Reorganization of Dept. of Agrarian Reform

Constitutional Basis and Prior Measures

The President exercises authority under Article XVIII, Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution, which continues legislative power until the First Congress convenes.
The reorganizing framework is linked to a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) created through Presidential Proclamation No. 131 and Executive Order No. 229, both dated July 22, 1987.
Executive Order No. 129 dated January 30, 1987 is recognized as suspended, and Executive Order No. 129-A modifies the reorganization accordingly.
Executive Order No. 229 is recognized as vesting the Department of Agrarian Reform with quasi-judicial powers to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters.

Policy, Purpose, and State Commitments

Section 3 declares the State’s policy to completely abolish all remnants of feudalism and all other types of unjust tenurial arrangements.
Section 3 directs implementation of the comprehensive agrarian reform program, increase productivity of direct producers, and strengthen the agricultural base for increased industrialization.
Section 3 establishes the foundation of Philippine agriculture through:
- owner-cultivated, economic, family-size farms
- and collectively-owned / cooperatively-cultivated farms.
Section 3 mandates prohibition of absentee land ownership.
Section 3 directs rechanneling and diverting landlord capital in agriculture to industrial development and assisting preservation and conservation of prime lands for agricultural purposes.
Section 3 requires protection of the autonomy and independence of institutions of farmers and farmworkers from pernicious restraints and practices.
Section 3 requires creation of just and viable socio-economic structures in agriculture through the cooperative system of production, processing, marketing, distribution, and credit services.
Section 3 requires accelerating disposition of public alienable, disposable, and cultivable land to actual cultivators and other qualified beneficiaries and developing agrarian communities for human growth and development.
Section 3 mandates institutional partnerships between government and organizations of farmers and farmworkers in agrarian reform policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation.
Section 3 requires investment opportunities, alternative employment, and incentives for landowners affected by agrarian reform.
Section 3 requires adequate funding support and timely, affordable, and appropriate financing schemes for beneficiaries.
Section 3 requires institutionalizing an agricultural land tax scheme to prevent land hoarding and/or speculation.

Department Mandate and Authorized Actions

Section 4 makes the Department responsible for implementing the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
Section 4 authorizes the Department to:
- acquire, determine the value of, subdivide into family-size farms, or organize into collective or cooperative farms and develop private agricultural lands for distribution to qualified tillers, actual occupants, and displaced urban poor.
- administer and dispose cultivable portions of the public domain declared alienable and disposable for agricultural purposes transferred to it by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
- acquire by purchase or grant real estate properties suited for agriculture that have been foreclosed by the national government.
- undertake land consolidation, land reclamation, land forming, and conservation in areas subject to agrarian reform.
Section 4 requires facilitating compensation of landowners covered by agrarian reform.
Section 4 mandates issuing emancipation patents to farmers and farmworkers given lands under the agrarian reform program as may be provided for by law.
Section 4 authorizes:
- providing free legal services to agrarian reform beneficiaries
- resolving agrarian conflicts and land tenure problems.
Section 4 authorizes developing and implementing alternative land tenure systems including cooperative farming and agro-industrial estates.
Section 4 authorizes land use management and land development studies and projects in agrarian reform areas.
Section 4 authorizes approving or disapproving the conversion, restructuring or readjustment of agricultural lands into non-agricultural uses.
Section 4 authorizes monitoring and evaluating the progress of agrarian reform implementation.
Section 4 requires assistance to the Office of the Solicitor General to provide evidence for reversion proceedings involving:
- lands of the public domain occupied by private individuals and their tenants or farmworkers
- lands subject to land reform
- real rights connected therewith acquired in violation of the Constitution or public land laws or through corrupt practices.
Section 4 requires submission of progress reports to the Office of the President, Congress, and the people at the end of each year.
Section 4 requires that the Department make available to the general public information on the current status of its programs at all times.

