Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

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The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, more commonly known as CARP, is an

agrarian reform law of the Philippines whose legal basis is the Republic Act No. 6657,[1]
otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL).[2] It is the redistribution
of private and public agricultural lands to help the beneficiaries survive as small independent
farmers, regardless of the “tenurial” arrangement. Its goals are to provide landowners equality in
terms of income and opportunities, empower land owner beneficiaries to have an equitable land
ownership, enhance the agricultural production and productivity, provide employment to more
agricultural workers, and put an end to conflicts regarding land ownership.

Contents
 1 Background
 2 Key components
 3 Development
o 3.1 Land reform under Aquino administration (1986–1992)
o 3.2 Land reform under Ramos administration (1992–1998)
o 3.3 Land reform under Estrada administration (1998–2001)
 4 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER)
o 4.1 Beneficiaries
o 4.2 Significant provisions
o 4.3 Achievements
 5 See also
 6 References
 7 Sources
 8 External links

Background
The agrarian reform is part of the long history of attempts of land reform in the Philippines.[3]
The law was outlined by former President Corazon C. Aquino through Presidential Proclamation
131 and Executive Order 229 on June 22, 1987,[4] and it was enacted by the 8th Congress of the
Philippines and signed by Aquino on June 10, 1988. In 1998, which was the year that it was
scheduled to be completed, the Congress enacted Republic Act No. 8532 [5] to allocate additional
funds for the program and extending the automatic appropriation of ill-gotten wealth recovered
by the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) for CARP until the year 2008.[6]
An amendatory law, CARPER or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with
Reforms or the Republic Act. 9700 was passed. It extended the deadline of distributing
agricultural lands to the farmers for an additional five years. This law also amends other
provisions and regulations formerly stated in the CARP. It was signed into law on August 7,
2009 and was set to be accomplished by the year 2014.[7]

Key components
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The implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program relies heavily on the
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). As the lead implementing agency, the DAR has the
responsibility in carrying out the principal aspects of the program, which are Land Tenure
Improvement (LTI), Program Beneficiary Development (PBD), and the Agrarian Justice
Delivery (AJD).

The Land Tenure Improvement is highly recognized as the most integral aspect of the
program. This component seeks to secure the tenurial status of the farmers and farmworkers. The
DAR implements this component through Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) or Non-land
Transfer Schemes.

The Land Acquisition and Distribution involves the redistribution of private and government-
owned land to landless farmers and farm workers. Under Section 6 of RA 9700 ( Section 16 of
RA 6657 as amended) regarding Land Acquisition, the DAR identifies lands that are eligible for
distribution under the CARP with accordance to the law, acquires the land by delivering a notice
containing the offer with its corresponding value to the owner should he choose to accept the
payment. Following the acquisition of lands under Section 11 of RA 9700(Section 26 of RA
6657 as amended) the DAR distributes these to the qualified beneficiaries, who then pay for the
land through the Land Bank of the Philippines or directly to their former owners.[8]

Under the CARP, a total target of 10.3 million hectares of land was programmed to be
distributed over a span of ten years. Out of the total land, 6.5 million hectares of public disposal
lands and Integrated Social Forestry areas are to be distributed by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) while 3.8 million hectares of private agricultural
lands are to be distributed by the DAR. From July 1987 to June 1992, the DAR was able to
distribute 1.77 million hectares benefiting .933 million beneficiaries, while the DENR has
distributed 1.88 million hectares to .760 million farmers.[9]

Leasehold Operations is the alternative non-land transfer scheme that covers all tenanted
agricultural lands in retained areas and in yet to be acquired or distributed lands. Under this
component, the DAR mediates between the landowners and tenants so that their share tenancy
arrangement could be turned into a leasehold agreement, whereby the beneficiaries will pay a
fixed fee based on their own historical production records instead of paying a large percentage
share of their produce to the landowner.[10]
The Program Beneficiaries Development is a support service delivery component of CARP. It
aims to aid the agrarian reform beneficiaries by providing them necessary support services to
make their lands more productive, and enable them to venture in income generating livelihood
projects in accordance to Section 14 of RA 9700(Section 37 of RA 6657 as amended) .[11] Under
the support service delivery programs, the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council(PARC) ensures
that agrarian reform beneficiaries are provided with support services such as land surveys and
tilting, construction of infrastructures, marketing and production assistance, credit and training.[8]

Agrarian Justice Delivery provides agrarian legal assistance and oversees the adjudication of
cases. Under Section 19 of RA 97600 (Section 50 of RA 6657 as amended), the DAR is hereby
vested with the primary jurisdiction to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters and
shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all matters involving the implementation of
agrarian reform except those falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of
Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).[2]

The Agrarian Legal Assistance is under the Bureau of Legal Assistance (BALA). The BALA
provides legal assistance to the beneficiaries affected by agrarian cases, particularly those whose
legal rights as ARB’s are challenged by landowners.

