Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Introduction
A. Constitutional Basis
1. Article II, Section 21: The
State
development and agrarian reform.
shall
promote
comprehensive
rural
2. Article XII, Section 1: x x x The State shall promote industrialization and full
employment based on sound agricultural development and agrarian reform, x x
x
3. Article XIII, Section 3: x x x The State shall regulate the relations between
workers and employers, recognizing the right of labor to its just share in the
fruits of production and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns on investments, and to expansion and growth.
4. Article XIII, Section 4: The State shall, by law, undertake an agrarian reform
program founded on the rights of farmers and regular farmworkers, who are
landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till or, in the case of other
farmworkers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof. To this end, the State
shall encourage and undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands,
subject to such priorities and reasonable retention limits as the Congress may
prescribe, taking into account ecological, developmental, or equity considerations, and subject to the payment of just compensation. In determining
retention limits, the State shall respect the right of small landown ers. The State
shall further provide incentives for voluntary land-sharing.
5. Article XIII, Section 5: The State shall recognize the rights of farmers,
farmworkers, and landowners, as well as cooperatives, and other independent
farmers' organizations to participate in the planning, organization, and
management of the program, and shall provide support to agriculture through
appropriate technology and research, and adequate financial, production,
marketing, and other support services.
6. Article XIII, Section 6: The State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform
or stewardship, whenever applicable in accordance with law, in the disposition or
utilization of other natural resources, including lands of the public domain under
lease or concession suitable to agriculture, subject to prior rights, homestead
rights of small settlers, and the rights of indigenous communities to their
ancestral lands.
The State may resettle landless farmers and farmworkers in its own
agriculture estates which shall be distributed to them in the manner provided by
law.
7. Article XIII, Section 8: The State shall provide incentives to landowners to
invest the proceeds of the agrarian reform program to promote industrialization,
employment creating, and privatization of public sector enterprises. Financial
instruments used as payment for their lands shall be honored as equity in
enterprises of their choice.
Land Reform is the physical redistribution of land such as the program under
Presidential Decree No. 27. Agrarian reform means the redistribu tion of lands
including the totality of factors and support services designed to lift the
economic status of the beneficiaries. Thus, agrarian reform is broader than
land reform.
D. RA 6657 is Constitutional
In the case of Association of Small Landowners in the Philippines, Inc. v.
Secretary of Agrarian Reform,1 the Supreme Court held:
"The case before us presents no knotty complication insofar as the question of
compensable taking is concerned. To the extent that the measures under challenge
merely prescribe retention limits for landowners, there is an exercise of the police
power for the regulation of private property in accordance with the Constitution. But
where, to carry out such regulation, it becomes necessary to deprive such owners of
whatever lands they may own in excess of the maximum area allowed, there is defi nitely a taking under the power of eminent domain for which payment of just
compensation is imperative. The taking contemplated is not a mere limitation of the
use of the land. What is required is the surrender of the title to and the physical
possession of the said excess and all beneficial rights accruing to the owner in favor
of the farmer-beneficiary. This is definitely an exercise not of the police power but of
the power of eminent domain.
"Classification has been defined as the grouping of persons or things similar to
each other in certain particulars and different from each other in these same
particulars. To be valid, it must conform to the following requirements: (1) it must
be based on substantial distinctions; (2) it must be germane to the purpose of the
law; (3) it must not be limited to existing conditions only; and (4) it must apply
equally to all the members of the class. The Court finds that all these requisites
have been met by the measures here challenged as arbitrary and discriminatory.
"Equal protection simply means that all persons or things similarly situated must
be treated alike both as to the rights conferred and the liabilities imposed. The
petitioner have not shown that they belong to a different class and entitled to a
different treatment. The argument that not only landowners but also owners of
other properties must be made to share the burden of implementing land reform
must be rejected. There is a substantial distinction between these two classes of
owners that is clearly visible except to those who will not see. There is no need to
elaborate on this matter. In any event, the Congress is allowed a wide leeway in
providing for a valid classification. Its decision is accorded recognition and respect
by the courts of justice except only where its discretion is abused to the detriment of
the Bill of Rights.
"It is worth remarking at this juncture that a statute may be sustained under the
police power only if there is a concurrence of the lawful subject and the lawful
method. Put otherwise, the interests of the public generally as distin guished from
those of a particular class require the interference of the State and, no less
important, the means employed are reasonably necessary for the attainment of the
purpose sought to be achieved and not unduly oppressive upon individuals. As the
subject and purpose of agrarian reform have been laid down by the Constitution
itself, we may say that the first requirement has been satisfied. What remains to be
examined is the validity of the method employed to achieve the Constitutional goal.
