THE AGRARIAN

HISTORY
Readings In The Philippine History
– Module 4, Lesson 2
Learning Objectives

Discuss agrarian reforms in the lens of the different

presidents
■ Describe and differentiate the precolonial up to
present agrarian reforms.
THE AGRARIAN REFORMS
THROUGHOUT THE
HISTORY OF THE
PHILIPPINES
PRE-SPANISH PERIOD “This land is
Ours God gave this land to us”
Before the Spaniards came to the Philippines,
Filipinos lived in villages or barangays ruled by
chiefs or datus. The datus comprised the nobility.
Then came the maharlikas (freemen), followed by
the aliping mamamahay (serfs) and aliping
saguiguilid (slaves).
Money was unknown, and rice served as the
medium of exchange.
SPANISH PERIOD “United we stand,
divided we fall”
When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, the
concept of encomienda (Royal Land Grants) was
introduced. This system grants that Encomienderos
must defend his encomienda from external attack,
maintain peace and order within and support the
missionaries. In turn, the encomiendero acquired
the right to collect tribute from the indios (native).
THE FIRST PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC
“The yoke has finally broken”
When the First Philippine Republic was
established in 1899, Gen. Emilio
Aguinaldo declared in the Malolos
Constitution his intention to confiscate
large estates, especially the so-called
Friar lands.
AMERICAN PERIOD “Long live
America”
Significant legislation enacted during the American
Period:
Philippine Bill of 1902 – Set the ceilings on the hectare
of private individuals and corporations may acquire. 16
for private individuals and 1,024 for corporations.
Land Registration Act of 1902 (Act No. 496) – Provided
for a comprehensive registration of land titles under the
Torrens system.
AMERICAN PERIOD “Long live
America”
Public Land Act of 1903 – introduced the homestead
system in the Philippines.
Tenancy Act of 1933 (Act No. 4054 and 4113) –
regulated relationships between landowners and tenants
of rice (50-50 sharing) and sugar cane lands.
The Torrens system, which the Americans instituted for
the registration of lands, did not solve the problem
completely. Either they were not aware of the law or if
they did, they could not pay the survey cost and other
fees required in applying for a Torrens title.
COMMONWEALTH PERIOD
“Government for the Filipinos”
President Manuel L. Quezon espoused
the “Social Justice” program to arrest
the increasing social unrest in Central
Luzon.

Significant legislation enacted during the Commonwealth

Period:
1935 Constitution – “The promotion of social justice to
ensure the well-being and economic security of all
people should be the concern of the State”
COMMONWEALTH PERIOD
“Government for the Filipinos”
Commonwealth Act No. 178 (An Amendment to Rice
Tenancy Act No. 4045), Nov. 13, 1936 – Provided for
certain controls in the landlord-tenant relationships
National Rice and Corn Corporation (NARIC), 1936 –
Established the price of rice and corn thereby help the
poor tenants as well as consumers.
Commonwealth Act. No. 461, 1937 – Specified reasons
for the dismissal of tenants and only with the approval of
the Tenancy Division of the Department of Justice.
COMMONWEALTH PERIOD
“Government for the Filipinos”
Rural Program Administration, created March 2,
1939 – Provided the purchase and lease of haciendas
and their sale and lease to the tenants.
Commonwealth Act No. 441 enacted on June 3,
1939 – Created the National Settlement
Administration with a capital stock of P20,000,000.
JAPANESE OCCUPATION “The Era of
Hukbalahap”
Upon the arrival of the Japanese in the Philippines in
1942, peasants and workers organizations grew strength.
Many peasants took up arms and identified themselves
with the anti-Japanese group, the HUKBALAHAP
(Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon).
Hukbalahap controlled whole areas of Central Luzon;
landlords who supported the Japanese lost their lands to
peasants while those who supported the Huks earned
fixed rentals in favor of the tenants.
PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC “The New
Republic”
After the establishment of the Philippine
Independence in 1946, the problems of land tenure
remained. These became worst in certain areas.
Thus, the Congress of the Philippines revised the
tenancy law.
 President Manuel A. Roxas
(1946-1948) enacted the
following laws:

Republic Act No. 34 – Established the 70-30 sharing

arrangements and regulating share-tenancy contracts.

