ASPECTS OF AGRARIAN REFORM

ASPECTS OF AGRARIAN REFORM

(3) Agrarian reform, an instument for increasing
agriculture productivity - The economic reason for
agrarian reform in the Philippines is a its potentialities for
raising agricultural productivity.
(a) the Philippines is one if thisedeveloping countries with a
very low level of agricultural productivity. As a result,
development is being hampered.
ASPECTS OF AGRARIAN REFORM
(b) One method of motivating farmers to increase their
output is to make them own land they till to free them from
the bondage of the landlords, not necessarily from the soil.
Agrarian reform has always been undertaken to give
incentives too farmers.
SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM

(1) Agrarian reform, a multifaceted program. - To

many people in many places all over the world,
agrarian reform casts varying shades of meaning.
(a) It could be political, social, or economic,
depending upon the nature and the immensity of the
problems and the ideological orientations with which
these problems are concerned.
SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM

(b) Agrarian reform, taken in its broad sense (supra)

and as a government-sponsored progra, implies
socio-cultural transformation. Furthermore,
regardless of whether agrarian reform attains its
programmed objectives or not, so long as it is being
undertaken, it would undoubted create far- reaching
effects upon the life of the people concerned.
SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM

(2) Assumptions about Filipino tenant farmers -

When Republic Act. No. 3844, otherwise known as
the Agricultural Land Reform Code, was enacted in
1963, there were a number of assumptions to justify
the formulation of the contents of the Code.
SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM

To mention only the relevant ones, these are,

namely:
(a) The tenancy problem has its roots in pre-Spanish
and Spanish pasts. It is, therefore, a centuries-old problem;
(b) Deeply rooted in history, the tenancy system created
a kind of tenants who are strongly traditional and highly
dependent-minded; and
SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
To mention only the relevant ones, these are, namely:
(c) There are only three kinds of landlords: the
benevolent one who acts like a father to the tenant; the
malevolent one who oppresses; and one wtih the combined
characteristics of the first two. In any cast the landlord is
considered to possess tremendous influence and/or power
over the tenant, and uses thee to preserve his prestige and
status in the society.
SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM

(3) Socio-cultural changes from agrarian reform. -

According to the general experience in countries
(particularly Taiwan and Japan) which have
achieved success is their agrarian reform programs,
agrarian reform had resulted to favorable socio-
cultural changes which may be summarized as
follows:
SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
(a) A change from self-subsistent outlook to on of surplus. The
farmers began putting all their energies in the farm;
(b) A sound social order in the farming villages was enhanced
significantly. The farmers became more conscious of the need to
maintain peace and stability in the community so that they could
continuously enjoy the increased benefits in the farm;
(c) Farmers' initiative and active participation in leadership
roles were promoted. Before, such roles were the monopoly of
the landowning class.
SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
(d) As land reform enhanced agricultural productivity
and consequently; increased net family incomes, the
farmers were able to send their children to school. They
widened their contacts outside world through frequent
trips to market and other places or through communication
facilities (radio, TV) which they acquired.
RELIGIOUS ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
(1) Biblical background. - Basic in Biblical teaching is that God i
the owner of the Earth and that He made it all for His children.
(a) Food was not made for few; all possess the Godgiven right
to use and enjoy the fruits the earth for the advancement of their
lives.
(b) When the Istraelites settled in Palestine, the lands were
equally divided among the people.
(c) Christ's wish is that there be no injustice and oppression of
His people. His command had always been “Feed the hungry,
give drink to the thirsty.”
RELIGIOUS ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
(2) Papal teachings. - The Vatican II Decree “Pastoral on
the Church in the Modern World” says: “x x x man should
regard thhe external things that he legitimately possesses
not only as his own but also as common in the sense that
they should be able to benefit not only him but also others.
(3) Church estates. The masses of poor Filipinos have
always longed for the possession of land. However, in
these aspirations for land, the people rarely found help and
understanding in the leaders of the church.
MORAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
The teaching of philosophy also shows how important is
agrarian reform to a country. Not only the Bible, but also
human reason, sees the need for a just distribution of lands to
the people. Agrarian reform is demanded by the moral laws
under so many titles.
• One reason concerns the peace and internal stability of a
country.
• Another reason is the fact that the land-owner has been more
than compensated for his investment on land, while the tenant
who made the landlord's profits possible is still immersed in
poverty.
MORAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
• There is also the question of injustice involved in landlordism.
Share tenancy, legislators say, is an unjust system and
consequently has to give way to new laws on agrarian reform.
It is for this reason that land reformers demand expropriation of
lands with minimum compensation to the landlord, because,
they say, the tenants have more than paid for the amount from
what the land owner has been getting every harvest.
• Another consideration concerns the innate tendency of every
man to own land. Instinct tells him that the land he tills should
be his.
MORAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
• A final consideration concerns the economy. It is
contended that the expropriation of the lands and their
equitable redistribution to the people are the clues to the
national progress. If the lands were owned by the
farmers themselves, all the income goes to them,
enabling them to have extra money with which to buy
the products of industry. Industrial progress has agrarian
reform for foundation.
LEGAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
(1) Two vantage points. - The legal aspects of agrarian
reform may be considered from two vantage points. The
first is strictly legal, and the second, sociological.
(a) There was a time when the province of law was limited to
the regulation of the conduct between individuals.
(b) The complexities and complications of social, economic
and political growth, however, required revision of this view. Law
was gradually utilized as an instrument to achieve socio-
economic political goals.
LEGAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
(2) Agrarian reform legislations to conform with
Constitution. - In a republican state like ours, no law or
statue may; be enacted and put into effect without passing
the passing the test of constitutionality, that is, the law or
statue should be in conformity with the express provision
spirit, or intent of the Constitution. And in law, property
means not only tangible assets but also rights.
LEGAL ASPECT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
(3) Constitutional mandates. - In any discussion of the
legal aspects of agrarian reform, it is, of course, essential
to keep in mind, the norms and objectives embodied in our
Constitution and our laws and the pertinent decisions
promulgated by our courts, particularly the Supreme
Court.