"Eminent domain is an inherent power of the State that enable it to forcibly
acquire private lands intended for public use upon payment of just compensation to
the owner. Obviously, there is no need to expropriate where the owner is willing to
sell under terms also acceptable to the purchaser, in which case an ordinary deed of
sale may be agreed upon by the parties. It is only where the owner is unwilling to
sell, or cannot accept the price or other conditions offered by the vendee, that the
power of eminent domain will come into play to assert the paramount authority of
the State over the interest of the property owner. Private rights must then yield to
the irresistible demands of the public interest on the time-honored justification, as in
the case of the police power, that the welfare of the people is the supreme law.
"But for all its primacy and urgency, the power of expropriation is by no means
absolute (as indeed no power is absolute). The limitation is found in the constitutional injunction that "private property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation" and in the abundant jurisprudence that has evolved from the
interpretation of this principle. Basically, the requirements for a proper exercise of
the power are: (1) public use and (2) just compensation.
"[T]he determination of just compensation is a function addressed to the courts
of justice and may not be usurped by any other branch or official of the government.
EPZA v. Dulay resolved a challenge to several decrees promulgated by President
Marcos providing that the just compensation for property under expropriation should
be either the assessment of the property by the government or the sworn valuation
thereof by the owner, whichever was lower.
"With these assumptions, the Court hereby declares that the content and manner
of the just compensation provided for in the afore-quoted Section 18 of the CARP
Law is not violative of the Constitution. We do not mind admitting that a certain
degree of pragmatism has influenced our decision on this issue, but after all this
Court is not a cloistered institution removed from the realities and demands of
society or oblivious to the need for its enhancement. The Court is as acutely
anxious as the rest of our people to see the goal of agrarian reform achieved at last
after the frustrations and deprivations of our peasant masses during all these disap pointing decades. We are aware that invalidation of said section will result in the
nullification of the entire program, killing the farmer's hopes even as they approach
realization and resurrecting the specter of discontent and dissent in the restless
countryside. That is not in our view the intention of the Constitu tion, and that is not
what we shall decree today.
"Accepting the theory that payment of the just compensation is not always
required to be made fully in money, we find further that the proportion of cash
payment to the other things of value constituting the total payment, as determined
on the basis of the areas of the lands expropriated, is not unduly oppressive upon
the landowner. It is noted that the smaller the land, the bigger the payment in
money, primarily because the small landowner will be needing it more than the big
landowner, who can afford a bigger balance in bonds and other things of value. No
less importantly, the government financial instruments making up the balance of the
payment are "negotiable at any time." The other modes, which are likewise available to the landowner at his option, are also not unreasonable because payment is
made in shares of stock, LBP bonds, other properties or assets, tax credits, and other
things of value equivalent to the amount of just compensation."
II. Scope
A. Lands Covered
1. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover, regardless of
tenurial arrangement and commodity produced, ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
AGRICULTURAL LANDS as provided in Proclamation No. 131 and Executive
Order No. 229, including other lands of the public domain suitable for agriculture:
Provided, That landholdings of landowners with a total area of five (5) hectares
and below shall not be covered for acquisition and distribution to qualified
beneficiaries. [Section 4]
a. Agricultural land refers to land devoted to agricultural activity and not
classified as mineral, forest, residential, commercial or industrial land
[Section 3(c)].
b. Agricultural activity means the cultivation of the soil, planting of crops,
growing of fruit trees, raising of fish, including the harvesting of such farm
products, and other farm activities and practices performed by a farmer in
conjunction with such farming operations done by persons whether natural or
juridical [Section 3(b)].
2. Specifically, the following lands are covered by the Compre hensive Agrarian
Reform Program:
a. All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or suitable
for agriculture. No reclassification of forest or mineral lands to agricultural
lands shall be undertaken after the approval of this Act until Congress, taking
into account ecological, developmental and equity considerations, shall have
determined by law, the specific limits of the public domain;
b. All lands of the public domain in excess of the specific limits as determined
by Congress in the preceding paragraph;
c. All other lands owned by the Government devoted to or suitable for
agriculture; and
d. All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of the
agricultural products raised or that can be raised thereon.