Republic Act No. 55 – Provided for a more effective

safeguard against arbitrary ejectment of tenants.
 Ramon Magsaysay (1953-
1957) enacted the
following laws:
Republic Act No. 1160 of 1954 – Abolished the LASEDECO and
established the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation
Administration (NARRA) to resettle dissidents and landless
farmers. It was particularly aimed at rebel returnees providing
home lots and farmlands in Palawan and Mindanao.
Republic Act No. 1199 (Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954) –
governed the relationship between landowners and tenant farmers
by organizing share-tenancy and leasehold system. The law
provided the security of tenure of tenants. It also created the
Court of Agrarian Relations.
Ramon Magsaysay (1953-1957) enacted
the following laws:
Republic Act No. 1400 (Land Reform Act of 1955) –
Created the Land Tenure Administration (LTA) which
was responsible for the acquisition and distribution of
large tenanted rice and corn lands over 200 hectares for
individuals and 600 hectares for corporations.
Republic Act No. 821 (Creation of Agricultural Credit
Cooperative Financing Administration) – Provided small
farmers and share tenants’ loans with low-interest rates of
six to eight percent.
 President Carlos P. Garcia
(1957-1961)

Continued the program of President Ramon

Magsaysay. No new legislation passed.
 President Diosdado P.
Macapagal (1961-1965)
enacted the following law:
Republic Act No. 3844 of August 8, 1963 (Agricultural
Land Reform Code) – Abolished share tenancy,
institutionalized leasehold, set retention limit at 75
hectares, invested rights of preemption and redemption
for tenant farmers, provided for an administrative
machinery for implementation, institutionalized a judicial
system of agrarian cases, incorporated extension,
marketing and supervised credit system of services of
farmer-beneficiaries.
 President Ferdinand E.
Marcos (1965-1986)

Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972,

ushered the Period of the New Society. Five days
after the proclamation of Martial Law, the entire
country was proclaimed a land reform area and
simultaneously the Agrarian Reform Program was
decreed.
President Marcos enacted the following laws:
Republic Act No. 6389, (Code of Agrarian Reform) and RA No. 6390
of 1971 – Created the Department of Agrarian Reform and the
Agrarian Reform Special Account Fund. It strengthens the position of
farmers and expanded the scope of agrarian reform.
Presidential Decree No. 2, September 26, 1972 – Declared the
country under the land reform program. It enjoined all agencies and
offices of the government to extend full cooperation and assistance to
the DAR. It also activated the Agrarian Reform Coordinating Council.
Presidential Decree No. 27, October 21, 1972 – Restricted land
reform scope to tenanted rice and corn lands and set the retention limit
at 7 hectares.
 President Corazon C.
Aquino (1986-1992)
The Constitution ratified by the Filipino people during the
administration of President Corazon C. Aquino provides under
Section 21 under Article II that “The State shall promote
comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform.”
On June 10, 1988, former President Corazon C. Aquino signed
into law Republic Act No. 6657 or otherwise known as the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). The law became
effective on June 15, 1988.
Subsequently, four Presidential issuances were released in July
1987 after 48 nationwide consultations before the actual law was
enacted.
President Corazon C. Aquino enacted the
following laws:
Executive Order No. 228, July 16, 1987 – Declared full
ownership to qualified farmer-beneficiaries covered by
PD 27. It also determined the value remaining unvalued
rice and corn lands subject of PD 27 and provided for the
manner of payment by the FBs and mode of
compensation to landowners.
Executive Order No. 229, July 22, 1987 – Provided
mechanism for the implementation of the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
President Corazon C. Aquino enacted the
following laws:
Proclamation No. 131, July 22, 1987 – Instituted the
CARP as a major program of the government. It provided
for a special fund known as the Agrarian Reform Fund
(ARF), with an initial amount of Php50 billion to cover
the estimated cost of the program from 1987-1992.
Executive Order No. 129-A, July 26, 1987 – streamlined
and expanded the power and operations of the DAR.
President Corazon C. Aquino enacted the
following laws:
Republic Act No. 6657, June 10, 1988 (Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law) – An act which became effective June
15, 1988, and instituted a comprehensive agrarian reform
program to promote social justice and industrialization
providing the mechanism for its implementation and for other
purposes. This law is still the one being implemented at present.
Executive Order No. 405, June 14, 1990 – Vested in the Land
Bank of the Philippines the responsibility to determine land
valuation and compensation for all lands covered by CARP.
President Corazon C. Aquino enacted the
following laws:
Executive Order No. 407, June 14, 1990 –
Accelerated the acquisition and distribution of
agricultural lands, pasture lands, fishponds,
agroforestry lands and other lands of the public
domain suitable for agriculture.
 President Fidel V. Ramos
(1992-1998)