Powers, Exclusive Conversion Authority

Section 5 authorizes the Department to advise the President and the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council on executive/administrative orders, regulative issuances, and legislative proposals to strengthen agrarian reform and protect beneficiaries.
Section 5 directs the Department to implement all agrarian laws and authorizes it to:
- punish for contempt
- issue subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, writs of execution of its decision, and other legal processes to ensure program implementation.
Section 5 provides that Department decisions may be appealed to the Regional Trial Courts but are immediately executory notwithstanding such appeal.
Section 5 authorizes the Department to establish and promulgate operational policies, rules and regulations, and priorities for implementation.
Section 5 requires coordination of program implementation with the Land Bank of the Philippines and other relevant civilian and military government agencies mandated to support agrarian reform.
Section 5 authorizes acquisition, administration, distribution, and development of agricultural lands for agrarian reform purposes, and undertaking surveys of lands covered by agrarian reform.
Section 5 mandates issuing emancipation patents for covered private and public lands and allows administrative corrections when necessary.
Section 5 authorizes providing free legal services and resolving agrarian conflicts and land/tenure related problems as may be provided for by law.
Section 5 authorizes promoting organization and development of cooperatives and other associations of agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Section 5 requires conducting continuing education and promotion programs for beneficiaries, land-owners, government personnel, and the general public.
Section 5 mandates institutionalizing participation of farmers, farmworkers, other beneficiaries, and agrarian reform advocates in policy formulation, program implementation, and evaluation.
Section 5 grants the Department exclusive authority to approve or disapprove conversion of agricultural lands for residential, commercial, industrial, and other land uses as may be provided for by law.
Section 5 requires calling upon any government agency, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and NGOs to extend full support and cooperation to program implementation.
Section 5 authorizes the Department to exercise other powers and functions provided by law or directed by the President.

Department Structure and Internal Offices

Section 6 reorganizes the Department to consist of the Department Proper, staff offices, staff bureaus, and regional/provincial/municipal agrarian reform offices.
Section 6 identifies the Department Proper as:
- Office of the Secretary
- Offices of the Undersecretaries
- Offices of the Assistant Secretaries
- Public Affairs Staff
- Special Concerns Staff
- Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board.
Section 6 identifies staff sectoral bureaus as:
- Bureau of Land Acquisition and Distribution
- Bureau of Land Development
- Bureau of Agrarian Legal Assistance
- Bureau of Agrarian Reform Information and Education
- Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development.
Section 7 vests supervision and control over the Department, and discharge of its powers and functions, in the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, appointed by the President.
Section 8 provides that the Office of the Secretary includes the Secretary, immediate staff, Public Affairs Staff, and Special Concerns Staff.
Sections 9–10 require that the Secretary be assisted by:
- four (4) Undersecretaries, appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary
- seven (7) Assistant Secretaries, appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary.
Sections 9–10 authorize the Secretary to delineate, assign, or reassign functional areas of responsibility, tied to the Department’s mandate and objectives.
Section 9 prohibits any Undersecretary from being assigned primarily administrative responsibilities.
Sections 11–12 create:
- a Public Affairs Staff as the Department’s public information arm to disseminate agrarian reform policies/plans/programs/projects and respond to public queries; and
- a Special Concerns Staff to handle priority areas/subjects identified by the Secretary requiring special and immediate attention.
Section 13 creates an Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board under the Office of the Secretary with:
- the Secretary as Chairman
- two (2) Undersecretaries designated by the Secretary
- an Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs
- three (3) others appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary
- a Secretariat to support the Board.
Section 13 assigns to the Board powers and functions for adjudication of agrarian reform cases under Executive Order No. 229 and this Executive Order, including the possibility of delegation to regional offices through rules and regulations promulgated by the Board.
Sections 14–18 create the following Department Proper offices and assign them these functions:
- Planning and Project Management Office: coordinate/integrate/prioritize plans, programs, projects; monitor/evaluate implementation; establish linkages with foreign funding institutions; coordinate activities of offices/bureaus/attached units.
- Policy and Strategic Research Office: establish/implement a computerized management information system; coordinate and/or initiate research/studies for planning and policy formulation.
- Finance, Management and Administrative Office: allocate funds timely to approved programs/projects/activities; manage control and accounting; manage physical assets; provide personnel management and manpower career development services; establish management systems and procedures.
- Field Operations Offices for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao: monitor and assess implementation of Department policies/plans/programs at regional, provincial, and municipal levels.
- Legal Affairs Office: review contracts and legal matters; render legal assistance to Department personnel and those affected by the agrarian reform program.
Sections 19–23 restructure and create bureaus with these functions:
- Bureau of Land Acquisition and Distribution: absorbs functions of specified predecessor bureaus/services; develops policies/plans/programs/SOPs; provides technical assistance for acquisition/distribution of private agricultural lands under agrarian reform, including tiller-landowner identification, valuation, landowner compensation, transfer of ownership, leasehold arrangements, stewardship, and land transfer actions.
- Bureau of Land Development: absorbs functions of specified predecessor bureaus; provides technical assistance for land surveys, land use/capability/classification, engineering services, and land consolidation.
- Bureau of Agrarian Legal Assistance: strengthens legal assistance functions; develops guidelines/plans/programs for legal assistance; develops/maintains/coordinated para-legal services for those affected by CARP.
- Bureau of Agrarian Reform Information and Education: absorbs functions of the Agrarian Reform Education Service abolished by this Executive Order; develops and conducts continuing training/education; promotes favorable attitudes and skills; increases public awareness through dissemination and communication materials.
- Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development: absorbs functions of the Bureau of Resettlement; develops policies/plans/programs; provides technical assistance for development of settlement areas into viable agrarian communities; promotes organization of beneficiaries; liaises with farmer and farmworker organizations for farm cooperation; promotes dignified existence and viable economic structure for higher productivity and income.