B. Exclusions from the Coverage of CARL
1. Under Section 102, excluded from the coverage of the CARL are lands actually,
directly and exclusively used for:
a. Parks;
b. Wildlife;
c. Forest reserves;
d. Reforestation;
e. Fish sanctuaries and breeding grounds;
f. Watersheds and mangroves.
2. Private lands actually, directly and exclusively used for prawn farms and
fishponds shall be exempt from the coverage of this Act: Provided, That said
prawn farms and fishponds have not been distributed and Certificate of
Land Ownership Award (CLOA) issued to agrarian reform beneficiaries
under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
In cases where the fishponds or prawn farms have been subjected to the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, by voluntary offer to sell, or commercial
farms deferment or notices of compulsory acquisition, a simple and absolute
majority of the actual regular workers or tenants must consent to the exemption
within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act. When the workers or tenants
do not agree to this exemption, the fishponds or prawn farms shall be distributed
collectively to the worker-beneficiaries or tenants who shall form a cooperative
or association to manage the same.
3. Likewise, execluded from the coverage the CARL are lands actually, directly and
exclusively used and found to be necessary for:
a. National defense;
b. School sites and campuses including experimental farm stations operated by
public or private schools for educational purposes;
c. Seeds and seedling research and pilot production center;
d. Church sites and convents appurtenant thereto;
e. Mosque sites and Islamic centers appurtenant thereto;
f. Communal burial grounds and cemeteries;
g. Penal colonies and penal farms actually worked by the inmates; and
h. Government and private research and quarantine centers.
4. All lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope and over which are not developed
for agriculture are exempted from the coverage of CARL.
*
5. In the case of Luz Farms v. Secretary of Agrarian Reform,3 the Supreme Court has
excluded agricultural Lands Devoted to Commercial Livestock, Poultry and Swine
Raising from the coverage of CARL.
The Supreme Court said:
"The transcripts of the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission of
1986 on the meaning of the word "agricultural," clearly show that it was never
the intention of the framers of the Constitution to include livestock and poultry
industry in the coverage of the constitutionally-mandated agrarian reform
program of the Government.
"The Committee adopted the definition of "agricultural land" as defined
under Section 166 of RA 3844, as lands devoted to any growth, including but not
limited to crop lands, saltbeds, fishponds, idle and abandoned land (Record,
public agricultural lands which are to be opened for new development and
resettlement: and all private agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate
landholdings above twenty-four (24) hectares up to fifty (50) hectares which have
already been subjected to a notice of coverage issued on or before December 1O,
2008, to implement principally the rights of farmers and regular farmworkers, who
are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till, which shall be
distributed immediately upon the effectivity of this Act, with the implementation to
be completed by June 30, 2012; and
(b) All remaining private agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate
landholdings in excess of twenty-four (24) hectares, regardless as to whether these
have been subjected to notices of coverage or not, with the implementation to begin
on July 1, 2012 and to be completed by June 30, 2013
Phase Three: All other private agricultural lands commencing with large
landholdings and proceeding to medium and small landholdings under the following
schedule:
(a) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings above ten (10) hectares up to
twenty- four (24)hectares, insofar as the excess hectarage above ten (10)
hectares is concerned, to begin on July 1,2012 and to be completed by June 30,
2013; and
(b) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings from the retention limit up to
ten (10) hectares, to begin on July 1, 2013 and to be completed by June 30,
2014; to implement principally the right of farmers and regular farmworkers who
are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till.
The schedule of acquisition and redistribution of all agricultural lands covered by
this program shall be made in accordance with the above order of priority, which
shall be provided in the implementing rules to be prepared by the PARC, taking into
consideration the following: the landholdings wherein the farmers are organized and
understand ,the meaning and obligations of farmland ownership; the distribution of
lands to the tillers at the earliest practicable time; the enhancement of agricultural
productivity; and the availability of funds and resources to implement and support
the program: Provided, That the PARC shall design and conduct seminars, symposia,
information campaigns, and other similar programs for farmers who are not
organized or not covered by any landholdings. Completion by these farmers of the
aforementioned seminars, symposia, and other similar programs shall be
encouraged in the implementation of this Act particularly the provisions of this
Section.
The PARC shall establish guidelines to implement the above priorities and
distribution scheme, including the determination of who are qualified beneficiaries:
Provided, That an owner-tiller may be a beneficiary of the land he/she does not own
but is actually cultivating to the extent of the difference between the area of the
land he/she owns and the award ceiling of three (3) hectares: Provided, further, That
collective ownership by the farmer beneficiaries shall be subject to Section 25 of
Republic Act No. 6657, as amended: Provided, furthermore, That rural women shall
be given the opportunity t o participate in the development planning and
implementation of this Act: Provided, finally, That in no case should the agrarian
reform beneficiaries' sex, economic, religious, social, cultural and political attributes
adversely affect the distribution of lands.
