Sabio, Izabelle Patricia C.

BS Psychology – 1 Section YB
Agrarian Reform Under President Joseph E. Estrada (1998-2000)

“Erap para sa mahirap.” This was President Joseph Estrada's

campaign tagline, which made him very popular during the presidential

campaign in 1998. The following law was launched by President Joseph E.

Estrada: Executive Order N0. 151, September 1999 (Farmer's Trust

Fund)–Allowed the voluntary consolidation of small-scale operations into

integrated medium-and large-scale enterprises that could access long-

term assets. President Estrada introduced the Magkabalikat Para sa

Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA at the instigation of his

administration. To make FBs competitive, the DAR forged joint ventures

with private investors into the agrarian industry.

The administration saw the urgency of property allocation and

thought that if it was constructed on the capacity of peasants to pursue

their own growth, it could be served. One of the first things this

administration did was to rework efficiency objectives by concentrating on

the amount of hectares of property distributed along with an accounting

of farm beneficiaries and covered particular croplands and farming

systems. This strategy was aimed at integrating services of property

allocation and support. During this era, DAR initiated a series of land

occupations by working with farmers claimants, the Local Government

Unit, and safety forces from the government. During this administration,

support facilities have taken a much more entrepreneurial strategy.

Sustainable district rural development programs have been intended to

assist farmers achieve a level of financial capacity. Through the

International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, it

has forged partnerships between nations implementing AR. The

department then started aggressively to claim that it placed the profile of

DAR in domestic and global fora in domestic development planning

procedures. This enabled DAR to secure a seat at the annual advisory

group conference between the financial leadership team of the Philippines

and the donor community. The DAR-DA-DENR Convergence Initiative was

also introduced during this era.

 The idea for MAGKASAKA was for investors to provide assistance for

capital, technology and governance while farmers will contribute, at most,

to the exploitation of their own territory. It promotes investors to invest

in the landscape and to increase farmers ' incomes through joint venture

schemes and contract-widening schemes. The program will make it

possible for farmers to be more effective and competitive worldwide.

The Estrada administration extended the country-side coverage of

the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) to landless farmers.

More than 266,000 hectares of property were allocated to 175,000

landless farmers, including land owned by the traditional rural elite. An

enormous fund for agricultural programs was assigned in 1999. One of

them is the "Agrikulturang Maka Masa," through which it reached a 6%

production development, a record high at the moment, reducing the

inflation level from 11% in January 1999 to just over 3% by November of

the same year. The agrarian reform of Estrada was in the interests of

those farmers who live in rural regions. For those landowners who do not

own their own territory, CARP has benefited. He allocated hectares of

land to landless people. The Farmers ' Trust Fund was designed to extend

their company to a big scale accessing long-term loans from the fund for

those farmers who have tiny and medium assets. The Estrada

administration extended the country side's coverage of the

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) to landless farmers.

The latter administration distributed over 266,000 hectares of land to

175,000 landless farmers, including land owned by the traditional rural

elite. Total 523,000 hectares to 305,000 landowners in his second year as

President of the Philippines.

Fiscal limitations experienced in the execution of CARP during

Estrada's administration resulted in unpaid or delayed payment of

farmers covered by the obligatory purchases and VOS schemes. Due to

arguments for control over negotiations with potential joint venture

partners, some of which became violent, there were also problems on the

inter and intra ARB conflict.

The Estrada administration, however, lived for a brief time. His

ouster was requested by the masses who placed him in office. The
presidency of Estrada was quickly dogged by looting and bribery

allegations. He was revealed to have spent lengthy hours drinking with

shady personalities and midnight drinking sessions with some of his

cabinet members during conferences by his chief of staff, Aprodicio

Laquian. In October 2000, an acknowledged gambling racketeer, Luis

"Chavit" Singson, governor of the province of Ilocos Sur, claimed that he

had personally provided Estrada the amount of 400 million pesos

($8,255,933) as payoff from illegal gambling earnings, as well as 180

million pesos ($3,715,170) from public price subsidies to the marketing

cooperative for tobacco farmers. Singson's allegation triggered a

nationwide uprising that culminated in the House of Representatives '

impeachment of Estrada on November 13, 2000. The impeachment

articles were then forwarded to the Senate and an impeachment tribunal

was established with the presiding officer being Chief Justice Hilario

Davide, Jr. During the trial, the prosecution (consisting of congressmen

and private prosecutors) provided witnesses and proof to the

impeachment tribunal about Estrada's participation in an illegal game of

numbers, also known as jueteng, and its maintenance of confidential

bank accounts.

