Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. RENEE LOUISE M. CO

AN ACT
INSTITUTING GENUINE AGRARIAN REFORM IN THE COUNTRY
AND CREATING THE MECHANISM FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This proposed Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, also known as the Free Land Distribution
Bill, seeks to address the urgent and long-standing issue of landlessness among Filipino
farmers. At its core, the bill upholds the principles of social justice by mandating the free
distribution of land to landless agricultural tillers, who comprise the backbone of the nation’s
food security yet remain among its most impoverished and oppressed sectors.

Beyond land distribution. this measure envisions a comprehensive transformation of
Philippine agriculture by restructuring it to become more self-reliant, productive, and
responsive to national development needs, including genuine industrialization. Since its first
filing in 2007 by the Anakpawis Party-list, this measure has been refiled in successive


Congresses as a testament to the Filipino peasantry’s enduring struggle for economic liberation
and agrarian justice. Its continuing presence reflects the persistence of land monopoly and rural

inequality that successive administrations have failed or refused to resolve.

The Philippines remains plagued by chronic socio-economic inequality rooted in a
flawed agrarian system. A small elite continues to control vast tracts of land, while the majority
of the rural population remains landless or threatened in their tenure, The consequences are far-
reaching: widespread rural poverty, land-related conflicts, food insecurity, underdevelopment
of agriculture, and the stunted growth of local industries. The country's failure to industrialize
is inextricably linked to its failure to resolve landlessness —a foundational economic and social

injustice.

Despite the passage of 14 agrarian reform programs over the last 80 years, including
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and its extension CARPer, the essential
problem of land monopoly remains intact. These programs have consistently failed to dismantle
landlordism and have instead institutionalized mechanisms that allow the reconcentration and
the commodification of agricultural lands. Far from being inclusive, they were shaped by
neoliberal principles of liberalization, privatization, and deregulation—prioritizing market

access and export orientation over equitable land distribution and rural development.

The persistence and entrenchment of landlessness are particularly evident under the
current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Rather than correcting the failures of
past reforms, his government has made a gimmickry out of the land reform principle and

repackaged policies that perpetuate landlessness under the guise of development.

‘The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) reports distributing nearly 195,000
Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) between July 2022 and January 2025.
However, 68% of these-approximately 132,000 CLOAs-are simply parcelized under the
Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project, which merely
disaggregates existing collective CLOAs. These are not new land redistribution and instead
paint the illusion of progress. Began in 2020 and extended until 2027 with World Bank funding,
SPLIT has only reached 12% of its target areas and beneficiaries as of January 2025.


In parallel, the administration’s New Agrarian Emancipation Act (NAEA) purports to
provide relief by condoning debts owed by agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). However,
many of these debts were already unpayable or unjustly imposed in the first place. The issuance
of Certificates of Condonation of Release of Mortgage (COCROMs) adds nothing to the tenure

set

rity of farmers, as it remains legally tied to flawed and vulnerable CLOAs. The issuance
of COCROMS often timed near political events such as the President's SONA or pre-election
campaigns has become more superficial than substantive. As of June 2025, only 14% of the
intended beneficiaries have received COCROMs.

Meanwhile, the problem of pending agrarian cases, land conversion, and revocation of
awards persists, undermining the actual land rights of ARBs. Recent cases, such as the Court
of Appeals’ order for the government to pay P28 billion to Hacienda Luisita Inc., further reveal

the continued favoring of landlord interests, rather than the assertion of peasant rights,

Moreover, both SPLIT and NAEA in effect, prepare CARP lands for the open market,
enabling further land consolidation by powerful landlords. agribusinesses, real estate
developers, and foreign investors—while displacing the farmers and beneficiaries that the so-
called agrarian reform was meant to protect.

Landlessness remains the most pervasive form of economic injustice in the country. It
is the principal cause of rural poverty, a driver of agrarian unrest, and a fundamental obstacle
to national development. This bill seeks to correct this historical injustice by ensuring the free
distribution of land to landless peasants and the dismantling of land monopoly. In doing so, it
also aims to lay the foundation for a just, equitable, and sovereign economy rooted in agrarian

justice and rural empowerment.

The authors take the responsibility to refile this bill to impress upon the people and
members of the 20" Congress the significance and necessity of enacting a genuine agrarian
reform aimed at achieving genuine social and economic reforms in our society. We respectfully
urge the Committee on Agrarian Reform to prioritize its deliberation and passage. We file this
measure in solidarity with the millions of Filipino farmers who, despite decades of broken

promises. continue to struggle for land, justice, and dignity.