The Adjudication of Cases involves the adjudication of cases by the Department of Agrarian
Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB). The adjudication of cases deals with disputes
pertaining to tenancy relations; valuation of lands acquired by DAR under compulsory
acquisition mode; rights and obligations of persons, whether natural or juridical, engaged in the
management cultivation and use of all agricultural lands; ejectment and dispossession of
tenants/leaseholders; review of leasehold rentals; and other similar disputes.[10]

Development
At the end of the 20th century, the population of the Philippines increased rapidly to 75.32
million in a country of 297,410 square kilometers, with an average family size of six, making the
Philippines known for high population density. In addition to this, with a population growth of
2.02 per year, the Philippine population is expected to double in the span of 25 years. 60 percent
of the Philippine population is rural, and over 12 million Filipinos make a living directly from
agricultural cultivation. Around 9.5 million hectares of land across the Philippines are used to
plan various crops. In terms of landlessness, the number of landless agricultural families rose up
from 5 million to 11.32 million families. Out of these 11.32 families, 4.6 million make a living
from lands they don’t own. 0.70 million are rented, 2 million are laborers, while 1.9 million are
farming as tenants.[9]

Land reform under Aquino administration (1986–1992)

During the start of President Corazon Aquino’s term in 1986, the Constitutional Commission
approved Section 21 under Article II, which states that “The State shall promote comprehensive
rural development and agrarian reform.” This led to the drafting of CARP, which took the
Congress a year to make. On June 10, 1988, Republic Act No. 6657, also known as the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), was passed to promote social justice and
industrialization. Although it was still a product of adherence to democratic principles, this law
was found to have many flaws. Because of much dissatisfaction with the agrarian reform law,
proposals from peasant groups and non-government organizations grew in order to implement an
alternative program that was more advantageous to them. However, this did not succeed.

CARP recognizes not only farmers but all landless workers as beneficiaries with the condition
that they cultivate the land. The two main departments in charge of this program are Department
of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Aside from the land distribution, it also provides the delivery of support services and security to
the farmers.

Under the Aquino administration, a total of 898,420 landless tenants and farmers became
recipients of land titles and support services. Even with this, it can be considered unsuccessful
because it only accomplished 22.5 percent of land distribution in 6 years. This was due to the
fact that Aquino assigned 4 different DAR secretaries. The major setback for CARP was
Aquino’s Hacienda Luisita’s Stock Distribution Option, which says that she was the first
landlord to evade CARP on a grand scale.

Land reform under Ramos administration (1992–1998)

The policies on agrarian reform under the Ramos administration focused on accelerating the
direct land transfer and non-land transfer through adopting more rational, fair and inexpensive
settlements. It encouraged landowners to invest in rural-based industries that are connected to
agriculture. It made an amendment to Section 63 of CARL to increase the fund of this project to
100 billion. Salaries of workers and members of DAR board were increased to motivate them for
more successful results as well.

The target land to be given to farmer beneficiaries under this Administration was 3.4 million
hectares, 4.7 million or 60 percent of which was successfully distributed. It achieved more than
double the output of the Aquino administration. It focused on “less contentious landholdings and
acquisition modes,” where they chose to work with autonomous NGOs and peasant
organizations. However, controversies were unavoidable as they encountered landlords openly
harassing peasants with guns and forcing them out of the lands.

Land reform under Estrada administration (1998–2001)

This administration focused on fast tracking land acquisition and distribution. It wanted to reduce
uncertainties in land market in rural places to help farmers’ efficiency and private investment to
grow. It encouraged joint ventures, corporative, contact farming and other marketing
arrangements to protect the status of stakeholders and promotion of agri-industrialization. They
also improved the databases of the implementing agencies of DAR and DENR to fully record
and update the lands covered. Estrada highlighted that there was a need to conceptualize new
approaches in doing things to build a new social agreement where producers, government and
private sectors work with a common goal.
The program encountered some problems such as strong landowners' resistance. Tenants also
complained on the limited amount of fund allocation provided by the government for the project.
It aimed to complete 7.8 million hectares by 2004. Since President Estrada lasted only 2.5 years
as president, the total beneficiaries of CARP was only 0.18 million or 10 percent.[12]

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with

Reforms (CARPER)
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms, known also as
CALPER or CARPer, (Republic Act 9700)[13] is the amendatory law that extends again the
deadline of distributing agricultural lands to farmers for five years. It also amends other
provisions stated in CARP.