Sabio, Izabelle Patricia C.

BS Psychology – 1 Section YB
Agrarian Reform Under President Gloria Macapacal-Arroyo (2000-

2010)

Under the Arroyo administration, the agricultural reform program is

anchored in the vision "To make the landscape economically feasible for

the Filipino family by creating partnerships and encouraging social equity

and fresh financial possibilities for sustainable peace and rural growth.

The agrarian reform program under the Arroyo administration is based on

the vision "To make the landscape economically feasible for the Filipino

family by creating partnerships and encouraging social equity and fresh

financial possibilities for sustainable peace and rural development."

DAR allocated 111,772 hectares in 2002 to 75,560 beneficiaries of

agrarian reform (ARBs), more than 11 percent of President Arroyo's goal

of 100,000 hectares during her state-of-the-nation speech. DAR

distributed 11,095 hectares between January and March 2003, higher

than the 10,307 hectares and 10,033 hectares distributed in 2001 and

2002, respectively, during the same period. DAR settled 34,182 legal

instances in 2002, most of which (22,624) relate to the application of

CARP. It is 11% greater than the 30, 793 goal.

In Land tenure instance, which, in applying CARP's land acquisition

and allocation element, DAR will stay energetic. By property allocation

and leasehold, the DAR will enhance the land tenure scheme. In 2002,

the DAR Adjudication Board (DARAB) ranked 28,935 instances and

resolved 15,919 cases, or 74% of the 21,489 cases goal. To date, DARAB

has indicated that 10,959 instances relating to exemption, conversion

and retention rights have been resolved. Approximately 4,218 instances

have been settled relating to property valuation, ejection, rent collection

and fixation, and cancelation of emancipation patents (EPs) or property

ownership certificates (CLOAs). DAR has undertaken to hire more legal

officers to reinforce adjudication boards, to implement a quota system to

accelerate adjudication work, and to provide paralegal training to ARBs to

accelerate case resolution and clear the backlog.

In provision of support services instance, which CARP includes not

only land allocation but also a package of support services including: loan

aid, extension services, irrigation equipment, highways and bridges,

marketing facilities and training and technical support programs. The

delivery to the ARBs of support services composed of rural infrastructure,

post-harvest equipment, technical aid, etc. was a significant focus to

guarantee that the distributed lands would be truly productive. With the

assistance of international donors, funding for the support services was

created possible. DAR finished 9 irrigation installations serving 2,593

hectares, 55 farm-to-market highways with a complete length of 187

kilometres, 12 farm-to-market bridges with a complete length of 1,216

linear metres, and 2 post-harvest installations with 7 units through

foreign help. These are in addition to numerous technical support such as

fresh technology, loan programs, and farmers ' training.

 For the Inrastructure Projects, DAR will turn the Agrarian

Reform Communities (ARCs), a centered and integrated support services

distribution area, into rural economic areas that will assist create rural

employment possibilities. For the KALAHI ARZone which were zones that

consisted of one or more municipalities with concentration of ARC

population to achieve greater agro-productivity, under this program, the

DAR launched the Gulayan ng Magsasakang Agraryo (GMA) initiatives

aimed at improving farmers' financial and social circumstances through

scientific, environmentally friendly and extremely efficient vegetable

farming; the Diosdado Macapagal Agrarian Scholarship Program, which

provides instructional help to well-deserved and skilled ARB kids in

collaboration with state universities and colleges ; and the KALAHI

Agrarian Reform Zones, which are adjacent Agrarian Reform

Communities (ARCs), where ARB support services will be more focused

and aimed at becoming agro-industrial hubs. The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa

Kahirapan (KALAHI) program is President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's anti-

poverty initiative. The project will help the government strengthen the
capacity of LGUs to design, execute and handle development operations.

These operations may include fundamental infrastructure such as fresh or

rehabilitated highways and bridges, barangay schools and clinics, and

equipment for water supply and sanitation.

In order to help clear the backlog of agrarian instances, DAR will

employ more paralegal agents to assist undermanned adjudicating boards

and introduce a quota system to force adjudicators to work on agrarian

reform instances more quickly. DAR will respect farmers ' rights as well

as landowners' rights. The Environment and Natural Resources

Department (DENR) has allocated a total of 67,397 hectares of public

land to 49,496 households as of the first half of this year. This

achievement reflects 53% of their complete land allocation goal of 127,

250 hectares this year. The DENR granted 21, 686 families renewable

tenure rights under the Community-Based Forest Management

Agreement (CBFMA) to some 180,179 hectares of woodlands that would

guarantee tenure safety for upland residents. It has awarded to 4,942

coastal residents under the CBFMA 6,343 hectares of coastal fields.