The two tenancy systems are distinct and different form each other. In
sharehold, the tenant may choose to shoulder, in addition to labor, any one
or more of the items of contributions (such as farm implements, work animals, final harrowing, transplanting), while in leasehold, the tenant or lessee
always shoulders all items of production except the land. Under the share hold system, the tenant and the landholder are co-managers, whereas in
Leasehold
Expenses of Production
Tenant
Management
Tenant
Payment
There are important differences between a leasehold tenancy and a civil law
lease. The subject matter of leasehold tenancy is limited to agricultural lands;
that of civil law lease may be either rural or urban property. As to atten tion and
cultivation, the law requires the leasehold tenant to personally attend to, and
cultivate the agricultural land, whereas the civil law lessee need not personally
cultivate or work the thing leased. As to purpose, the landholding in leasehold
tenancy is devoted to agriculture, whereas in civil law lease, the purpose may be
for any other lawful pursuit. As to the law that governs, the civil law lease is
governed by the Civil Code, whereas leasehold tenancy is governed by special
laws. [Gabriel v. Pangilinan 6]
Leasehold Tenancy
Subject Matter
Purpose
Agriculture only
Governing Law
Special laws
Civil Code
4. Purpose of the Leasehold Relation: To protect and improve the tenurial and
economic status of the farmers in tenanted lands. [Section 12]
5. Application [Section 12]
a. Tenanted lands under the retention limit; and
b. Tenanted lands not yet acquired under the CARL
68 SCRA 90.
58 SCRA 590.
B. Procedure
1. Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) [Section 20]
a. Must be submitted to the DAR within one year from effectivity of the CARl;
b. Must not be less favorable to the transferee than those of the government's
standing ; and
c. Shall include sanctions for non-compliance by either party and shall be duly
recorded and its implementation monitored by the DAR.
D. Only those submitted by June 30, 2009 shall be allowed.
2. Compulsory Acquisition [Section 16]
a. Notice to acquire the land shall be sent to the landowner and the
beneficiaries. The notice shall also be posted in a conspicuous place in the
municipal building and the barangay hall of the place where the property is
located.
b. Within thirty (30) days from receipt of the written notice, the landowner shall
inform the DAR of his acceptance or rejection of the offer.
c. If the offer is accepted, the LBP pays the landowner and within thirty (30)
days, the landowner executes and delivers a deed of transfer to the
Government and surrenders the Certificate of Title and other muniments of
title.
d. In case of rejection or failure to reply, the DAR shall conduct summary
administrative proceedings to determine the compensation. If he does
concur with the compensation determined by the DAR, he can the matter to
the Courts.
e. Payment of the just compensation as determined by the DAR or the Court.
f. Registration with the Register of Deeds for the issuance of Transfer Certificate
of Title in the name of the Republic of the Philippines.
g. Standing Crops: The landowner shall retain his share of any standing crops
unharvested at the time the DAR shall take possession of the land and shall
be given reasonable time to harvest the same (Section 28).
C. Compensation
1. Determination of Just Compensation.
In determining just compensation, the cost of acquisition of the land, the
value of the standing crop, the current: value of like properties, its nature, actual
use and income, the sworn valuation by the owner, the tax declarations, the
assessment made by government assessors, and seventy percent (70%) of the
zonal valuation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), translated into a basic
formula by the DAR shall be considered, subject to the final decision of the
proper court. The social and economic benefits contributed by the farmers and
the farmworkers and by the Government t o the property as well as the
nonpayment of taxes or loans secured from any government financing institution
on the said land shall be considered as additional factors to determine its
valuation [Section 17].
2. Under EO 405 (1990), Land Bank of the Philippines shall be primarily responsible
for the determination of the land valuation and compensation.
:
:
25%
: 30%
35%
The mere fact that the expected quantity of harvest, as visualized and
calculated by agricultural experts, is not actually realized, or that the harvest
did not increase, is not a sufficient basis for concluding that the tenants failed
to follow proven farm practices. [Belmi v. CAR 7]
3. Beneficiaries with at least three (3) hectares of agricultural land; and
*
Under the CARL, a beneficiary is landless if he owns less than three (3)
hectares of agricultural land. [Section 25]
4. Beneficiaries whose land have been the subject of foreclosure by the Land Bank
of the Philippines. [Section 26]
*
Under the CARL, the LBP may foreclose on the mortgage for non-payment of
the beneficiary of an aggregate of three (3) annual amortizations. [Section
26]
C. Awards
1. Emancipation Patents (EPs) are issued for lands covered under Operation Land
Transfer (OLT) of Presidential Decree No. 27.
2. Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) are issued for private
agricultural lands and resettlement areas covered under Republic Act No. 6657,
otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988.
3. Free Patents are issued for public agricultural lands.
*
Under Section 15 of EO 229 (1987), all alienable and dispos able lands of the
public domain suitable for agriculture and outside proclaimed settlements
shall be redistributed by the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR).
4. Certificates of Stewardship Contracts are issued for forest areas under the
Integrated Social Forestry Program.
D. Manner of Payment [Section 26]
1. Lands awarded shall be paid by the beneficiaries to the LBP in thirty (30) annual
amortizations at six percent (6%) interest per annum. The payments for the first
three (3) years after the awards may be at reduced amounts as estab lished by
the PARC: Provided, That the first five (5) annual payments may not be more
than five percent (5%) of the value of the annual gross production as established
by the DAR. Should the scheduled annual payments after the fifth year exceed
ten percent (10%) of the annual gross production and the failure to produce
accordingly is not due to the beneficiary's fault, the LBP may reduce the interest
rate or reduce the principal obligation to make the repayment affordable.
2. Payment shall be:
a. Thirty (30) annual amortizations (First 3 years may be at reduced amounts);
b. Six percent (6%) interest per annum; and
c. First five (5) annual payments may not be more than five percent (5%) of the
value of the annual gross production.
7 SCRA 812.
If the land is sold to the government or to the LBP, the children or the spouse
of the transferee shall have a right to repurchase within a period of two (2)
years.
Corporate Farms
A. Definition
*
Corporate farms are farms which are owned or operated by corporations or other
business associations. [Section 29]
B. Distribution
1. Land Transfer (Voluntarily Offer to Sell or Compulsory Acquisition)
a. General rule: Lands shall be distributed directly to the individual farmworkerbeneficiaries.
b. Exception: However, if it is not economically feasible and sound to divide the
land, then it shall be owned collectively by the farmworker-beneficiaries
through a workers' cooperative or association. [Section 29]
c. In case the land is transferred to a cooperative or association, the individual
members of the cooperatives shall be provided with homelots and small
farmlots for their family use, to be taken from the land owned by the cooperative. [Section 30]
2. Capital Stock Transfer [Section 31]
a. This is a non-land transfer. Corporations or associations which voluntarily
divest a proportion of their capital stock, equity or participation in favor of
their workers or other qualified beneficiaries shall be deemed to have
complied with CARL.
b. Amount to be divested: Corporations owning agricultural lands may give
their qualified beneficiaries the right to repurchase such proportion of the
capital stock of the corporation that the agricultural land, actually devoted to
agricultural activities, bears in relation to the company's total assets.
At least twenty-five percent (25%) of all appropriations for agrarian reform shall
be immediately set aside and made available for support services. In addition,
the DAR shall be authorized to package proposals and receive grants, aid and
other forms of financial assistance from any source. [Section 36]
Certificates of Stewardship Contracts are issued for forest areas under the
Integrated Social Forestry Program.
Uncultivated lands of the public domain shall be made avail able on a lease basis
to interested and qualified parties. Priority shall be given to those who will
engage in the development of capital-intensive, traditional or pioneering crops.
The BARC shall be operated on a self-help basis and will be composed of the
following:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
D. Others
1. No injunction, restraining order, prohibition or mandamus shall be issued by the
lower courts against the DAR, DA, DENR and DOJ in their implementation of CARP.
