Agrarian Law and Social Legislation

Atty. Steve Paolo Arellano Mercano

(a) Agrarian Reform means redistribution of lands, regardless of crops or fruits produced, to
farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless, irrespective of tenurial arrangement, to
include the totality of factors and support services designed to lift the economic status of the
beneficiaries and all other arrangements alternative to the physical redistribution of lands, such
as production or profit-sharing, labor administration, and the distribution of shares of stocks,
which will allow beneficiaries to receive a just share of the fruits of the lands they work.
(b) Agriculture, Agricultural nterprise or Agricultural Activity means the cultivation of the soil,
planting of crops, growing of fruit trees, raising of livestock, poultry or 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 person whether natural or juridical.
(c) Agricultural !and refers to land devoted to agricultural activity as defined in this Act and not
classified as mineral, forest, residential, commercial or industrial land.
(d) Agrarian "ispute refers to any controversy relating to tenurial arrangements, whether
leasehold, tenancy, stewardship or otherwise, over lands devoted to agriculture, including
disputes concerning farmworkers# associations or representation of persons in negotiating, fi$ing,
maintaining, changing, or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of such tenurial arrangements.
%t includes any controversy relating to compensation of lands ac&uired under this Act and other
terms and conditions of transfer of ownership from landowners to farmworkers, tenants and other
agrarian reform beneficiaries, whether the disputants stand in the pro$imate relation of farm
operator and beneficiary, landowner and tenant, or lessor and lessee.
Luz Farms vs Secretary of Dar
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 !overnment"
Milestones Farms vs Ofce of the President
It is the DAR Secretary who is vested with such jurisdiction and authority to exempt
and/or exclude a property from CARP coverage ased on the factual circumstances of
each case and in accordance with law and applicale jurisprudence! In addition" aleit
parenthetically" Secretary #illa had already granted the conversion into residential and
golf courses use of nearly one$half of the entire area originally claimed as exempt from
CARP coverage ecause it was allegedly devoted to livestoc% production!
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ho can A!!rove and revo"e stoc" distri#ution !lans
under the $A%L& hat was the #asis&
(1) THE PARC has jurisdiction to revoke HLIs SDP under the doctrine o
necessar! i"#$ication%
&nder Sec! '( of RA ))*+" as implemented y DA, (-" the authority to approve
the plan for stoc% distriution of the corporate landowner elongs to PARC! Contrary to
petitioner ./I0s posture" PARC also has the power to revo%e the SDP which it previously
approved! It may e" as urged" that RA ))*+ or other executive issuances on agrarian
reform do not explicitly vest the PARC with the power to revo%e/recall an approved SDP!
Such power or authority" however" is deemed possessed y PARC under the principle of
necessary implication" a asic postulate that what is implied in a statute is as much a
part of it as that which is expressed!
1ollowing the doctrine of necessary implication" it may e stated that the
conferment of express power to approve a plan for stoc% distriution of the agricultural
land of corporate owners necessarily includes the power to revo%e or recall the approval
of the plan! 2o deny PARC such revocatory power would reduce it into a toothless
agency of CARP" ecause the very same agency tas%ed to ensure compliance y the
corporate landowner with the approved SDP would e without authority to impose
sanctions for non$compliance with it!
's S($. )* +nconstitutional&
[The Court actually refused to pass upon the constitutional question because it was not
raised at the ear$iest o##ortunit! and because the resolution thereof is not the $is
"ota of the case. Moreover, the issue has been rendered "oot and acade"ic since
SDO is no longer one of the odes of acquisition under !" #$%%.&
Did the Su!reme $ourt +!hold the stoc" revocation of the
SDP&
(&) 'ES( the revocation o the HLIs SDP va$id% )*+( the PARC did *+T ,rave$! a-use
its discretion in revokin, the su-ject SDP and #$acin, the hacienda under CARPs
co"#u$sor! ac.uisition and distri-ution sche"e%/
2he revocation of the approval of the SDP is valid3 4(5 the mechanics and
timelines of ./I0s stoc% distriution violate DA, (- ecause the minimum individual
allocation of each original 167 of (8"8-9!': shares was diluted as a result of the use of
;man days< and the hiring of additional farmwor%ers= 4:5 the '-$year timeframe for ./I$
to$167s stoc% transfer is contrary to what Sec! (( of DA, (- prescries!
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Does the ,on-im!airment clause #ar the court from
reviewing the validity of a !artially im!lemented SDP&
A law authori'ing interference, when appropriate, in the contractual relations
between or among parties is deemed read into the contract and its implementation
cannot successfully be resisted by force of the non-impairment guarantee. at the
time of contract e$ecution, as in the case of RA (()*, in relation to "A+ ,-, vis-.-
vis /!%0s
Thus, the non-impairment clause under Section 10, Article II [of the
Constitution] is limited in application to laws about to be enacted that would
in any way deroate from e!istin acts or contracts by enlarin, abridin
or in any manner chanin the intention of the parties thereto.
Alita vs $A
Section )! 2he State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform or stewardship"
whenever applicale in accordance with law" in the disposition or utili>ation of other
natural resources" including lands of pulic domain under lease or concession suitale
to agriculture" suject to prior rights" homestead rights of small settlers" and the rights of
indigenous communities to their ancestral lands!
?ota 7ene" Sec! ) of CAR/ provides that ;original homestead grantees or their direct
compulsory heirs who still own the original homestead at the time of the approval of this
Act shall retain the same areas as long as they continue to cultivate said homestead!<
,atalia %ealty vs DA%
The lands are also not subject to CARL, as agricultural land means land
devoted to agricultural activity as defined in this Act and not classified as ineral,
forest, residential, coercial or industrial land!<
Indeed" lands not devoted to agricultural activity are outside the coverage of CAR/!
