
- the amount finally determined by the court as just compensation.
Executive Order No. 405 is aimed at accelerating implementation by streamlining land valuation and compensation procedures (WHEREAS clause).

The Executive Order establishes that the LBP’s valuation and compensation determination is intended to streamline acquisition and distribution procedures under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (WHEREAS clause).
The order relies on the fact that the LBP employs commercial banking personnel whose expertise includes appraisal of agricultural properties for loan purposes (WHEREAS clause).
The order preserves landowners’ and agrarian reform beneficiaries’ existing rights and remedies under Republic Act No. 6657 (Section 4).

The LBP is primarily responsible for determining land valuation and compensation for all private lands suitable for agriculture under VOS or CA arrangements governed by Republic Act No. 6657 (Section 1).
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) must use the LBP’s determination of land valuation and compensation when performing its functions (Section 1).
The DAR continues performing its functions under Republic Act No. 6657, particularly identification of priority landholdings for coverage under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Section 2).
After title transfer to the Republic of the Philippines, the LBP must inform the DAR so that the DAR can proceed with distribution to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries within the time specified by law (Section 1).

The LBP bears primary responsibility for land valuation and compensation determination for covered private agricultural lands under VOS and CA arrangements (Section 1).
The DAR must rely on and use the LBP’s determination in carrying out its functions under Republic Act No. 6657 (Section 1).
Once titles are transferred to the Republic, the LBP must inform the DAR to enable distribution to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries in accordance with the statutory timeline (Section 1).
Executive Order No. 405 does not replace or remove the legal compensation framework under Republic Act No. 6657; it assigns the primary determination responsibility to the LBP (Sections 1, WHEREAS).

The LBP is authorized to augment its manpower resources to implement Executive Order No. 405 (Section 3).
The manpower augmentation is tied specifically to fulfilling the Executive Order’s purpose of implementing streamlined valuation and compensation procedures (Sections 1 and 3).

Executive Order No. 405 must not be construed to diminish the rights and remedies of landowners and agrarian reform beneficiaries under Republic Act No. 6657 (Section 4).
The Executive Order takes effect immediately (Section 5).