Sabio, Izabelle Particia C.
BS Psychology – 1 Section YB
Agrarian Reform Under President Benigno Aquino III (2010-

2016)

During his State of the Nation address in 2012, President Benigno

Aquino III vowed to finish the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

(CARP), the centerpiece of his mother's administration, President Corazon

Aquino, before the end of his term. Months after taking office, Mr. Aquino

said that on the Hacienda Luisita conflict he had "taken a hands-off

strategy," stating that he had divested himself of his interests in the

sugar plantation. The younger Aquino gave out in Tarlac their family-

owned Hacienda Luisita. He also pledged to finish, apart from the said

farm lots, the allocation of private lands of productive agricultural

properties in the nation that fled program coverage. The Agrarian Reform
Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS)

project was developed under his administration to contribute to the

general objective of reducing rural poverty, particularly in fields of

agrarian reform.

Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP) given crop manufacturing

credit assistance to newly structured and current agricultural reform

beneficiaries ' organisations (ARBOs) and farmers ' organisations not

qualified to take advantage of loans under banks ' periodic credit

windows. Also introduced was the legal case tracking system (LCMS), a

web-based legal system for recording and tracking different types of

agrarian instances at the DAR provincial, regional and central

headquarters to guarantee quicker resolution and close tracking of

agrarian-related instances. Apart from these projects, Aquino also issued

Executive Order No. 26, Series 2011, mandating the Department of

Agriculture-Environment and Natural Resources-Department of Agrarian

Reform Convergence Initiative to create a National Greening Program in

collaboration with other public organizations.

 Despite the enormous problems facing the program, Agrarian

reform under the Aquino Administration is proceeding quickly. The

Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) managed to obtain and distribute

219,069 hectares of territory across the nation during the first two years

of President Benigno S. Aquino III, said Agrarian Reform Secretary

Virgilio de los Reyes. In the history of the Comprehensive Agrarian

Reform Program (CARP), this is by no means the smallest achievement.

The smallest recorded was 59,495 hectares of soil distributed in 2009 due

to the uncertainties caused by the shift to Republic Act No. 9700

implementation. The second lowest in 2003 was 97,795 hectares. As of

June 2014, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) had distributed

466,164 hectares, while the Department of Environment and Natural

Resources (DENR) had distributed 351,886 hectares. The DAR announced

in September 2013 that it would lastly start distributing land titles to over

6,000 Hacienda Luisita farm workers. As of June 2014, 5,982 farm

workers out of 6,121 were awarded their land ownership certificate. But

some farm workers were disqualified as beneficiaries of land reform,

including the group leaders who lodged the landmark case that led to

Hacienda Luisita being distributed. The DAR said the 125 farm workers

were disqualified for not signing and swearing to the necessary buy and

farmer's undertaking, a document comprising a list of beneficiaries '

commitments under the law, including paying amortization.

If DAR argues that land allocation in private agricultural lands is

most hard and therefore causes delay or low turnout, LAD in public (and

forest) lands is also challenging and similarly challenging. Public forest

property distribution through the DENR embodies complicated problems

in the reform of public land. The Department of the Environment has to

redistribute two kinds of government forest lands, alienable and

disposable (A&D) lands, as well as community-based and managed forest

lands that are actually farmland. In addition to these figures, DAR and

DENR have to cope with the complicated problems of government land

allocation: (1) private and public land overlaps and land delineation

issues; (2) reforms in government lands due to land reclassification; (3)

de-prioritization of community-based forest management lands; and (4)

untitled properties. Poverty alleviation and social justice for the rural

population are the key issues, what are at stake. Government information

indicate that there were also elevated incidences of poverty in the top

fifteen provinces with the largest land redistribution backlog. Thirteen of

these fifteen counties had an incidence of poverty above the domestic

average of 26.5%, while two counties, Masbate and Maguindanao, had an

average of more than twice the domestic average. What these statistics

of government show is that poverty can be related to the slow application

of agrarian reform in these fields.

