AGRARIAN REFORM LAW AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION – Atty. Daniel C.

Gutierrez

CHAPTER I – BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

A. DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURE

Scientific and Practical Definitions

1) Agriculture is the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock
and in varying degrees, the preparation and marketing of the resulting products. (Merriam-webster)

2) Agriculture is the systematic raising of useful plants and livestock under the management of man.
(Rimando, T.J.. 2004. Crop Science 1: Fundamentals of Crop Science. U.P. Los Baños: University
Publications Office. p. 1).

Legal Definitions; for legal purposes or applied in legal disputes

3) Agriculture, Agricultural Enterprise or Agricultural Activity means the cultivation of the soil, planting of
crops, growing of fruit trees, 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. (Sec. 3b, Chapter I, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (R.A. No. 6657 as
amended by R. A. 7881)

*Raising of Livestock, Poultry or Fish – not embraced in the term “agriculture”

- Lands devoted to raising livestock, poultry and swine are classified as industrial, and not
agricultural activities, hence, exempt from agrarian reform program.
- In Luz Farms v Secretary of Agrarian Reform, the SC declared unconstitutional the inclusion of
lands devoted to raising of livestock, poultry, and swine within the term “agriculture”

4) Agriculture includes farming in all branches and, among other things, includes the cultivation and tillage
of soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural and horticultural
commodities, the raising of livestock or poultry, and any practices performed by a farmer on a farm as an
incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, but does not include the manufacturing or
processing of sugar, coconuts, abaca, tobacco, pineapple or other farm products. (Art. 97 (d), Chapter I,
Title II, Labor Code of the Philippines).

5) “Farming” or “agriculture” shall include farming in all of its branches and the cultivation and tillage of
the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural, aquacultural,
floricultural or horticultural commodities, the growing and harvesting of forest products upon forest land,
the raising of livestock including horses, the keeping of horses as a commercial enterprise, the keeping
and raising of poultry, swine, cattle and other domesticated animals used for food purposes, bees, fur-
bearing animals, and any forestry or lumbering operations, performed by a farmer, who is hereby defined
as one engaged in agriculture or farming as herein defined, or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction
with such farming operations, including preparations for market, delivery to storage or to market or to
carriers for transportation to market. (Sec. 1a, Chapter 128, M.G.L. Retrieved September 2, 2010 from
http://www.mass.gov/legis/mgl/128-1a. htm).
Jurisprudential Definition; derived from court decisions

6) Agriculture is the science of cultivating the soil, harvesting crops, and raising livestock and also as the
science or art of the production of plants and animals useful to man and in varying degrees the preparation
of such products for man's use and their disposal.

*Agriculture is the most comprehensive word used to denote the many ways in which crop plants and
domestic animals sustain the global human population by providing food and other products.

*The English word Agriculture derives from the Latin “ager” which means field, and “colo” which means
cultivate, signifying when combined, the Latin “agricultura” which means field or land tillage.

3 Stages of Agricultural Development

Stage 1: The Subsistence Farming

Stage 2: The Mixed and Diversified Farming
Stage 3: The Modernized and Commercialized Farming

Stage 1: The Subsistence Farming – the most primitive type of farming which is characterized with low
productivity and the produced output is just for the sake of subsistence.

 The most of the output is produced for daily family consumption.

 The agricultural production is mostly consisted of a few staple food crops like wheat, barley,
sorghum, rice and corn, etc.
 Traditional methods and tools are used – leading to a lower level of output and productivity.
 Land and labor are the only factors of production, and the capital investment is minimal.
 The farmers are always worried of inadequacy of rains, appropriation of their lands, and
appearance of the money lenders to collect outstanding loans.
 The agricultural labor are fully employed during planting and harvesting seasons, while they
remain unemployed during most of the year.
 Farmers or laborers cultivate only that much of land which they could manage without hired labor.
 The agricultural environment is mostly tough, harsh and static.
 Technological limitations, rigid social institutions, fragmented markets and reduced
communication net-work between rural areas and urban centers often inhibit the higher level of
production. The cash income attained by farmers mostly comes from non-farm wage labor.
 The farmers are surrounded by uncertainties. They just want to survive. Thus, because of rigid
behavior, poverty and illiteracy the farmers exist in the atmosphere of uncertainty.
 Subsistence farming is highly risky and uncertain venture. They resist the use of new techniques,
new seeds and new machinery on farms because they do not want to put their lives at stake.
 The farmers are hardly aimed at maximizing their profits; they are just desirous to save their
families from starvation. Sometimes they are worried of rains, and on other occasions they are
afraid of drought and famine. In such state of uncertainty they would hardly bother about
inventions and innovations. Moreover, in the state of risk and uncertainty the poor farmers will
be reluctant to surrender those techniques which they have inherited from their forefathers.
Accordingly, when sheer survival is at stake they will prefer low production to those technologies
which are concerned with higher production etc.
Stage 2: The Mixed and Diversified Farming – where the farmers not only produce for their personal
consumption but also for the sale in the market. It is the first step to commercialized farming from
subsistence farming.