In December 2008, the budget for CARP expired and there remained 1.2 million hectares of
agricultural land waiting to be acquired and distributed to farmers. CARPER was signed into law
on August 7, 2009 by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and was set to expire on June 30, 2014.[14]
However the program of distributing lands to farmer-beneficiaries continued even after June
2014. Section 30 of RA 9700 or CARPER law states that cases on the matter which are still
pending “shall be allowed to proceed to its finality and be executed even beyond such date.” [15]

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries of CARPER are landless farmers, including agricultural lessees, tenants, as well as
regular, seasonal and other farmworkers. In a certain landholding the qualified beneficiaries who
are tenants and regular farmworkers will receive 3 hectares each before distributing the
remaining land to the other qualified beneficiaries like seasonal farmworks and other
farmworkers (Section 22 of CARL). The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) identifies
and screens potential beneficiaries and validates their qualifications. Beneficiaries must be least
15 years old, be a resident of the barangay where the land holding is located, and own no more
than 3 hectares of agricultural land.[16]

The CARPER law has bias for organized farmers to be beneficiaries because the Congress
believes that the success rate of organized farmers is high and can make their awarded lands
productive.[citation needed]

Significant provisions

 Gender-Sensitive Agrarian Reform – Section 1 of the CARPER law states that "The
State shall recognize and enforce, consistent with existing laws, the rights of rural women
to own and control land, taking into consideration the substantive equality between men
and women as qualified beneficiaries, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof, and to
be represented in advisory or appropriate decision-making bodies. These rights shall be
independent of their male relatives and of their civil status." Rural women will have a
representative in the highest policy making body of DAR – the Presidential Agrarian
Reform Council (PARC).
  Budget – Section 21 amending Section 63 for CARL state that the budget allocated for
the 5-year extension is 150 Billion pesos which will be sourced from three funds:
Agrarian Reform Fund, General Appropriations Acts (GAA) and other sources of funding
like privatization of government asset, foreign donors, etc. This budget is the largest per
year in the history of CARP.
 Creation of a Congressional Oversight Committee – Section 26 of the CARPER law
created a joint Congressional Oversight Committee to oversee and monitor the
implementation of the act, which will be composed of the Chairpersons of the Committee
on Agrarian Reform of both Houses of Congress, three Members of the House of
Representatives, and three Members of the Senate of the Philippines, to be designated
respectively by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the
Senate of the Philippines. The chairpersons of the COCAR are the Chairpersons of the
Committees on Agrarian Reform of the House of Representatives and of the Senate of the
Philippines. The term of the COCAR will end six months after the expiration of the
extended period of five years. The COCAR is provided with twenty-five million pesos
(P25,000,000.00) every year.
 CARPER as a Continuing Program – Section 30 of the CARPER law mandates that
“any case and/or proceeding involving the implementation of the provisions of Republic
Act No. 6657, as amended, which may remain pending on June 30, 2014 shall be allowed
to proceed to its finality and be executed even beyond such date". Section 30 of CARPER
law provides a way to legally continue the implementation of pending CARP cases after
the 5-year extension by filling the initiatory process of CARP.
 Policies in Converting Agricultural Lands – Section 73 of the CARPER law: "Any
conversion by any landowner of his/her agricultural land into any non-agricultural use
with intent to avoid the application of this Act to his/her landholdings and to dispossess
his/her bonafide tenant farmers." Failure to comply will result in an imprisonment of 6 to
12 years and/or a penalty of 200,000 pesos to 1 million pesos. The CARPER law
prohibits any conversion of irrigated and irrigable lands and mandates the National
Irrigation Administration to identify these. CARPER law also states that non-
implementation of the conversion plan will result to automatic coverage of the subject by
CARP.

Achievements

In 2003, 15 years into the program, studies funded by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), AsDB, FAO, European Union (EU) and the Philippine Government, had
shown that poverty incidence among program beneficiaries declined from 47.6 to 45.2 percent,
while increasing among their non-participating counterparts from 55.1 to 56.4 percent.[17]

The Official Gazette released an update on the accomplishments in the field of agrarian reform
as of June 30, 2014.

"As of December 31, 2013, the government has acquired and distributed 6.9 million hectares of
land, equivalent to 88% of the
total land subject to CARP." Of this area, the Aquino administration has distributed a total of
751,514 hectares, or 45% of the total landholdings to be distributed to the farmer beneficiaries
left under this administration. From this, DAR has distributed 412,782 hectares and DENR has
already distributed

338,732 hectares.[16]

In 2014 – 2016, Department of Agrarian Reform still needs to acquire 771,795 hectares (187,686
hectares in 2014; 198,631 hectares in 2015; and 385,478 hectares in 2016). The Department of
Environment and Nation Resources still needs to acquire 134,857 hectares — a total of 906,652
hectares.