COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM LAW OF 1988

Republic Act No. 6657

Summary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988

Preliminary Chapter
- Declares the policy of the State to pursue a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) to promote social justice and industrialization. (Section 2)
- Defines key terms such as "agrarian reform", "agriculture", "agricultural land", "agrarian dispute", "idle or abandoned land", "farmer", "farmworker", "regular farmworker", "seasonal farmworker", "other farmworker", and "cooperatives". (Section 3)

Coverage
- Covers all public and private agricultural lands, including alienable and disposable lands of the public domain, lands owned by the government, and private agricultural lands. (Section 4)
- Requires the distribution of all covered lands to be completed within ten (10) years from the effectivity of the Act. (Section 5)
- Sets retention limits for landowners, allowing a maximum of five (5) hectares for individuals and three (3) hectares for each child who is at least 15 years old and actively tilling the land. (Section 6)
- Establishes priorities for land acquisition and distribution, with rice and corn lands under Presidential Decree No. 27, idle or abandoned lands, and lands voluntarily offered by owners as the first priority. (Section 7)
- Provides specific provisions for lands owned or operated by multinational corporations or associations. (Section 8)
- Recognizes the rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral lands. (Section 9)
- Lists exemptions and exclusions from the coverage of the Act, such as lands used for parks, wildlife reserves, national defense, and lands with an 18% slope or higher. (Section 10)
- Defers the coverage of commercial farms for ten (10) years from the effectivity of the Act or from the first year of commercial production for new farms. (Section 11)

Improvement of Tenurial and Labor Relations
- Mandates the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to determine and fix lease rentals for tenanted lands under the retention limit and lands not yet acquired. (Section 12)
- Requires individuals or entities owning or operating agricultural lands to execute a production-sharing plan with their farm workers or farmworkers' organization. (Section 13)

Registration
- Requires landowners to register their agricultural lands with the assessor's office within 180 days from the effectivity of the Act. (Section 14)
- Requires the DAR to register all qualified beneficiaries, such as agricultural lessees, tenants, and farmworkers. (Section 15)

Land Acquisition
- Outlines the procedure for the acquisition of private lands, including notice to landowners, acceptance or rejection of the offer, summary administrative proceedings, and issuance of a Transfer Certificate of Title in the name of the Republic of the Philippines. (Section 16)

Compensation
- Provides guidelines for determining just compensation for acquired lands, considering factors such as the cost of acquisition, current value of like properties, nature, actual use and income, sworn valuation by the owner, tax declarations, and government assessments. (Section 17)
- Allows landowners to choose the mode of compensation, including cash payment, shares of stock, tax credits, or Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) bonds. (Section 18)
- Offers an additional 5% cash payment to landowners who voluntarily offer their lands for sale. (Section 19)
- Allows landowners to enter into voluntary arrangements for direct transfer of their lands to qualified beneficiaries, subject to certain guidelines. (Section 20)
- Permits direct payments by beneficiaries to landowners under voluntary land transfer, with the LBP extending financing to the beneficiaries. (Section 21)

Land Redistribution
- Establishes the order of priority for qualified beneficiaries, with agricultural lessees, share tenants, regular farmworkers, seasonal farmworkers, and actual tillers or occupants of public lands taking precedence. (Section 22)
- Sets a distribution limit of three (3) hectares of agricultural land per qualified beneficiary. (Section 23)
- Requires the DAR to award the land to beneficiaries within 180 days from taking actual possession, evidenced by a Certificate of Land Ownership Award. (Section 24)
- Allows beneficiaries to opt for collective ownership, such as co-ownership or farmers' cooperatives, with a total area not exceeding the number of co-owners or members multiplied by the award ceiling. (Section 25)
- Requires beneficiaries to pay for the awarded lands to the LBP in 30 annual amortizations at 6% interest per annum, with reduced payments for the first three years. (Section 26)
- Prohibits the sale, transfer, or conveyance of awarded lands by beneficiaries for ten (10) years, except through hereditary succession, to the government, the LBP, or other qualified beneficiaries. (Section 27)
- Allows landowners to retain their share of any standing crops unharvested at the time the DAR takes possession of the land. (Section 28)