 The cash crops like vegetables, tea, coffee, cotton and fruits are produced, rather staple foods. In
addition to these the dairy and live stocks are developed.
 Those labor which remained unemployed during the major part of the year go on getting
employed. Thus, the demand for labor goes on to increase on the farms, particularly at the time
of harvesting and sowing. This leads to increase the real wages of farm labor.
 Accordingly, the tractors and threshers are used to substitute labor.
 In order to boost the staple crops, the fertilizers are used. Along with the more production of
foods the stress is laid upon to produce more of cash crops.
 The agricultural sector goes on to earn “Surplus”, with such the farmer can uplift the standard of
living of its family.
 The farmers somehow are prepared to take risks. But all this depends upon the abilities and
competence of the farmers as well as on the social, commercial and institutional setup where the
farmer resides. If the farmer is in a position to get the complementary inputs and he is convinced
of that the agricultural improvement will benefit him and his family he will welcome the new
changes. The agricultural history of Pakistan, India, Philippines Columbia, Mexico and Nigeria
confirm that if the farmers are sure of the profits they are prepared to move from subsistence
farming to Mixed and Diversified farming.
 The use of better seeds, fertilizers, and simple irrigation devices will not only enhance the
production of staple crops but it will also lead to free the land which would now be available for
cash crops. The farm surplus can also be used to make investment in the farms.
 Diversified farming will also lead to minimize the impact of staple crop failure, and provide a
security of income which was not available earlier.

Thus, we conclude that the transition from subsistence farming to diversified farming depends upon
reasonable and reliable access to credit, fertilizers, water, crop information, and marketing facilities, fair
market price for agricultural produce and provision of extensive services.

Stage 3: The Modernized and Commercialized Farming – the agricultural productivity is higher and whole
of the produced output is sold in the market. It is the last and final stage in agricultural development, and
it is the most prevalent type of farming in advanced industrial nations. It comes into being along with the
development of other sectors of the economy.

 The biological and mechanical changes, improvement in living standard of the people and
extension in domestic and foreign markets played an important role in such type of farming.
 It is the motive of profit which plays an important role, rather than the personal needs for foods.
 The farmers are highly aimed at maximizing their outputs per acres. The growers keep in view the
costs fixed as well as variable, the revenues, the support prices and investment in lands while
determining the prices of agricultural produce.
 The farmers have to be acquainted with the scientific inventions, harvesters, modern fertilizers,
cropping techniques and marketing trends. These modernized farms differ in their size and
operation.
 The orchards of fruits and vegetables are also included where there is the intensive type of
cultivation, such as vast wheat, corn and rice farms.
  The sophisticated labor saving techniques are followed furnished with air spray, combine
harvesters, bulldozers, huge tractors and tube wells etc. where a single family becomes capable
enough to cultivate thousands of hectares of land.
 The agricultural technology applied on such farms is of capital-intensive or labor-saving nature.
 The big and commercialized farms are in no way different from big industrial concerns. In certain
cases such farms known as 'Ranches' are owned or controlled by large agricultural business multi-
national corporate enterprises.

The followings are the implications of such commercialized farmings:

(a) When one crop is produced and cultivated, the economies of scale will be accrued and the
goods would become available to domestic and foreign consumers at lower prices. Such big production
becomes very much helpful during world supply shocks, shortages, famines, sectarian and ethnic
violence's and civil wars.
(b) As the commercial farmings is made on big farms, the use of modern agricultural machinery,
superior chemicals and hybrid seeds is increased. In this way, not only agricultural sector, but the
industrial concerns of the country would also expand. The employment will increase boosting the national
outputs. In this way, both agricultural and industrial sectors will support each other.
(c) The commercialized farming is like a business where highly efficient and experienced farm
managers are employed. The entrepreneurs get themselves engaged in inventions and innovations. The
production functions are prepared; the predictions regarding inputs and outputs are made; and the
projections regarding outputs and prices are made.

B. DEFINITION OF LAND TENURE

1) Land Tenure is the relationship that individuals and group hold with respect to land and related
resources. Land tenure rules define the ways in which property rights to land are allocated, transferred,
used, or managed in a particular society.

*While all societies have land tenure systems, each system has a unique set of rules and no single system
of governance can be universally applied. Tenure systems define who can hold and use resources, for
what length of time, and under what conditions. These rules may be well defined or ambiguous and open
to misinterpretation and exploitation. When both formal and informal systems exist within a society,
tenure rules can be overlapping leading to confusion and insecurity. Land tenure may also vary by gender,
ethnicity, class, and political affiliation.

2) Land Tenure is the institutional, political, economic, social, and legal structure that determines:
- how individuals and groups secure access to land and manage land resources including trees,
minerals, pasture, and water.
- who can hold and use these resources, for how long, and under what conditions.

*Land Tenure may also have both spatial and temporal dimensions and are typically defined through
statutory and customary law.

3) Land Tenure is the relationship, whether legally or customarily, among people, as individuals or groups,
with respect to land (including various natural resources such as water and trees).
It is an institution, such as rules introduced to regulate behavior by societies. It defines:
- how property rights to land are to be allocated within societies.
 - how access is granted to rights to use, control, and transfer land, as well as it associated
responsibilities and restraints.

Simply, Land tenure Systems determine who can use what resources for how long, and under what
conditions.

*Land tenure is an important part of social, political and economic structures. It is multi-dimensional,
bringing into play social, technical, economic, institutional, legal and political aspects that are often
ignored but must be taken into account. Land tenure relationships may be well-defined and enforceable
in a formal court of law or through customary structures in a community.

Land tenure; web of intersecting interests:

1) OVERRIDING INTERESTS – when a sovereign power, a nation or community has the powers to allocate
or reallocate land through expropriation, etc.
2) OVERLAPPING INTERESTS – when several parties are allocated different rights to the same parcel of
land. (such that one party may have lease rights, another may have a right of way)
3) COMPLEMENTARY INSTERESTS – when different parties share the same interest in the same parcel of
land. (such that when members of a community share common rights to a certain land)
4) COMPETING INTERESTS – when different parties contest the same interest in the same parcel. (such
that when two parties independently claim rights to exclusive use of a parcel of agricultural land, and land
disputes may arise from these competing claims)

Land Tenure; categories:

1) PRIVATE – he assignment of rights to a private party who may be an individual, a married couple, a
group of people, or a corporate body such as a commercial entity or non-profit organization. (within a
community, individual families may have exclusive rights to residential parcels, agricultural parcels and
certain trees. Other members of the community can be excluded from using these resources without the
consent of those who hold the rights.)
2) COMMUNAL – a right of commons may exist within a community where each member has a right to
use independently the holdings of the community.
3) OPEN ACCESS – specific rights are not assigned to anyone and no-one can be excluded. (marine tenure
– access to high seas is generally open to anyone; forests – where there may be free access to the
resources for all)
4) STATE – property rights are assigned to some authority in the public sector.

