Definition of Absentee Landowners and Exceptions
- Absentee landlords are those not physically tilling land except under specific conditions:
- Forced absence due to uncontrollable factors (e.g., armed services, government duties).
- Previous actual tillers of their land before abandonment.
Apportionment of Land and Cooperative Arrangements
- Landowner entitled to 7 hectares if actively tilling or intending to till.
- Tenant-farmers entitled to up to 5 hectares if land is unirrigated, 3 hectares if irrigated.
- Cooperative organizations may be formed if apportionment insufficient for tenant farming.
- Cooperatives include both landowners and tenants sharing income according to participation.
Modes of Payment and Land Transfer under Reform Programs
- Payment for land by tenant-farmers structured as:
- Total land cost plus 6% per annum interest over 15 equal annual amortizations.
- Alternative payment modes under PD No. 251 include cash and Land Bank bonds, preferred shares, annuities, government stocks, and other President-approved methods.
Protection of Small Landowners' Economic Interests
- Recognizes small landowners (less than 12 hectares) as part of economic middle class.
- Avoids economic dislocation by balancing tenant benefits with landowners' income needs.
- Government assistance envisaged if landowners lose sole income source.
Survey and Implementation Directives
- Immediate comprehensive surveys mandated to identify:
- Absentee landowners with/without other income.
- Absentee landowners compelled to abandon farming due to uncontrollable circumstances.
- Landholdings suitable for cooperative approach.
- Landowners with emotional attachments to land.
- Landowners in government service or retired.
- Actual income from agricultural lands versus reported 6%.
- Production changes post-implementation of reform.
Scope and Identification of Small Landholdings
- Small landholdings defined as properties of 24 hectares or less.
- Pilot areas designated in specific towns and provinces to test program implementation.
Interagency Coordination and Reporting
- Involves coordination among Executive Secretary, Department of Agrarian Reform, Finance, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Central Bank, Land Bank, Local Governments, and other cooperative-related agencies.
- Executive Secretary to convene meetings for immediate program rollout.
- Reports with recommendations due by end of November 1973.