When President Fidel V. Ramos formally took over

in 1992, his administration came face to face with
the publics who have lost confidence in the
agrarian reform program. His administration
committed to the vision “Fairer, faster and more
meaningful implementation of the Agrarian
Reform Program.
President Fidel V. Ramos enacted the
following laws:
Republic Act No. 7881, 1995 – Amended certain
provisions of RA 6657 and exempted fishponds and
prawns from the coverage of CARP.
Republic Act No. 7905, 1995 – Strengthened the
implementation of the CARP.
Republic Act No. 8435, 1997 (Agriculture and Fisheries
Modernization Act AFMA) – Plugged the legal loopholes
in land use conversion.
President Fidel V. Ramos enacted the
following laws:
Executive Order No. 363, 1997 – Limits the type of lands
that may be converted by setting conditions under which
limits the type of lands that may be converted by setting
conditions under which specific categories of agricultural
land are either absolutely non-negotiable for conversion
or highly restricted for conversion.
Republic Act 8532, 1998 (Agrarian Reform Fund Bill) –
Provided an additional Php50 billion for CARP and
extended its implementation for another 10 years.
 President Joseph E.
Estrada (1998-2000)

“ERAP PARA SA MAHIRAP’. This was the battle cry that

endeared President Joseph Estrada and made him very
popular during the 1998 presidential election.
During his administration, President Estrada launched the
Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo or
MAGKASAKA. The DAR forged into joint ventures with
private investors into the agrarian sector to make FBs
competitive.
President Joseph E. Estrada initiated the
enactment of the following law:
Executive Order N0. 151, September 1999
(Farmer’s Trust Fund) – Allowed the voluntary
consolidation of small farm operation into medium
and large-scale integrated enterprise that can
access long-term capital.
 President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo (2000-2010)

The agrarian reform program under the Arroyo

administration is anchored on the vision “To make
the countryside economically viable for the
Filipino family by building partnership and
promoting social equity and new economic
opportunities towards lasting peace and sustainable
rural development.”
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
(2000-2010)
Land Tenure Improvement – DAR will remain vigorous
in implementing land acquisition and distribution
component of CARP. The DAR will improve the land
tenure system through land distribution and leasehold.
Provision of Support Services – CARP not only involves
the distribution of lands but also included a package of
support services which includes: credit assistance,
extension services, irrigation facilities, roads and bridges,
marketing facilities and training and technical support
programs.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
(2000-2010)
Infrastructure Projects – DAR will transform the agrarian
reform communities (ARCs), an area focused and
integrated the delivery of support services, into rural
economic zones that will help in the creation of job
opportunities in the countryside.
KALAHI ARZone – The KALAHI Agrarian Reform
(KAR) Zones were also launched. These zones consist of
one or more municipalities with a concentration of ARC
population to achieve greater agro-productivity.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
(2000-2010)
Agrarian Justice – To help clear the backlog of
agrarian cases, DAR will hire more paralegal
officers to support undermanned adjudicatory
boards and introduce a quota system to compel
adjudicators to work faster on agrarian reform
cases. DAR will respect the rights of both farmers
and landowners.
 President Benigno Aquino
III (2010-2016)
President Benigno Aquino III vowed during his 2012
State of the Nation Address that he would complete before
the end of his term the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program (CARP), the centerpiece program of the
administration of his mother, President Corazon Aquino.
The younger Aquino distributed their family-owned
Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. Apart from the said farm lots,
he also promised to complete the distribution of privately-
owned lands of productive agricultural estates in the
country that have escaped the coverage of the program.
President Benigno Aquino III (2010-
2016)
Under his administration, the Agrarian Reform
Community Connectivity and Economic Support
Services (ARCCESS) project were created to contribute
to the overall goal of rural poverty reduction especially in
agrarian reform areas.
Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP) provided
credit support for crop production to newly organized
and existing agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations
(ARBOs) and farmers’ organizations not qualified to
avail themselves of loans under the regular credit
windows of banks.
President Benigno Aquino III (2010-
2016)
The legal case monitoring system (LCMS), a web-based
legal system for recording and monitoring various kinds of
agrarian cases at the provincial, regional and central offices
of the DAR to ensure faster resolution and close monitoring
of agrarian-related cases, was also launched.
Aside from these initiatives, Aquino also enacted
Executive Order No. 26, Series of 2011, to mandate the
Department of Agriculture-Department of Environment and
Natural Resources-Department of Agrarian Reform
Convergence Initiative to develop a National Greening
Program in cooperation with other government agencies.
 President Rodrigo Roa
Duterte (2016 – 2022)
Under his leadership, the President wants to pursue an
“aggressive” land reform program that would help alleviate the
life of poor Filipino farmers by prioritizing the provision of
support services alongside land distribution.
The President directed the DAR to launch the 2 nd phase of
agrarian reform where landless farmers would be awarded
undistributed lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program (CARP).
Duterte plans to place almost all public lands, including military
reserves, under agrarian reform.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016 –
2022)
The President also placed 400 hectares of agricultural land
in Boracay under CARP.
Under his administration, the DAR created an anti-
corruption task force to investigate and handle reports on
alleged anomalous activities by officials and employees of
the department.
The Department also pursues an “Oplan Zero Backlog” in
the resolution of cases in relation to agrarian justice
delivery of the agrarian reform program to fast-track the
implementation of CARP.
 President Ferdinand
“Bongbong” Marcos
(2022 – Present)