Regional, Provincial, and Municipal Offices

Section 24 establishes twelve (12) Regional Offices, each headed by a Regional Director with an Assistant Regional Director for Operations and an Assistant Regional Director for Administration.
Section 24 requires Regional Offices to implement the Department’s laws, policies, plans, programs, projects, rules, and regulations in their administrative regions.
Section 24 requires Regional Offices to prepare and submit regional plans/programs for:
- land acquisition and distribution
- information and education
- land use management and land development.
Section 24 requires Regional Offices to provide technical assistance to Provincial Offices and Municipal Agrarian Reform Offices, conduct operations research and evaluation, coordinate with other agencies and farmer/farmworker organizations, maintain an information system tied to monitoring, review and evaluate submitted reports/documents, and submit periodic feedback.
Section 25 abolishes Agrarian Reform District Offices and creates Provincial Agrarian Reform Offices as necessary.
Section 25 provides that each Provincial Office is headed by a Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer and must direct and coordinate Municipal Offices within the province.
Section 25 assigns Provincial Offices these functions, including prioritizing execution of approved plans and schedules for:
- land acquisition and distribution and transfer of ownership to actual tillers, including identification, tenurial security, leasehold arrangements, land surveys, valuation, and landowner compensation
- continuing information and education programs
- organizational development of beneficiaries’ cooperatives and farmer-government partnership in policy formulation/implementation/evaluation
- landowners’ compensation and rechannelling landowner capital to industrial development
- alternative land tenure systems including cooperative farming, cooperative cultivatorship schemes, and agro-industrial estates
- land use management
- compact farming and land conservation measures in agrarian reservation/agricultural reform areas, in coordination with farmer and farmworker organizations
- legal services and resolution of agrarian conflicts and land tenure problems.
Section 25 also requires Provincial Offices to:
- provide administrative services to Municipal Offices
- provide legal services to beneficiaries for cases connected with agrarian reform disputes, expropriation proceedings, registering cooperatives, and reviewing and acting on matters initially investigated and elevated by Municipal Offices
- provide technical assistance to Municipal Offices
- coordinate with governmental/private agencies and farmer/farmworker organizations at the provincial level
- conduct periodic performance audit surveys in collaboration with the Regional Office and recommend remedial measures.
Section 26 creates as many Municipal Agrarian Reform Offices as necessary, each headed by a Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer.
Section 26 requires Municipal Offices to implement agrarian reform programs and deliver expected results at the municipal level and perform functions including:
- implementing land acquisition/distribution and transfer, including farm/landowner/beneficiary identification, leasehold arrangements, valuation, compensation, and transfer actions determined by law
- continuing information and education among beneficiaries
- encouraging organization and assisting registration of cooperatives
- institutionalizing beneficiaries’ participation in policy formulation and program implementation
- organizing/establishing compact farms, land consolidation, integrated farm systems, sloping agricultural land technology, and cooperative-cultivatorship schemes
- assisting agrarian reform research
- assisting legal services such as legal information/counseling, documentation and preliminary processing of applications for patents and purchase lots, preliminary investigation of conflicting claims over lot boundaries and property appraisal, mediation of implementation problems, execution and registration of lease contracts, and initial investigation of administrative cases
- assisting project identification/formulation/development that uplifts socio-economic status and channels landlord capital to industrial development
- coordinating with agencies and farmer/farmworker organizations within their coverage area
- submitting periodic reports on accomplishments and recommended solutions
- implementing supportive projects for national priority programs the Department assists
- performing other assigned functions to promote efficient public service delivery.

Attached Foundation for Agrarian Reform

Section 27 allows the Department, subject to approval of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council, to create FARM-Philippines (the Foundation for the Agrarian Reform Movement of the Philippines).
Section 27 attaches FARM-Philippines to the Office of the Secretary and provides it is governed by a Board of Trustees.
Section 27 authorizes FARM-Philippines to administer, operate, and manage programs and projects developed by the Department.
Section 27 authorizes FARM-Philippines to initiate alternative livelihood projects for displaced small landowners.
Section 27 authorizes FARM-Philippines to raise funds and contract foreign and domestic loans for its projects.