C. RELATED AND BACKGROUND CONCEPTS

(1) DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGSHIP

- A doctrine of absolute right of a monarch premised on the belief that an individual's tenure as monarch
was an act of God, and thus the king can set the law, or ignore or change the law as may have been set by
a representational parliament.
It is the belief that kings are related to gods, if not actually gods themselves, and derive their authority
from this status; it has been a remarkably enduring feature of human societies.

Monotheism challenged it, but in Europe the belief lost power only very gradually, as European society
slowly became Christianized. Christian doctrine identified Christ as the divine king, Son of God the Father,
who was incarnated once for all in order to rule over the souls of men. It thus set in train the separation
between the spiritual and temporal realms that would eventually allow for the secular, or "constitutional"
kingships characteristic of modern European monarchies.

Kings could thus claim to have a quality of divinity, but Christian doctrine insisted that they themselves
could not be divine.

- The Divine Right of Kings is a political and religious doctrine of royal absolutism. It asserts that a monarch
is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God. The king is thus
not subject to the will of his people, the aristocracy, or any other estate of the realm, including the church.
The doctrine implies that any attempt to depose the king or to restrict his powers runs contrary to the will
of God and may constitute treason.

The origins of the theory are rooted in the medieval idea that God had bestowed earthly power to the
king, just has He had given spiritual power and authority to the church, centering on the pope. With the
rise of nation-states and the Protestant Reformation however, the theory of Divine Right justified the
king's absolute authority in both political and spiritual matters. The theory came to the fore in England
under the reign of King James I (1603–25). King Louis XIV of France (1643–1715), though Catholic, strongly
promoted the theory as well.

- The theory of Divine Right was abandoned in England during the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89. The
American and French revolutions of the late 18th century further weakened the theory's appeal, and by
the early 12th century, it had been virtually abandoned.

DIVINE RIGHT IN ENGLAND

What distinguished the English idea of Divine Right from the Roman Catholic tradition was that in the
latter, the monarch is always subject to the following powers, which are regarded as superior to the
monarch:

- The Old Testament, in which the authority of kings was limited with reference to the Law of Moses and
could be rightly challenged and sometimes overthrown by the prophets speaking in the name of God.

- The New Testament in which the first obedience is to God and no earthly king, but also in which the first
"pope," Saint Peter, commands that all Christians shall honor the Roman Emperor (1 Peter 2:13-17) even
though, at that time, he was still a pagan.

- The necessary endorsement by the popes and the Church of the line of emperors beginning with
the Constantine I and Theodosius I, later the Eastern Roman emperors, and finally the Western Roman
emperor, Charlemagne.
The scriptural basis of the Divine Right of Kings comes partly from Romans 13:1-2, which states: "Let every
soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: The powers that be are
ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they
that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."

DIVINE RIGHT IN FRANCE

In France, the chief theorist of Divine Right was Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), bishop of Meaux
and court preacher to Louis XIV. He argued that kings received their power directly from God. Just as a
father’s authority is absolute in a family, so is the king's in the state. He asserted that “God establishes
kings as his ministers, and reigns through them over the people.” He also stated that “the prince must
be obeyed on principle, as a matter of religion and of conscience.” Those who argued otherwise were
agents of evil opposed to the will of God.

Louis XIV agreed strongly with these aspects of Bousseut's views, which conformed to his own ideal of
himself as an absolute ruler: the so-called "Sun King."

French Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu challenged Divine Right with the doctrine of the
separation of powers, arguing that government is best conducted when the executive branch is checked
and balanced by an independent legislature and judiciary. The theory of Divine Right in France was finally
overthrown during the French Revolution.

(2) FEUDALISM

(“LORD-AND-VASSAL”/”MASTER-AND-SLAVE” social setup)

Feudalism is a social and economic arrangement that envisages a “lord and vassal” (or “master and slave”)
kind of relationship between persons in a community. It is basically founded or based upon an agricultural
economy where the control of the land is in the hands of a small aristocratic group, and where the
organization of society and of government is fundamentally local. In such a situation, the man of small
power has no other recourse but to become dependent of someone strong enough to aid him. The small
man obligates himself to render service to the great man in return for protection, and he surrenders the
ownership of his land and becomes a tenant upon the condition of paying a rent in services or goods.

The relation thus formed has two sides: it is at once a personal relation and a property relation. The
property and power of the great man are thus augmented, while the small man has behind him a powerful
patron whose interest as well as duty is to protect him.

(3) SPANISH ENCOMIENDA SYSTEM (LATIN AMERICA & PHILIPPINES)

In 1570 the encomienda was introduced in the Philippines when Legaspi, in compliance with the decree
issued by King Philip II in 1558, distributed lands in Cebu to loyal Spanish subjects. These men had helped
conquer the Philippines. The encomienda was not actually a land grant but was a favor from the kind
under which the Spaniard receiving his favor was given the right to collect tributes–or taxes–from the
inhabitants of the area assigned to him. The man who received this favor was called an encomendero.
The encomienda was, therefore, a public office.