The point here is that, contrary to the government's formal

argument, public land agrarian reform needs comparable attention as

personal agricultural land. This implies that it is impossible to reduce

agrarian reform to PAL alone. Actual land use often runs counter to what

is reported in classifications of formal land use. In reality, under various

types of agriculture, public and forest lands are defined by relationships

of manufacturing and distribution between landed and landless and land-

poor, and are the site of contending with private interests. The
completion of property allocation by 30 June 2014 should be one of the

primary objectives during the extension period. For five years, the

program should receive PhP 150 billion or PhP 30 billion per year for

property acquisition and allocation (LAD) and agricultural justice delivery

(a total 60 percent share for both parts) and support facilities (40

percent).

Sabio, Izabelle Patricia C.

BS Psychology – 1 Section YB
Agrarian Reform Under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016 –

present)

Under his governance, the president intends to implement a

"aggressive" land reform program that would assist relieve disadvantaged

Filipino farmers ' lives by prioritizing support facilities alongside land

allocation. The President directed the DAR to initiate the second stage of

the agrarian reform where the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

(CARP) would award landless farmers with undistributed land.

government lands under agricultural reform, including military reserves.

The President also put under CARP 400 hectares of farmland in Boracay.
The DAR established an anti-corruption task force under his

administration to investigate and manage accounts of supposed

anomalous operations by department representatives and staff. The

Department also pursues an "Oplan Zero Backlog" to quickly track the

application of CARP in the resolution of instances related to the delivery

of agrarian justice of the agrarian reform program. President Rodrigo

Duterte has confessed that the land reform program of the country has

stopped, with the state reaching its land distribution threshold. The

president said in his speech in Davao City that he really wished to

distribute land, originally idle public land, to beneficiaries of agrarian

reform, but the government was no longer able to obtain those land.

During the ceremonial allocation of 3,423 Land Ownership Award

Certificates (CLOAs) to 2,495 beneficiaries in Barangay Kauswagan,

Sagay City, he produced such an announcement. In his comments, the

Chief Executive stressed that in the remaining three years of his term he

would accelerate the distribution of land. He would, however, first

prioritize the allocation of state-owned properties. President Duterte said

that since the administration of former President Corazon Aquino, the

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) has been introduced

and is simply implementing the law. He recognized the difficulties of

distributing estates, however, because some occupants do not want to let

go of their lands and some are sponsoring the motion of the communist

rebels. He informed the public once again not to interact with the

members of the New People's Army because the government is striving to

meet their requirements. He renewed his call for the NPAs to return to

the law fold. The President reiterated his determination to alleviate poor

people's lives. President Duterte pledged to give fertilizers and support

services to the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries who got their CLOAs during

the ceremonial allocation. He also vowed to offer each of them cell

phones so that if these promises are not fulfilled they could report their

complaints. According to DAR, 485 of the beneficiaries receiving their

land titles have already obtained vital support services from their

department, including loan facilitation and availability, capacity-building,

training, provision of common service equipment, support for livelihoods,

agri-extension services, PBD lawyers and market connections, among

others. The distributed CLOAs covered a total of 1,609 hectares of

property obtained in eight towns and 11 municipalities here in Negros

Occidental, one of the provinces covered by vast private agricultural

property in the Philippines.

Duterte has constantly expressed his willingness to distribute lands

owned by the government to farmers. He was able to order all

organizations to define government-owned beneficiaries to be distributed

to property reform beneficiaries through Executive Order 75. The

President said the Constitution of 1987 declared it a state policy to

conduct the fair allocation of all agricultural land subject to Congress

prescribed priorities and retention constraints. He also observed that

government-owned land dedicated to or appropriate for agriculture is

covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program under Republic

Act 6657 and is to be planned and programmed for purchase and

allocation by the Agrarian Reform Department (DAR). In his order, the

President directed DAR to obtain all government-owned land dedicated to

or appropriate for agriculture but is no longer used for the purpose for

which it was reserved, immediately and exclusively, so that it can be

distributed to skilled beneficiaries. All departments, offices and public

tools were provided 30 days to define and submit a list of property that

the land reform program could cover. He also encouraged the recipients

of the CLOA to promote the peace opening with the MILF by the

government to hasten the peaceful closure of centuries of secessionist

struggle in southern Mindanao.

Duterte has advised Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriones to ensure

that land, including former NPA rebels, is distributed to all people.

Following the expiry of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform

Program (CARP) element of property acquisition and allocation (LAD) on

30 June 2014, the distribution of coverage notices (NOCs) to initiate the

LAD process has been stopped. The NES platform supports the NOC Bill,

which seeks to continue and finish the allocation to beneficiaries of

agrarian reform (ARBs) of the remaining approximately 600,000-hectare

agricultural land. This policy brief shows the key characteristics of the

suggested bill and the present legislative updates.