Corporate Farms
- Provides guidelines for the distribution of lands owned or operated by corporations or other business associations, including direct distribution to individual worker-beneficiaries or collective ownership by workers' cooperatives or associations. (Section 29)
- Requires the provision of homelots and small farmlots for members of cooperatives or corporations. (Section 30)
- Allows corporate landowners to voluntarily transfer ownership of their agricultural landholdings to the Republic of the Philippines or qualified beneficiaries, or to give beneficiaries the right to purchase a proportion of the corporation's capital stock. (Section 31)
- Mandates a production-sharing plan for individuals or entities owning or operating agricultural lands, whereby a percentage of gross sales and net profit is distributed to regular and other farmworkers. (Section 32)
- Permits the payment of shares of cooperatives or associations acquired by farmer-beneficiaries or worker-beneficiaries, with assistance from landowners and the LBP. (Section 33)
- Requires the formulation of a valuation scheme for lands by the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), considering factors such as the need to stimulate the growth of cooperatives and foster responsible participation of worker-beneficiaries. (Section 34)

Support Services
- Creates the Office of Support Services under the DAR to provide general support and coordinative services in the implementation of the program, including irrigation facilities, infrastructure development, government subsidies, price support, credit assistance, agricultural extension workers, research and development, and cooperative management training. (Section 35)
- Allocates at least 25% of all appropriations for agrarian reform for support services. (Section 36)
- Requires the PARC to ensure the provision of support services to farmer-beneficiaries, such as land surveys and titling, credit facilities, extension services, infrastructure, and research on organic fertilizers. (Section 37)
- Mandates the provision of support services to landowners affected by the CARP, including investment information, financial and counseling assistance, facilities for bond conversion or exchange, marketing of LBP bonds, and incentives for rural industrialization. (Section 38)
- Authorizes the DAR to carry out land consolidation projects to promote equal distribution of landholdings, provide infrastructure, and conserve soil fertility. (Section 39)

Special Areas of Concern
- Outlines principles for special areas of concern, including subsistence fishing, logging and mining concessions, sparsely occupied public agricultural lands, idle, abandoned, foreclosed and sequestered lands, rural women, veterans and retirees, and agriculture graduates. (Section 40)

Program Implementation
- Establishes the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) as the highest policy-making body for the implementation of the CARP, with the President as Chairman and representatives from various government agencies and stakeholders as members. (Section 41)
- Creates an Executive Committee (EXCOM) of the PARC to decide on matters between PARC meetings. (Section 42)
- Establishes a PARC Secretariat to provide general support and coordinative services for the PARC. (Section 43)
- Creates a Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM) in each province to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the CARP at the provincial level. (Section 44)
- Requires a province-by-province implementation of the CARP, with the PARC providing guidelines and the PARCCOM adjusting the program based on the level of operations and availability of support services. (Section 45)
- Maintains the organization and functions of the Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC) as provided in Executive Order No. 229, with additional functions such as mediating agrarian disputes, assisting in the identification of beneficiaries and landowners, and coordinating the delivery of support services. (Sections 46 and 47)
- Allows the BARC or any member thereof to seek legal assistance from the DAR and local government units. (Section 48)
- Empowers the PARC and the DAR to issue rules and regulations to carry out the objects and purposes of the Act. (Section 49)

Administrative Adjudication
- Vests the DAR with primary jurisdiction to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters, with exclusive original jurisdiction over matters involving the implementation of agrarian reform, except those falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). (Section 50)
- Requires the DAR to decide cases within 30 days after submission, with only one motion for reconsideration allowed, and decisions becoming final after 15 days from receipt of a copy. (Section 51)
- Allows the DAR to impose reasonable penalties, including fines or censures, to discourage frivolous or dilatory appeals. (Section 52)
- Requires a certification from the BARC that an agrarian dispute has been submitted for mediation and conciliation without success before the DAR can take cognizance of the dispute. (Section 53)