The encomenderos were required by law to perform the following duties:

1) to give protection to the natives
2) to help the missionaries convert the natives to Christianity
3) to promote education

Unfortunately, many Spanish encomenderos committed abuses, such as:

- Brutal treatment of the Filipinos
- Collecting more tribute than that authorized by law
- Forcing the people to work for them
- Seizure of the people’s animals and crops without just compensation

Because of the abuses of encomenderos, much bad feeling resulted. First, peace and order, which the
colonizers and the early Spanish friars had established, was disturbed. Second, the abuses led to a conflict
between the friars and the encomenderos. The early friars observed that the encomenderos neglected
their duty of teaching the Christian faith to the Filipinos. They saw that the encomenderos were only
interested in enriching themselves instead.

The friars tried to protect the Filipinos from the greed and abuses of the encomenderos by:
1) preaching from the pulpits against encomendero abuses.
2) writing letters to the King of Spain in which they reported the abuses of the encomenderos
3) refusing to absolve the encomenderos from their sins.

The Filipinos, seeing that the encomenderos were interested only in getting rich, grew lazy. They reasoned
that it was useless to work too hard for a living if the fruits of their work would only go to the payment of
excessive tributes to the encomenderos. This attitude was encouraged by the friars who told them that
the abandonment of their labors would free from injustice.

There were 3 kinds of encomiendas:

1) the Royal Encomiendas, belonging to the King
2) the Ecclesiastical Encomiendas, belonging to the Church
3) Private Encomiendas, belonging to private individuals

At first the natives paid 8 reales as tribute. This amount was increased to 10 reales in 1589 by order of
King Philip II. Aside from the tribute expected from the royal encomiendas, the king also received reales
from each tribute each encomiendero received from his encomienda. The total amount of the tributes
intended for the king was kept as fund to pay the expenses for the country’s defense. This fund was called
the situado.

The size of an encomienda was determined in 2 ways:

1) by the number of people living in it
2) by the value of the land

The law limited the number of natives in an area and administered by an encomendero to not more than
300, and the value of the land was limited to not more than P2,000. At first an encomienda could be held
for 3 generations (about 90 years). This was later reduced to two generation. But because of the
complaints from encomenderos, the king decided to return the encomienda tenure to three generations
in 1635.

(4) REGALIAN DOCTRINE

The Regalian Doctrine, also known as “jura regalia”, is a fiction of Spanish colonial law that has been said
to apply to all Spanish colonial holdings. More specifically, the Regalian Doctrine refers to the feudal
principle that private title to land must emanate, directly or indirectly, from the Spanish crown with the
latter retaining the underlying title. Lands and resources not granted by the Crown remain part of the
public domain over which none but the sovereign holds rights. Generally, under this concept, private title
to land must be traced to some grant, express or implied, from the Spanish Crown or its successors, the
American Colonial Government, and thereafter, the Philippine Republic. In a broad sense, the term refers
to royal rights, or those rights to which the King has by virtue of his prerogatives.

The Regalian Doctrine dictates that all lands of the public domain belong to the State, that the State is the
source of any asserted right to ownership of land and charged with the conservation of such patrimony.
The doctrine has been consistently adopted under the 1935, 1973, and 1987 Constitutions. All lands not
otherwise appearing to be clearly within private ownership are presumed to belong to the State. Thus, all
lands that have not been acquired from the government, either by purchase or by grant, belong to the
State as part of the inalienable public domain. Necessarily, it is up to the State to determine if lands of the
public domain will be disposed of for private ownership. The government, as the agent of the state, is
possessed of the plenary power as the persona in law to determine who shall be the favored recipients of
public lands, as well as under what terms they may be granted such privilege, not excluding the placing of
obstacles in the way of their exercise of what otherwise would be ordinary acts of ownership.

The Regalian Doctrine is enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the country’s earlier
Constitutions. In the 1987 Constitution, Section 2 of Article XII (National Economy and Patrimony)
provides the following:

Section 2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all
forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources
are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be
alienated. The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control
and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-
production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or
associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be
for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under
such terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply
fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of water power, beneficial use may be the measure
and limit of the grant.

The abovementioned provision provides that except for agricultural lands for public domain which alone
may be alienated, forest or timber, and mineral lands, as well as all other natural resources must remain
with the State, the exploration, development and utilization of which shall be subject to its full control
and supervision albeit allowing it to enter into coproduction, joint venture or production-sharing
agreements, or into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving technical or financial
assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and utilization.

The said provision in the 1987 Philippine Constitution had its roots in the 1935 Philippine Constitution.
Section 1 of Article XIII (Conservation and Utilization of Natural Resources) of the 1935 Philippine
Constitution provides the following:

Section 1. All agricultural timber, and mineral lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal,
petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy and other natural resources of the
Philippines belong to the State, and their disposition, exploitation, development, or utilization shall be
limited to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of the
capital of which is owned by such citizens, subject to any existing right, grant, lease, or concession at the
time of the inauguration of the Government established under this Constitution. Natural resources, with
the exception of public agricultural land, shall not be alienated, and no license, concession, or lease for the
exploitation, development, or utilization of any of the natural resources shall be granted for a period
exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for another twenty-five years, except as to water rights for
irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of water power, in which
cases beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant.

Then in the 1973 Philippine Constitution, the classifications of land and the Regalian Doctrine are
provided under Section 8, Article XIV (The National Economy and The Patrimony of The Nation), which
states the following:

Section 8. All lands of public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum and other mineral oils, all forces of
potential energy, fisheries, wildlife, and other natural resources of the Philippines belong to the State. With
the exception of agricultural, industrial or commercial, residential, or resettlement lands of the public
domain, natural resources shall not be alienated, and no license, concession, or lease for the exploration,
or utilization of any of the natural resources shall be granted for a period exceeding twenty-five years,
except as to water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than development
of water power, in which cases, beneficial use may by the measure and the limit of the grant.