[Section 68]
*
2. The PARC, in the exercise of its functions, is hereby authorized to call upon the
assistance and support of other government agencies, bureaus and offices,
including government-owned or controlled corporations. [Section 69]
XII. Administrative Adjudication
A. Jurisdiction
1. The Department of Agrarian Reform is hereby vested with primary jurisdiction
to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters and shall have
exclusive
original
jurisdiction
over
all
matter
involving
the
implementation of agrarian reform, except those falling under the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources. [Section 50]
2. DAR Adjudicator
a. Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB)
i. Exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction
ii. Exercises functional supervision over the RARADs and PARADs
b. Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (RARAD)
i. Executive Adjudicator in his region
ii. Receives, hears and adjudicates cases which the PARAD cannot handle
because the latter is disqualified or inhibits himself or because the case is
complex or sensitive
c. Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD)
3. Exclusive Jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agrarian Reform
*
secure the BARC certification. [Rule III, Section 1(c) of the DARAB Rules]
2. Exceptions to the BARC Certification Requirement:
a. Failure of the BARC to issue a certification within thirty (30) days after a
matter or issue is submitted to it;
b. The required certification cannot be complied with for valid reasons like the
non-existence or non-organization of the BARC or the impossibility of
convening it. A certification to that effect may be issued by the proper agrar ian reform officer in lieu of the BARC certification; [Rule III, Section 1(b) of
DARAB Rules]
c. The issue involves the valuation of the land to determine just compensation;
[Rule III, Section 2 of DARAB Rules]
d. The parties reside in different barangays, unless they adjoin each other;
* Where the lands involved in the dispute straddles two or more barangays,
the BARC of the Barangay where the biggest portion lies, shall have the
authority to conduct the mediation or conciliation proceeding.
e. One of the party is a public or private corporation, a partnership, association
or juridical person, or a public officer or employee and the dispute relates to
the performance of his official functions;
f. The issue involves merely the administrative implementation of agrarian
reform law, rule, guideline or policy; and
g. The issue is beyond the pale of mediation, conciliation or compromise, as
determined by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform.
C. Rules of Procedure
1. It shall not be bound by technical rules of proce dure and evidence but shall
proceed to hear and decide all cases, disputes or controversies in a most
expeditious manner, employing all reasonable means to ascertain the facts of
every case in accordance with justice and equity and the merits of the case.
[Section 50]
2. Responsible leaders shall be allowed to represent themselves, their fellow
farmers, or their organizations in any proceedings before the DAR [Section 50]
3. To discourage frivolous or dilatory appeals from the decision or order on the local
or provincial levels, the DAR may impose reasonable penalties, including but not
limited to fines or censures upon erring parties. [Section 52]
D. Enforcement Powers
1. It shall have the power to summon witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony,
require submission of reports, compel the production of books and documents
and answers to interrogatories and issue subpoena, and subpoena duces tecum
and to enforce its writs through sheriffs or other duly deputized officers. It shall
likewise have the power to punish direct and indirect contempt in the same
manner and subject to the same penalties as provided in the Rules of Court.
[Section 50]
2. The DAR has executed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippine National
Police, in order that the latter may assist the DAR in the enforcement of its
orders.
E. Judicial Review
1. Any decision, order, award or ruling of the DAR on any agrarian dispute or on any
matter pertaining to the application, implementation, enforcement or
interpretation of the CARL and other pertinent laws on agrarian reform may be
brought to the Court of Appeals by certiorari within fifteen (15) days from
receipt of a copy thereof. [Section 54]
2. The findings of fact of the DAR shall be final and conclu sive if based on
substantial evidence.
3. Notwithstanding an appeal to the Court of Appeals, the decision of the DAR shall
be immediately executory. [Section 50]
XIII.
Within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the decision of the Special Agrarian
Court, an appeal may be taken by filing a petition for review with the Court of
Appeals.
XIV.
Within a non-extendible period of fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the
decision of the Court of Appeals, an appeal may be taken by filing a petition
for review with the Supreme Court.
2. Any person who knowingly or willfully violates the provisions of CARL shall be
punished by 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 (P 1,000.00) and not more
than fifteen thousand pesos (P 15,000.00), or both at the discretion of the court.
If the offender is a corporation or association, the officer responsible therefor
shall be criminally liable.
B. Conversions
1. Authority to Allow Conversion of Agricultural Land for Non-agricultural Uses
a. Under Executive Order No. 129-A, Series of 1987, the Department of Agrarian
Reform is authorized to:
i.
President Fidel V. Ramos directed the observance by all agencies and local
government units the following interim guidelines on agricultural land use
conversion.
i. All irrigated or irrigable agricultural lands shall not be subject to and
non-negotiable for conversion;
ii. All other agricultural lands may be converted only upon strict
compliance with existing laws, rules and regulations.
3. Disturbance Compensation
*
Section 36(1) of Republic Act No. 3844, as amended provides: the agricultural
lessee shall be entitled to disturbance compensation equivalent to five years
rental on his landholding.
Effectivity
CARL takes effect immediately after publication in at least two (2) national
newspapers of general circulation. CARL was printed 15 June 1988.