For the foregoing reasons. the passage of this bill is sought.

a4

Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO Rep. R LOUISE M. CO
ACT Teachers Party-List KABATAAN Party-List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 208

ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. RENEE LOUISE M. CO

AN ACT
INSTITUTING GENUINE AGRARIAN REFORM IN THE COUNTRY
AND CREATING THE MECHANISM FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled:

L Title

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known and cited as the “Genuine Agrarian
Reform Act.”

IL. Declaration of Principles, Policies, and Objectives

SECTION 2. State Policies and Principles — The State firmly recognizes that our
agriculture has remained backward and stagnant because land, its most vital resource
for development, has for centuries been monopolized by a few landowning class and
subjected to foreign control and domination; that this land monopoly and foreign control
has spawned feudal and semi-feudal forms of exploitation that keep our farmers,
including agricultural workers, fisherfolk, and indigenous peoples, in social and
economic bondage, fetter their productive capabilities and cause the widespread
Jandlessness, high unemployment and extreme poverty in our countryside. The State
realizes that past agrarian reform programs, including Republic Act No. 6657. have
failed to liberate our farmers from feudal bondage and poverty because these programs
lacked the political will to break up land monopoly, including the provision for
sufficient and effective state subsidy to farmers to ensure their agricultural productivity.



The State hereby declares the necessity of breaking up the monopoly of a few
landowners and foreign control of our lands and the subsequent free distribution of lands
to landless tillers that a genuine agrarian reform can be implemented in the country.

The State recognizes that the pursuit of such policy requires the highest degree of
political will; that in order to muster such political will, the State must harness the
involvement of all farmers, other stakeholders of genuine agrarian reform and the entire
Filipino people in the tremendous task of rectifying a historical wrong and
fundamentally transforming our society; and that it must act firmly and swiftly. With
such political will, the State, applying the principles of social justice in breaking up land
monopoly and to implement free distribution of lands to all landless toilers of the soil
and other deserving sections of the population, including rural women, who are willing
to till the land.

In implementing genuine land distribution, the State adheres to the empowerment of
rural women and respects and recognizes the rights to ancestral domain and self-
determination of indigenous peoples.

The State believes that to better serve the ends of social justice and achieve the optimal
but equitable utilization of land, the land distribution must be based on the quality and
availability of land in relation to the economic needs and productive capabilities of its
intended beneficiaries.

The State recognizes that land distribution alone cannot liberate our farmers from
poverty and misery; that centuries of land monopoly has so exploited, oppressed, and
bludgeoned them to the ground that they need societal and governmental help for them
to be able to stand back on their own feet. Genuine land distribution must thus be
complemented with an integrated and holistic program of support services that will help
our farmers regain confidence in themselves, nurture them back to productive strength,
and carry them through the spirit of cooperativism toward improving their productivity,
increasing their income and, finally, transforming them into vibrant and efficient
producers.

‘The State adheres to the principle that genuine land distribution, alongside an integrated
and holistic program of support services for promoting cooperatives and improving
productivity, will unleash our farmers from the fetters of land monopoly, land grabbing
and foreign control. A thoroughgoing land distribution that liberates our farmers from
feudal bondage and economically empowers them will put the development of
Philippine agriculture on sustainable and firm grounds.

Finally, the State realizes that an agriculture sector developing on the basis of vibrant
and efficient producers lays the foundation for the development of national
industrialization. It broadens the domestic market that will pave the way for nurturing
the mutual development of both agriculture and industries. The State believes that


genuine land distribution is the starting point for building a fundamentally sound
economy.

SECTION 3. Objectives — This Act aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Break up land monopoly and implement free, fair, just and equitable distribution
of the lands covered by this Act within a five-year period and eliminate all forms
of oppression and exploitation in the countryside and thereby usher the advent
of genuine social justice;

2. Transform the farmer-beneficiaries into efficient producers through the
institution of an integrated, comprehensive, and holistic program of support
services and other state subsidies that will nurture them toward improving their
productive capabilities;

3. Increase the income of farmer-beneficiaries and raise their living standard
through the promotion of cooperatives and other forms of mutual-aid as the main
vehicle for improving their productivity;

4. Install the social mechanism and effective measures that will secure the lands of
farmer-beneficiaries from loss and prevent the restoration of land monopoly; and

5. Launch the thoroughgoing development of our agricultural sector and lay the
foundation for national industrialization.