As shown in the above provisions, the 1935 Constitution classified lands of the public domain into
agricultural, forest or timber. Meanwhile, the 1973 Constitution provided the following classifications:
agricultural, industrial or commercial, residential, resettlement, mineral, timber or forest and grazing
lands, and such other classes as may be provided by law, giving the government great leeway for
classification. However, the 1987 Constitution reverted to the 1935 Constitution classification with one
addition—national parks. Of these classifications, only agricultural lands may be alienated.

Prior to Proclamation No. 1064 of May 22, 2006, Boracay Island had never been expressly and
administratively classified under any of these grand divisions. Boracay was an unclassified land of the
public domain.

(5) LAND REGISTRATION ACT OF 1902

On November 6, 1902, the Philippine Commission enacted Act 496, known as Land Registration Law, that
created the Court of Land Registration (CLR) and the office of the Registers of Deeds. The Law
institutionalized the Torrens System of registration whereby real estate ownership may be judicially
confirmed and recorded in the archives of the government. The system took effect on February 1, 1903.

Upon the effectivity of Act No. 2374, the Court of Land Registration was replaced by the General Land
Registration Office (GRLO), and on June 17, 1954 upon the effectivity of Republic Act No. 1151 was also
replaced by the Land Registration Commissions (LRC). It started as the Court of Land Registration, later as
General Land Registration Office, it became the Land Registration Commission, reorganized as National
Land Titles and Deeds Registration Administration, and presently as the Land Registration Authority (LRA).

Presently, the LRA is headed by an administrator who, pursuant to Executive Order 649, shall have a
judicial rank of an Associate Justice of a Collegiate Appellate Court. He is assisted by deputy administrators
who, pursuant to said law and LRA Rationalization Plan, shall have the same rank of a Department
Assistant Secretary.

(6) PUBLIC LAND ACT OF 1902 (PHILIPPINE ORGANIC ACT)

The Philippine Land Act was a basic law for the Insular Government that was enacted by the United States
Congress on July 1, 1902. It is also known as the Philippine Bill of 1902 and the Cooper Act, after its
author Henry A. Cooper. The approval of the act coincided with the official end of the Philippine-American
War.

The Philippine Organic Act provided for the creation of an elected Philippine Assembly after the following
conditions were met:
1) the cessation of the existing insurrection in the Philippine Islands;
2) the completion and publication of a census; and
3) 2 years of continued peace and recognition of the authority of the United States of America after the
publication of the census.

(7) FRIAR LANDS ACT (ACT 1120)

The Friar Lands Act of 1904 provided the terms and conditions on the sale and lease of purchased friar
estates of 410,000 hectares. Land estates were offered for sale to the actual tenant-tillers at an interest
of 8% for a 25 year period. By 1919, about 69% of all friar lands had been bought. Were purchased by the
government for sale to actual occupants under the provisions of Act 1120 or the Friar Lands Act. These
lands are not public lands but private and patrimonial lands of the government.

> The Land Management Bureau shall first issue a certificate stating therein that the government has
agreed to sell the land to such settler or occupant.

> The latter shall then accept the certificate and agree to pay the purchase price so fixed, in installments
and at the rate of interest specified in the certificate.

> The conveyance or certificate of sale executed in favor of a buyer is a conveyance of ownership of the
property, subject only to the resolutory condition that the sale may be cancelled if the price agreed upon
is not paid in full.
(8) RICE SHARE TENANCY ACT OF 1933 (REPUBLIC ACT 4054)

 An Act To Promote The Well-Being Of Tenants (Aparceros) In Agricultural Lands Devoted To The
Production Of Rice And To Regulate The Relations Between Them And The Landlords Of Said
Lands, And For Other Purposes

 RA 4054 or the Rice Tenancy Law was the first law on crop sharing which legalized the 50-50 share
between landlord and tenant with corresponding support to tenants protecting them against
abuses of landlords.

 However, this law was hardly implemented because most of the municipal councils were
composed of powerful hacienderos and big landlords. In fact, only one municipality passed a
resolution for its enforcement and majorities have petitioned its application to the Governor
General.

 The text of the Act — which is long, technical, and in places ambiguous, remained
incomprehensible to many of the tenants for whose benefit it was intended. The crop-sharing
provision was hardly revolutionary; it merely stamped legal approval on the prevailing
arrangement.

When the tenant furnished work animal and implements, and shared production expenses
equally with the landlord, he was to receive 50 percent of the crop.

 Though the Court did not allow the law to topple in the face of the landlord’s onslaught, neither
did it frequently grant tenant demands. Yet at the same time the Social Improvement Service of
the Department of Labor, which was created on May 1, 1937, worked diligently to inform
the barrio people about the provisions of the Rice Share Tenancy Act “and of the invaluable
benefits and advantages emanating from a happy and harmonious relationship between the
government and the masses.

(9) SUGARCANE TENANCY CONTRACTS ACT OF 1933 (ACT 4113)

 The Sugarcane Tenancy Contracts Act of 1933 or Act No. 4113 regulated the relationship of
landlord and tenants in the sugarcane fields and required tenancy contracts on land planted to
sugarcane.

(10) REPUBLIC ACT 34 OF 1946 (AGRICULTURAL SHARING)

 otherwise known as An act amending certain sections of Act Numbered Four Thousand Fifty-Four,
as amended, otherwise known as "The Philippine Rice Share Tenancy Act"

Most significant change in the amendment is stated in the provision on the division of the shares between
the tenant and the Landlord

"Sec. 8. Share basis. - In the absence of any written agreement to the contrary and when the tenant
furnishes the necessary implements and the work animals and defrays all the expenses for planting and
cultivation of the land, the crop shall be divided as follows: the tenant shall receive seventy per cent of the
net produce of the land and the landlord thirty per cent, for first-class land, the normal production of which,
based on the average yield for the three preceding years, is more than forty cavans of palay per one cavan
of seeds; seventy-five per cent for the tenant and twenty-five per cent for the landlord, in case of land the
average normal production of which is not more than forty cavans of palay per one cavan of seeds. In case
the landlord furnishes the necessary work animals and farm implements and, likewise, bears all the
expenses of planting and cultivation, the landlord shall receive seventy per cent and the tenant thirty per
cent of the crop; but if the landlord furnishes the necessary work animals and farm implements and bears
equally with the tenant the expenses of planting and cultivation, the crop shall be divided equally between
the parties.