Judicial Review
- Allows decisions, orders, awards, or rulings of the DAR to be brought to the Court of Appeals by certiorari within 15 days from receipt of a copy, with the findings of fact of the DAR being final and conclusive if based on substantial evidence. (Section 54)
- Prohibits courts from issuing restraining orders or preliminary injunctions against the PARC or its authorized agencies in cases arising from the implementation of the Act. (Section 55)
- Requires the Supreme Court to designate at least one branch of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) within each province as a Special Agrarian Court, with original and exclusive jurisdiction over petitions for the determination of just compensation and the prosecution of criminal offenses under the Act. (Sections 56 and 57)
- Allows the Special Agrarian Courts to appoint commissioners to examine, investigate, and ascertain facts relevant to the dispute, including the valuation of properties. (Section 58)
- Prohibits orders of the Special Agrarian Courts from being elevated to appellate courts until the hearing is terminated and the case is decided on the merits. (Section 59)
- Establishes the procedure for appeals from the decisions of the Special Agrarian Courts, the Court of Appeals, and the DAR. (Sections 60 and 61)
- Requires all courts to give preferential attention to cases arising from or in connection with the implementation of the Act. (Section 62)

Financing
- Funds the initial implementation of the Act for ten (10) years from the Agrarian Reform Fund created under Executive Order No. 229, with additional amounts authorized to be appropriated as needed. (Section 63)
- Identifies sources of funding, including proceeds from the sale of assets, receipts from recovered ill-gotten wealth, proceeds from the disposition of government properties in foreign countries, portions of official foreign grants and concessional financing, and other government funds. (Section 63)
- Designates the Land Bank of the Philippines as the financial intermediary for the CARP. (Section 64)

General Provisions
- Allows the reclassification or conversion of awarded lands after five (5) years if they cease to be economically feasible for agricultural purposes or the locality becomes urbanized, subject to the beneficiary fully paying their obligation. (Section 65)
- Exempts transactions under the Act involving the transfer of ownership from taxes arising from capital gains, registration fees, and other taxes and fees for conveyance or transfer, provided that all arrearages in real property taxes are deductible from the compensation to the owner. (Section 66)
- Directs all Registers of Deeds to register patents, titles, and documents required for the implementation of the CARP free from payment of fees and other charges. (Section 67)
- Prohibits lower courts from issuing injunctions, restraining orders, prohibitions, or mandamus against the DAR, DA, DENR, and Department of Justice (DOJ) in their implementation of the program. (Section 68)
- Authorizes the PARC to call upon the assistance and support of other government agencies, bureaus, offices, and government-owned or -controlled corporations. (Section 69)
- Validates the sale or disposition of agricultural lands retained by a landowner as long as the total landholdings of the transferee do not exceed the landholding ceilings provided in the Act. (Section 70)
- Allows banks and other financial institutions to acquire title to mortgaged agricultural lands, regardless of area, subject to existing laws on compulsory transfer of foreclosed assets and acquisition. (Section 71)
- Provides guidelines for the disposition of lands under lease, management, grower or service contracts, mortgages, and other claims. (Section 72)
- Prohibits certain acts and omissions, such as owning or possessing agricultural lands in excess of the retention limits, forcible entry or illegal detainer by non-qualified beneficiaries, conversion of agricultural lands to non-agricultural use, willful prevention or obstruction of the CARP implementation, and the sale, transfer, or conveyance of lands outside urban centers after the effectivity of the Act. (Section 73)
- Imposes penalties of imprisonment of not less than one (1) month to not more than three (3) years or a fine of not less than one thousand pesos (P1,000.00) and not more than fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00), or both, for knowingly or willfully violating the provisions of the Act. (Section 74)
- Provides for the suppletory application of existing legislation, such as Republic Act No. 3844 as amended, Presidential Decree Nos. 27 and 266 as amended, Executive Order Nos. 228 and 229, and other laws not inconsistent with the Act. (Section 75)
- Repeals or amends inconsistent laws, decrees, executive orders, rules, regulations, issuances, or parts thereof. (Section 76)
- Includes a separability clause, stating that if any section or provision of the Act is declared null and void, the other sections or provisions shall remain in full force and effect. (Section 77)
- Declares the Act to take effect immediately after publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. (Section 78)