SECTION 4. Definition of Terms — For the purpose of this Act, the following terms
shall be understood as follows:

Agribusiness plantations refer to large tracts of lands, usually more than fifty (50)
hectares, owned by big landowners, or by the state, or consolidated out of small
landholdings mainly used and operated for commercial purposes by local and
transnational corporations for the production of export crops: in this Act, depending on
the context, it is used interchangeably with agribusiness operations or agribusiness
enterprise;

Agribusiness transnational corporations refer to any transnational corporation as
defined herein whose business and operation in the Philippines involves maintaining
large tracts of lands for the production of agricultural export crops. tree crops or
livestock;

Agricultural estates refer to haciendas or the large tracts of lands normally owned by a
single family and used for the large-scale production of agricultural export crops. other
commercial crops or staple crops;

Agricultural lands refer to lands, regardless of classification, that are devoted to
agricultural production and such other uses connected with agriculture such as cattle



and livestock farms, aquaculture, including foreshore, pasture farms, and lands that are
agricultural in use or with the potential for agricultural use;

Alternative collateral systems non-land collateral systems refer to collateral systems for
obtaining credit or loan that do not use land as collateral; in such systems, the collateral
used are crops, livestock or social guarantees or the guarantee of farmers’ organizations
or cooperatives or local government officials;

Collective ownership is a type of ownership in which the property is wholly owned by
a group, sector, or class, with the members of the group, sector, or class sharing only
the fruits and income of the property;

Confiscation refers to the State’s act of extraordinary exercise of its powers of eminent
domain involving the taking away, without compensation, of sullied private agricultural
lands and non-land assets necessary and vital to the operation of an agricultural activity;

Compulsory Acquisition Order refers to the Order that shall be issued by the
Department of Agrarian Reform to effect the confiscation of sullied landholdings or of
lands subject to agrarian reform coverage whose landowners refuse or fail to voluntarily
give up possession and ownership after notice thereof;

The Department refers to the Department of Agrarian Reform;

DA refers to the Department of Agriculture;

DENR refers to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources;
DTI refers to the Department of Trade and Industry;

Expropriation refers to the State act of exercising its powers of eminent domain
involving the taking of private agricultural land and non-land assets necessary and vital
to the operation of an agricultural activity for public use with just compensation; in this
Act, the taking of the agricultural land and non-land assets is in pursuance of state and
public policy;

Farmers refer to those who earn their income by working on the land. As used in this
Act, it includes agricultural workers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, including rural
women, and workers in cattle and livestock farms, aquaculture, and pasture lands;

Filipinization refers to the act of taking of ownership, control or disposition by the
State of agricultural lands owned, controlled and operated by foreign corporations,
including non-land assets integral to agricultural production:

Higher-income farmers refer to farmers who own lands and adequate farm tools,
working animals or machineries that give them an income which is more than enough
to sustain the needs of their families;


Joint corporate undertaking refers to a business undertaking between agricultural
workers who own the land and the Filipino owner whose non-land assets do not fall
under the category of sullied landholdings, in which the agricultural workers control
and manage the business operation;

Landless farmers refer to farmers who do not own any land. For purposes of this Act,
the term includes farmers who own lands which are inadequate to their available labor
force or who own lands of low quality as to cause the inadequacy of their income:

Land Reform Support Services Fund refers to the fund that shall be used to ensure the
delivery of support services to the farmer-beneficiaries;

Land Reform Zones refer to the basic unit of operation for the land distribution program
under this Act;

Land use conversion refers to the process of converting agricultural lands into
commercial, industrial, or residential uses. For purposes of this Act, it covers any act of
the landowner or the real estate developer or their agent or representative, in the process
of conversion, which deprives the farmers of the agricultural use of the land;

Middle-income farmers refer to farmers who own lands that give them an income
enough to sustain the needs of their families based on prevailing economic and social
indicators, and the poverty incidence level in the municipality concerned;

Non-land assets refer to immovable, apart from land, and movable properties that are
used as facilities, equipment, or accessories and other structures, instruments and
improvements vital and necessary to agricultural production; in the case of cattle and
livestock farms, aquaculture and pasture, the non-land assets include the breeding ponds
and stables, fish cages, machines and equipment and other improvements, structures
and instruments vital and necessary to their operation, and the cattle, livestock, prawns
and fishes, and all other animals raised and grown therein;