"Expenses for harvesting and threshing shall be deducted from the gross produce. Expenses for the
maintenance of irrigation systems within the respective areas shall be for the account of the tenant, but
amortizations for the cost of construction of the system itself shall be for the account of the landlord. The
expenses for construction and maintenance of privately owned irrigation systems shall be agreed upon
between the landlord and tenant, but in case of disagreement, all expenses for the construction of the
system shall be for the account of the landlord, provided that the costs of constructing the distribution
canals shall be for the account of the tenant.:

"The division shall be made in the same place where the crop has been threshed and each party shall
transport his share to his warehouse, unless the contrary is stipulated by the parties.”

(11) REPUBLIC ACT 1160 OF 1954 (NATIONAL RESETTLEMENT AND REHABILITATION)

NATIONAL RESETTLEMENT AND REHABILITATION ADMINISTRATION

RA 1160 created the NARRA or the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration under the
control and supervision of the President, through the Office of the Economic Coordinator, headed by a
General Manager and Assistant General Manager. The office was created to help speed up the free
distribution of agricultural lands of the public domain to landless tenants and farm workers who are
citizens of the Philippines and to encourage migration to sparsely populated regions pursuant to the
fundamental policy of the government to promote the level of production, employment and living
standards of the people.

NARRA shall have 3 divisions, the selecting and screening, the transportation and supplies, and the
settlement assistance and community.

The powers of NARRA is mainly, to give land and facilitate the settlements. In addition to its main function,
NARRA also have the power to select and screen applicants, which satisfy the following qualifications:

(a) (a) are bona fide farmers in the highly settled areas, (b) do not own any land with an area of five
hectares or more, (c) have not owned any homestead, (d) have not secured any homestead rights
from any homesteader, (e) are capable of discharging their responsibilities as settlers, and (f) shall
work the land in the settlement areas on the basis of the family-operated, family-type farms:
Provided, That in selecting applicants the following order or priority shall be observed: (a) actual
bona fide tenants or occupants of the land; (b) surrendered dissidents, who take an oath and
show sincere desire, to support the Constitution of the Philippines; (c) graduates of agricultural
schools and colleges, (d) trainees who have completed military training; (e) veterans and
members of guerrilla organizations; and (f) other applicants possessing the qualifications required
herein.
 (b) To assist the settlers in acquiring equipment
(c) To fix the salary
(d) To provide housing and accommodation to the settlers
(e) To perform tasks, assign by the president from time to time.

Upon the passing of the NARRA, the former office of LADESCO, was thereby abolished, making all its
obligation be transfer to NARRA. The assets of LADESCO shall be surrendered and shall be sold to public
auction.

(12) REPUBLIC ACT 1199 OF 1954 (AGRICULTURAL TENANCY ACT OF THE PHILIPPINES; TENANCY RIGHTS)

RA 1199 or the Agricultural Tenancy Act of the Philippines established agricultural tenancy relation
between tenant and landowners. Agricultural tenancy is the physical possession by a person of land
devoted to agriculture belonging to, or legally possessed by, another for the purpose of production
through the labor of the former and of the members of his immediate farm household, in consideration
of which the former agrees to share the harvest with the latter, or to pay a price certain or ascertainable,
either in produce or in money, or in both.

2 systems of agricultural tenancy:

1. SHARE TENANCY - exists whenever two persons agree on a joint undertaking for
agricultural production wherein one party furnishes the land and the other his labor, with
either or both contributing any one or several of the items of production, the tenant
cultivating the land personally with the aid of labor available from members of his
immediate farm household, and the produce thereof to be divided between the
landholder and the tenant in proportion to their respective contributions
2. LEASEHOLD TENANCY - exists when a person who, either personally or with the aid of
labor available from members of his immediate farm household, undertakes to cultivate
a piece of agricultural land susceptible of cultivation by a single person together with
members of his immediate farm household, belonging to or legally possessed by, another
in consideration of a price certain or ascertainable to be paid by the person cultivating
the land either in percentage of the production or in a fixed amount in money, or in both.
Tenancy relation is a juridical tie between tenant and the landowner upon express or implied contract.
Just like other form of contracts, with respect to tenancy relation, the parties enjoy freedom to stipulate
if it is not contrary to law, public policy, public order, moral.

Under this act the tenants have rights and obligations, this includes:

The tenants shall be free to work elsewhere whenever the nature of his farm obligation is concern, he
also must contribute aside from his actual labor for the production and the dwelling of the tenant must
not be removed without its consent, however, when the tenant is removed without just cause, he may
choose to remove his dwelling or demand the value of the same to the landowner after the severance of
the relation. He also has the right to be indemnified for his labor and for the expenses in the cultivation,
planting or harvesting of the crops.
The tenants are obliged to cultivate the farm, grow crops and other improvements as a good father of a
family, to inform the landowner in case there are trespassers and to take care of the farm animals.

Rights and obligations of landowners:

The landowners shall have the right to choose the kind of crops to be planted, the right to require the use
of fertilizers and to inspect and observe whether there is compliance on the part of the tenant. The
landowners, however are obliged to furnish an area of not less than 1000 square meters for the dwelling
of the tenants, for the poultry and other animals. The landowners shall keep the tenants on peaceful
possession and cultivation of the land.