2hese include lands previously converted to non$agricultural uses prior to the
effectivity of CAR/ y government agencies other than respondent DAR!
$entral Mindanao +niversity vs DA%A.
c5 /ands actually" directly and exclusively used and found to e necessary for
national defense"school sites and capuses, including e'periental far stations
operated by public or private schools for educational purposes, @ " shall e exempt
from the coverage of this Act!
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Clearly" a reading of the paragraph shows that" in order to e exempt from the
coverage3 (5 the land must e ;actually, directly, and e'clusively used and found to be
necessary(< and :5 the purpose is ;for school sites and capuses, including
e'periental far stations operated by public or private schools for educational
purposes!<
DA% /S DA%A.
)irstly" in the C01 case" the land involved was not alienale and disposale land of the
pulic domain ecause it was reserved by the late President Carlos P. arcia under
Proclamation !o. "#$ %or the use o% &indanao Agricultural College 'now C&(). In
this case" however" the lands fall under the category of alienale and disposale lands
of the pulic domain suitale for agriculture!
Secondly" in the C01 case, the land was actually, directly and e*clusively used
and %ound to be necessary %or school sites and cam+uses.
2o e exempt from the coverage the land per se must e used and not the income
derived therefrom!
123%+4 (. Retention !imits. 5 $cept as otherwise provided in this Act, no person may own
or retain, directly or indirectly, any public or private agricultural land, the si'e of which shall
vary according to factors governing a viable family-si'e farm, such as commodity produced,
terrain, infrastructure, and soil fertility as determined by the 6residential Agrarian Reform
2ouncil (6AR2) created hereunder, but in no case shall retention by the landowner e$ceed five
()) hectares.
3hree (7) hectares may be awarded to each child of the landowner, subject to the following
&ualifications8 (,) that he is at least fifteen (,)) years of age9 and (:) that he is actually tilling the
land or directly managing the farm8 6rovided, 3hat landowners whose lands have been covered
by 6residential "ecree 4o. :* shall be allowed to keep the areas originally retained by them
thereunder8 6rovided, further, 3hat original homestead grantees or their direct compulsory heirs
who still own the original homestead at the time of the approval of this Act shall retain the same
areas as long as they continue to cultivate said homestead.
3he right to choose the area to be retained, which shall be compact or contiguous, shall pertain to
the landowner8 6rovided, however, 3hat in case the area selected for retention by the landowner
is tenanted, the tenant shall have the option to choose whether to remain therein or be a
beneficiary in the same or another agricultural land with similar or comparable features. %n case
the tenant chooses to remain in the retained area, he shall be considered a leaseholder and shall
lose his right to be a beneficiary under this Act. %n case the tenant chooses to be a beneficiary in
another agricultural land, he loses his right as a leaseholder to the land retained by the landowner.
3he tenant must e$ercise this option within a period of one (,) year from the time the landowner
manifests his choice of the area for retention. %n all cases, the security of tenure of the farmers or
farmworkers on the land prior to the approval of this Act shall be respected.
;pon the effectivity of this Act, any sale, disposition, lease, management, contract or transfer of
possession of private lands e$ecuted by the original landowner in violation of the Act shall be
null and void8 6rovided, however, 3hat those e$ecuted prior to this Act shall be valid only when
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registered with the Register of "eeds within a period of three (7) months after the effectivity of
this Act. 3hereafter, all Registers of "eeds shall inform the "epartment of Agrarian Reform
("AR) within thirty (7-) days of any transaction involving agricultural lands in e$cess of five ())
hectares.
,-CT./0 11" -2emptions and -2clusions" 34ands actually, directly and e2clusively
used and found to be necessary for parks, wildlife, forest reserves, reforestation,
5sh sanctuaries and breeding grounds, watersheds, and mangroves, national
defense, school sites and campuses including e2perimental farm stations operated
by public or private schools for educational purposes, seeds and seedlings research
and pilot production centers, church sites and convents appurtenant
thereto, mos%ue sites and .slamic centers appurtenant thereto, communal burial
grounds and cemeteries, penal colonies and penal farms actually worked by the
inmates, government and private research and %uarantine centers and all lands
with eighteen percent 61878 slope and over, e2cept those already developed shall
be e2empt from the coverage of the 9ct"
Mendoza vs 0ermino
&nder Section *- of R!A! ?o! ))*+" as well as Section '9 of Axecutive ,rder ?o! (:B$A" the
DARA7 has primary and exclusive jurisdiction" oth original and appellate" to determine and
adjudicate all agrarian disputes involving the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program" and other agrarian laws and their implementing rules and regulations!
An agrarian dispute refers to any controversy relating to" among others" tenancy over lands
devoted to agriculture! 1or a case to involve an agrarian dispute" the following essential
reCuisites of an agricultural tenancy relationship must e present3 4(5 the parties are the
landowner and the tenant= 4:5 the suject is agricultural land= 4'5 there is consent= 495 the
purpose is agricultural production= 4*5 there is personal cultivation= and 4)5 there is sharing of
harvest or payment of rental!
618 the parties are the landowner and the tenant or agricultural
lessee: 6)8 the sub;ect matter of the relationship is agricultural
land: 6*8 there is consent between the parties to the relationship:
6+8 the purpose of the relationship is to bring about agricultural
production: 6<8 there is personal cultivation on the part of the
tenant or agricultural lessee: and 668 the harvest is shared
between the landowner and the tenant or agricultural lessee"
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