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos is now officially

the 17th President of the Republic of the
Philippines after he took his oath of office on
Thursday noon, June 30, 2022, at the National
Museum grounds in the nation’s capital. He also
appoint himself as the Secretary of the Department
of Agriculture.
THAT’S IT
FOLKS!!!
Your Reporters:
Rodge Anthony Tuyac
Jerlene Torlao
NOW, FOR THE ONE.
WE’VE ALL BEEN
WAITING FOR!!!
THE 25 ITEM QUIZ IS ABOUT
TO BEGIN!!!

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

 LET’S NOT WASTE
TIME AND LET’S NOW
BEGIN!!!
1. Who’s the 17th president of the republic
of the Philippines who appointed himself
as the Secretary of the Department of
Agriculture?
2. What is the concept that the Spaniards
introduced in the Philippines where the
encomiendero has the duty to protect the
indios which in return gives him the right
to collect tribute from the natives?
3. What program did President Manuel L.
Queszon espoused in order to arrest the
increasing social unrest in Central
Luzon?
4. What is the centerpiece program of the
administration of President Corazon
Aquino?
5. What is the law that President
Diosdado P. Macapagal enacted which
abolished the shared tenancy and set the
retention limit to 75 hectares?
6. Give at least one significant agrarian
legislation enacted during the American
Period?

7. Where did Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo

declared his intention to confiscate large
estates, especially the so-called Friar
lands?
8. What is the battle cry that made
President Joseph Estrada very popular
during the 1998 presidential election?
9-12. In any order, give the four
classifications or ranks that the Filipino
have during the Pre-Spanish Period?
13. What is the system that the American
instituted for the registration of land?
14. Which President has her agrarian
reform program anchored on the vision
“To make the countryside economically
viable for the Filipino family by building
partnership and promoting social equity
and new economic opportunities towards
lasting peace and sustainable rural
development.”?
15. Give at least one significant agrarian
legislation enacted during the
Commonwealth Period?

16. Under which administration did the

Agrarian Reform Community
Connectivity and Economic Support
Services (ARCCESS) project were
created?
17. During the Pre-Spanish Period, what
is the thing that serve as the medium of
exchange?
18. During the administration of Elpidio R.
Quirino, what is the law that replaced the
National Land Settlement Administration
with Land Settlement Development
Corporation (LASEDECO)?
19. What is the Proclamation No. that
ushered the Period of the New Society?

20. Give at least one agrarian law enacted

during the administration of President
Corazon C. Aquino?
21. What is the name of the anti-Japanese
group that is comprised of the many
peasants and workers who takes up arms
against the Japanese?

22. Which year did the Philippines

established it’s Independence?
23. Which President didn’t passed any
agrarian reform and had only continued
the programs of President Ramon
Magsaysay?

24. How many hectares of agricultural

land in Boracay did President Rodrigo
Road Duterte placed under CARP?
25. Among the Presidents we discussed,
which has the longest term of service?
LET’S CHECK YOUR
ANSWERS.
1. Ferdinand “Bongbong” 7. Malolos Constitution
Marcos Jr. 8. ERAP PARA SA
2. Encomienda or Royal MAHIRAP
Land Grants 9. Datu or Chief
3. Social Justice 10. Maharlikas or freemen
4. Comprehensive Agrarian 11. Aliping mamamahay or
Reform Law serfs
5. Republic Act No. 3844 12. Aliping saguiguilid or
6. Tenancy Act of 1933, slaves
Public Land Act of 1903, 13. Torrens system
Land Registration Act of 14. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
1902, or Philippine Bill of
1902
15. Commonwealth Act No. 20. Executive Order No. 129-
441, Rural Program A, Proclamation No. 131,
Administration, Executive Order No. 229,
Commonwealth Act. No. 461, Executive Order No. 228,
National Rice and Corn Executive Order No. 407,
Corporation, Commonwealth Executive Order No. 405, or
Act No. 178, or 1935 Republic Act No. 6657.
Constitution 21. HUKBALAHAP or
16. Benigno Aquino III Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa
17. Rice Hapon
18. Executive Order No. 355 22. 1946
19. 1081 23. Carlos P. Garcia
24. 400
25. Ferdinand E. Marcos