This law was passed to shed lights to the rules between a tenant and landowner, this brought up the
rights, obligations and prohibition of the parties when they engage in tenancy relation. The law also
emphasizes the security of tenure granted to the tenant or that he may not be ejected without any viable
reasons, if not in violation of the contract or in case it is in consonance with the provisions of the law.

(13) AGRICULTURAL LAND REFORM CODE OF 1963 (August 6)

Upon the passage of the agricultural land reform code, the agricultural land tenancy was abolished as it
was in contrary to public policy. This code as enacted to secure a most liberal and free from pernicious
institutional restraints, to create a more viable and economic structure of agriculture.

THE LEASEHOLD SYSTEM

Leasehold system was promoted by this code, providing for the rules, rights, obligations and prohibition
of the lessor and the lessee of the agricultural land in case they engage in leasehold relation. By this system
the lessee is entitled to security of tenure on his landholding and cannot be ejected therefrom without
authorization of the court. The parties can exercise freedom to stipulate if it is not contrary to law, moral,
public policy or public order.

BILL OF RIGHTS FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOR

Rights for Agricultural Labor - To enable the farm workers to enjoy the same rights and opportunities in
life as industrial workers, they shall enjoy the following:

1. Right to self-organization;
2. Right to engage in concerted activities;
3. Right to minimum wage;
4. Right to work for not more than eight hours;
5. Right to claim for damages for death or injuries sustained while at work;
6. Right to compensation for personal injuries, death or illness; and
7. Right against suspension or lay-off.

LAND AUTHORITY

The Land Authority was created for carrying out the policy of establishing owner-cultivatorship and the
economic family-size farm as the basis of Philippine agriculture and other policies enunciated in this Code,
there is hereby created a Land Authority, hereinafter called the Authority, which shall be directly under
the control and supervision of the President of the Philippines. The Authority shall be headed by a
Governor who shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.

LAND BANK

Land Bank was created to finance the acquisition by the Government of landed estates for division and
resale to small landholders, as well as the purchase of the landholding by the agricultural lessee from the
landowner, there is hereby established a body corporate to be known as the "Land Bank of the
Philippines", hereinafter called the "Bank", which shall have its principal place of business in Manila. The
legal existence of the Bank shall be for a period of fifty years counting from the date of the approval
hereof. The Bank shall be subject to such rules and regulations as the Central Bank may from time to time
promulgate.

AGRICULTURAL CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

The projects of the ACD was aligned to the machinery of the reorganized Agricultural Credit and
Cooperative Financing Administration to help farmers cooperative by conducting loaning activities for
their agricultural needs such as irrigation and transport system, established to support production and/or
marketing of agricultural products.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

The commission was created for the purpose of accelerating progressive improvement in the productivity
of farms, the advancement of farmers and the strengthening of existing agricultural extension services
through the consolidation of all/promotional, educational and informational activities pertaining to
agriculture, the present Bureau of Agricultural Extension of the Department of Agriculture and Natural
Resources is hereby placed directly under the executive supervision and control of the President and
hereinafter renamed Agricultural Productivity Commission.

LAND REFORM PROJECT ADMINISTRATION

The National Land Reform Council, hereinafter called the Council, which shall be composed of the
Governor of the Land Authority, who shall act as Chairman, the Administrator of the Agricultural Credit
Administration, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Land Bank, the Commissioner of the
Agricultural Productivity Commission and another member appointed by the President upon
recommendation of the minority party receiving the second largest number of votes in the last
Presidential election who shall hold office at the pleasure of such minority party, unless sooner removed
for cause by the President as members and the Agrarian Counsel as legal counsel.

The function of the council is to construct land reform programs, to create rules and regulations with
respect to the program, to select agricultural land to be distributed, to revise and approve land reform
programs and to proclaim such programs.

COURTS OF AGRAGRIAN RELATION

The Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over:

(1) All cases or actions involving matters, controversies, disputes, or money claims arising from agrarian
relations: Provided, that all cases still pending in the Court of Agrarian Relations, at the time of the
effectivity of this Code, shall be transferred to Courts of Agrarian Relations within whose district the sites
of the cases are located;

(2) All cases or actions involving violations of Chapters I and II of this Code and Republic Act Number 809;

(3) Expropriations to be instituted by the Land Authority

OFFICE OF AGRARIAN COUNSEL

The office was created to strengthen the legal assistance to agricultural lessees and agricultural owner-
cultivators, the Tenancy Mediation Commission was expanded and shall be known as the Office of the
Agrarian Counsel. The head of the Office shall be known as Agrarian Counsel and shall have the rank,
qualifications and salary of First Assistant Solicitor General. He shall be assisted by a Deputy Agrarian
Counsel, who shall have the rank, qualifications and salary of Assistant Solicitor General. The Agrarian
Counsel and Deputy Agrarian Counsel shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the
Commission on Appointments of Congress and shall be under the direct supervision of the Secretary of
Justice.

(14) PRESIDENTIA DECREE NO. 2 OF 1972 (September 27)

PROCLAIMING THE ENTIRE COUNTRY AS A LAND REFORM AREA

This Presidential Decree proclaimed the entire country as a land reform area by Former President
Ferdinand Marcos in order to accelerate the Agrarian Reform Program of the Government which, among
its objectives, aim to free farmers from institutional restraints which not only caused the slow
development of agriculture in our country but also the widespread discontent among the farmers, thereby
being a cause for national emergency. It is believed that through declaring the whole country a land
reform area, the objectives of the land may be accomplished sooner rather, later.

