Converting The Bureau Of Farm Management Of The Department Of Agrarian Reform Into A Bureau Of Land Tenure Improvement

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Presidential Decree No. 980

Conversion of Bureau of Farm Management to Bureau of Land Tenure Improvement
- Section 1: The Bureau of Farm Management in the Department of Agrarian Reform is converted into the Bureau of Land Tenure Improvement, headed by a Director and an Assistant Director.

Functions of the Bureau of Land Tenure Improvement
- Section 2: Responsible for providing staff services for:
    - Developing policies, plans, programs, and procedures on land-tiller-landowner identification, tenurial security, leasehold arrangements, land transactions for transfer of ownership to tenant-farmers, related records, land valuation, landowners' compensation, land tenure research, and joint projects with other government offices and private institutions to improve land tenure and land use.
    - Establishing and operating a monitoring and information system on land tenure improvement.
    - Performing other functions assigned by the Secretary pertaining to land tenure improvement.

Functional Divisions of the Bureau
- Section 3:
    a) Land Transactions Division:
        - Developing programs for identification and maintenance of inventory of tillers, landowners, landholdings, crops, and production.
        - Handling transactions involving tenurial security, leasehold arrangements, land transfers, and change in land use.
        - Developing standards for land valuation and payment of landowners under the agrarian reform program.
        - Establishing and operating a monitoring and information system on land tenure improvement.
    b) Land Tenure Research and Projects Division:
        - Preparing research designs on land tenure improvement.
        - Developing joint projects with other government offices and private institutions in tenanted areas and landed estates to improve land tenure and land use.

Transfer of Personnel and Appropriations
- Section 4: The personnel, appropriations, records, equipment, and property of the converted Bureau of Farm Management shall be transferred to the Bureau of Land Tenure Improvement.

Reorientation of Field Personnel
- Section 5: The field personnel of the Department of Agrarian Reform, particularly those assigned to the Agrarian Reform Project Teams, shall be reoriented towards implementing agrarian reform programs, including:
    - Land-tiller-landowner identification, tenurial security, leasehold arrangements, land transactions for transfer of ownership to tenant-farmers, related records, land valuation, landowners' compensation, land tenure research, and other functions assigned by the Secretary pertaining to land tenure improvement.
    - The Agrarian Reform Project Teams shall continue to undertake functions and activities related to project identification and formulation, organization of compact and/or integrated farms, and establishment of cooperative-cultivatorship schemes.
    - The Department of Agrarian Reform shall not undertake agricultural, home, and youth development extension activities to avoid duplication with the Department of Agriculture.
    - The Department of Agriculture shall assume primary responsibility for providing agricultural extension services in agrarian reform areas, with agricultural extension workers assigned to specific areas in consultation with the Department of Agrarian Reform.

Repealing Clause
- Section 6: All laws, rules, and regulations inconsistent with this decree are repealed or modified accordingly.