Reorganization Transitory Rules and Compliance

Section 28 provides that government unit transfers include functions, appropriations, funds, records, equipment, facilities, chosen in action, rights, other assets, liabilities (if any), and personnel as needed; transferred personnel continue in a hold-over capacity to perform duties and receive salaries and benefits.
Section 28 provides that personnel from transferred units whose positions are not included in the Department’s new structure and staffing pattern approved by the Secretary or who are not reappointed are deemed separated from the service and become entitled to benefits under Section 29.
Section 28 governs transfers that abolish the unit exercising the functions by providing that remaining appropriations and funds revert to the General Fund, remaining assets are allocated as the Secretary determines or disposed under the Government Auditing Code and other pertinent laws, rules, and regulations, liabilities are treated under the Government Auditing Code and pertinent laws, and personnel continue in hold-over capacity unless separated under the structure/staffing and reappointment rules.
Section 28 governs transfers where the exercising unit is not abolished by including necessary appropriations, funds, records, equipment, facilities, chosen in action, rights, assets, and personnel, and requires treatment of liabilities under the Government Auditing Code and pertinent laws.
Section 28 provides rules for abolition without transfer of functions by requiring reversion of appropriations and funds to the General Fund, allocating remaining records/equipment/facilities/chosen in action/rights/other assets as the Secretary determines or disposing under the Government Auditing Code and other laws, and treating liabilities under the same legal framework.
Section 28 provides rules for merger or consolidation, giving the surviving/new unit functions and assets and requiring hold-over performance by personnel unless separated under the structure/staffing and reappointment rules.
Section 28 provides rules for termination of a function without abolition of the performing unit by requiring reversion of intended financing appropriations and funds to the General Fund, allocating used records/equipment/facilities/chosen in action/rights/other assets, treating liabilities under the Government Auditing Code and pertinent laws, and separating personnel not included in the new structure or not reappointed with entitlement to Section 29 benefits.
Section 29 directs that upon approval, officers and employees continue in hold-over capacity performing duties and receiving salaries and benefits unless separated.
Section 29 requires the Secretary to approve and prescribe the Department’s new position structure and staffing pattern within sixty (60) days from effectivity, and requires filling authorized positions with regular appointments by the Secretary or by the President as applicable.
Section 29 provides that incumbents whose positions are not included in the new structure or who are not reappointed are deemed separated and entitled to retirement benefits under existing laws, rules, and regulations.
Section 29 provides a monetary benefit alternative where separation does not result in eligibility to retirement benefits: the equivalent of one (1) month basic salary for every year of service or fraction thereof, computed on the basis of the highest salary received, with a cap that payment shall in no case exceed the equivalent of twelve (12) months salary.
Section 30 requires the Department to formulate and enforce a system for measuring and evaluating its performance periodically and objectively and to submit the same annually to the President.
Section 31 requires compliance with any notice or consent requirement involving reorganizational changes that prejudice third persons with rights recognized by law or contract where creditor notice/consent is required under agreements with creditors.
Section 32 prohibits any change in the reorganization from being valid unless it receives prior approval of the President to promote efficiency and effectiveness in public service delivery.
Section 33 provides that funding for implementation shall come from funds available in the Department.
Section 34 requires the Secretary to issue orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances necessary for effective implementation.

Separability, Repeal, and Presidential Approval Limits

Section 35 provides separability: any portion declared unconstitutional shall not nullify remaining provisions if the remaining provisions can still subsist and be given effect.
Section 36 repeals or modifies all inconsistent laws, ordinances, rules and regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof.
Section 37 establishes immediate effectivity upon approval on July 26, 1987.
Section 32 makes Presidential prior approval a validity requirement for any change in the prescribed reorganization structure.

Administrative and Judicial Execution Mechanisms

Section 5 empowers the Department to issue contempt-related processes and subpoenas to ensure agrarian reform program implementation.
Section 5 provides that the Department’s decisions are immediately executory even when appealed to the Regional Trial Courts.
Section 4 also authorizes the Department to resolve agrarian conflicts and land tenure problems, supported by free legal services to beneficiaries.
Section 13 assigns adjudication powers over agrarian reform cases under Executive Order No. 229 and this Executive Order to the Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board, with possible delegation to regional offices through Board-promulgated rules.