The Agrarian Reform Coordinating Council created under Executive Order No. 347, is given the
task to supervise the bureaus and regional offices which seeks to aid with the success of the Agrarian
Reform Program. They are responsible for overseeing field operations in order to implement effectively
the agrarian reform programs along with the bureaus’ areas of expertise on said program. The Secretary
of Agrarian Reform shall be held responsible for the adoption and promulgation of rules and regulations
in order for the program to be proper and effective upon implementation.

(15) PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 27 OF 1972 (October 27)

DECREEING THE EMANCIPATION OF TENANTS FROM THE BONDAGE OF THE SOIL, TRANSFERRING TO
THEM THE OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND THEY TILL AND PROVIDING THE INSTRUMENTS AND MECHANISM
THEREFOR
This Presidential Decree emancipates all tenant farmers of private agricultural lands devoted to
rice and corn under a sharecrop system of lease-tenancy. Moreover, the farmer will become the owner
of a portion of a family-size farm of five hectares if not irrigated and three if irrigated. However, in all
cases, the landowner may retain an area of not more than seven hectares if the landowner who is
cultivating such area will now cultivate it.

The total cost of the land, including an interest rate of 6% per annum, shall be paid by the tenant
in fifteen years of fifteen equal annual amortizations. In cases of default, however, the amortization due
shall be paid by the farmers’ cooperative in which the defaulting tenant-farmer is a member. This was
done to address the grievances that gave rise to conflict and social tension; and also, in pursuant of
Proclamation 1081, wherein Martial Law was signed by then President Marcos, and General Order No. 1,
thereby emancipating all tenant farmers on October 21, 1972.

D. POLICE POWER AS DOCTRINAL BASIS OF AGRARIAN REFORM

Association de Agricultores v Talisay-Silay Milling, 88 SCRA 294 (GR No. 19937 February 19, 1979)

Facts:

- This is an appeal by the defendants from the decision rendered by the Court of First Instance of
Manila
- On June 22, 1952, Republic Act 809 was enacted to address the need to increase the share in
income of planters and laborers from working in the sugar industry. This Act was used to regulate
the relations between persons who are engaged in the sugar industry.
- Under Section 1 of the Act, it is provided that in the absence of written milling agreements
between the majority of planters and the millers of sugarcane in any milling district in the
Philippines, the unrefined sugar produced in that district from the milling by any sugar central of
the sugar cane of any sugarcane planter or planter owner, as well as all byproducts and derivative
thereof, shall be divided between them depending on the maximum actual production. Moreover,
the higher the rate of production is, the percentage given to the planters also increased along
with it.
- The Association de Agricultores de Talisay-Silay Inc. and six sugarcane planters (PLANTERS) filed a
petition to the Secretary of Labor, praying that the latter declare the applicability of the R.A. No.
809 to the Talisay-Silay Mill District (CENTRAL) for every crop year starting from 1952-1962.
- CENTRAL alleged that the Act was invalid and unconstitutional and that even if it was valid, it was
not applicable to Talisay-Silay milling district because the majority of planters had written milling
contracts with CENTRAL at the time said Act went into effect. They also alleged that the planters
who entered into the milling contracts did so voluntarily and those voluntary contracts may not
be altered or modified without infringing the constitutional guarantee on freedom of contracts
and the non-impairment clause of the Constitution, and that the law violates the equal protection
clause since bigger milling districts should provide bigger shares than smaller ones.

Issue:

- Whether R.A. No. 809 is a valid police power measure

- Whether R.A. No. 809 violates the non-impairment clause of the Constitution and is
unconstitutional
- Whether the Act violates the equal protection clause
Held:

No. R.A. No. 809 is a social justice and police power measure for the promotion of labor conditions in
sugar plantations. Hence, whatever rational degree of constraint it exerts on freedom of contract and
existing contractual obligation as is constitutionally permissible. The said act was concerned and enacted
as a social legislation designed primarily to ameliorate the condition of the laborers in the sugar
plantation. Having in view its primary objective, to promote the interests of the laborer, it can never be
possible that the State would be bereft of constitutional authority to enact legislations of its kind.

Section 5 of Article II of the Constitution of 1935, under the aegis of which the law in question was enacted,
made it one of the declared principles to which the people committed themselves that "the promotion of
social justice to insure the wellbeing and economic security of all the people should be the concern of the
State." More specifically in regard to labor, there was also Section 6 of Article XIX, to the effect that "the
State shall afford protection to labor ... and shall regulate the relation between . . . labor and capital in
industry and in agriculture.

With regard to equal protection, the Republic Act did not violate such clause. The obvious standard used
by the legislature is the amount of production in each district. Naturally, the planters adhered to the bigger
centrals should be given bigger shares, considering that the more a sugar central produces, the bigger its
margin of profit which can be correspondingly cut for the purpose of enlarging the share of the planters.
Understandably, the smaller centrals may not be able to afford to have their shares reduced substantially,
which is evidently the reason why the law has not been made applicable to centrals having a production
of less than 150,000 piculs a year.

Petition dismissed being moot and academic.

Police Power

In Lutz vs. Araneta (G.R. No. L-2859, Dec. 22, 1959), this Court recognized the propriety of exercising
'police power when it is needed to do so in order that our sugar industry may be stabilized, and to that
end, it was held that the legislature could provide that the distribution of benefits from the proceeds of
sugar be readjusted among the components of the industry to enable it to resist the added strain of the
increase in taxes that it had to sustain then. With at least equal persuasiveness must such reasoning obtain
when the readjustment of the distribution of proceeds is impelled by the need to render social justice
among all the participants in the industry, specially the laborers.

Police power cannot be resorted to just any time the legislature wishes, but it is not correct to say that it
is indispensable that exceptional circumstances must exist before police power can be exercised. There
is not enough showing here of unreasonableness in the legislation in question.