PCCAR refers to People’s Coordinating Council for Agrarian Reform;

Producers’ cooperatives refer to a form of cooperative based on the labor and
production contribution of the members;

ROD reters to the Register of Deeds;

Sullied landholdings vefer to landholdings acquired through fraud, deception,
intimidation, or the use of force or violence, and landholdings whose landowners have
maintained private armed groups which are known to farmers as having been involved
in extrajudicial execution and abduction of farmers or have used such private armies
against farmers and farmers” organizations in connection with agrarian disputes:


Title of Full Emancipation refers to the ownership title that will be conferred on the
land awarded or distributed to farmer-beneficiaries under this Act; and

Transnational corporations (TNCs) refer to any corporation, registered and doing
business in the Philippines for and on behalf of its mother corporation in another
country, the capitalization of which is funded by its parent corporation.

HL. Scope

SECTION 5. Scope and coverage — This Act shall cover all agricultural lands in the
country. It shall include:

a) all private agricultural lands, regardless of crops planted and tenancy relations;

b) all lands operated as agribusiness plantations by transnational corporations
(TNCs), commercial farms, agricultural estates including those which are
presently under various schemes considered as alternative to land transfer,
and aquaculture, pasture, cattle and livestock farms which are not actually,
directly and exclusively used for livestock, poultry and swine as of the
effectivity of this Act:

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all agricultural lands already distributed by Presidential Decree No. 27 and
Republic Act 6657, as amended by RA 9700, but have passed into the ownership,
possession or control of persons or corporations which are not qualified
beneficiaries as mentioned in this Act, including lands distributed but placed
under various schemes and modes of accessing the land to foreign and local
corporations;

d

all lands that have been declared by various Presidential Decrees, Presidential
Proclamations, other laws and issuances as part of reserved or devoted areas for
tourism development, military reservations, human settlements projects, special
economic development authorities, export processing zones, regional industrial
centers, or special economic zones but have remained unutilized and
undeveloped or agricultural in use or presently occupied and tilled by farmers on
the date of the effectivity of this Act.

In the case of military reservations, the determination of developed portions and
the segregation of undeveloped lands shall be based on the actual use for military
installations or facilities such as camps, barracks. ammunition depots, and
perimeter outposts.

In the case of lands affected by public sector development projects located in the
reservations of special economic development authorities, regional industrial
centers, special economic zones, where such development projects have not
started, such lands shall be included in land distribution;


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all lands that have been reclassified as commercial, industrial or residential lands
by local government units and other government line departments and agencies
but have remained undeveloped according to their legislated or executive
classifications, agricultural in use, or presently occupied and tilled by farmers
upon the effectivity of this Act;

all agricultural lands with approved land use conversion authority but have
remained undeveloped and all agricultural lands with pending land use
conversion applications on the date of the effectivity of this Act.

In the case of agricultural lands with approved land use conversion authority,
this Act hereby declares the revocation of their conversion authority. If the
development of the land has not started, the entire landholding shall be covered
by this Act; otherwise, only the undeveloped portion shall be covered. In the case
of lands with pending land use conversion applications, this Act hereby declares
such applications as terminated and denied;

all lands that are part of the reservations of state colleges and universities but
predominantly used for commercial agricultural production, or presently
occupied and tilled by farmers, upon the effectivity of this Act; and lands of
private schools which are not actually used for educational purposes and have
remained undeveloped or agricultural in use or presently occupied and tilled by
farmers;

all agricultural lands which had been tilled by farmers and the subject of their
land distribution claims but were taken away from them by the government or
the landowner for use or lease to foreign institutions:

all lands under agricultural cultivation or use by farmers within timber and
mineral lands including those with existing concessions and exploration
agreements shall be reclassified as agricultural lands upon the effectivity of this
Act and subject to distribution;

all government-owned lands that are agricultural in use or presently occupied
and tilled by farmers or have remained undeveloped. including those portions in
excess of their use as penal colonies; and all public agricultural lands and
alienable and disposable lands of the public domain that have remained
undistributed, including settlement areas and foreshore lands presently occupied
by farmers, settlers, and fishers; and

all private and public lands that have remained idle and abandoned and suitable
for agricultural use.

IV. Time Frame and Priorities


SECTION 6. Time frame — The distribution of lands covered by this Act shall be
completed within a period of five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act. The
Department of Agrarian Reform (herein referred to as the Department) is hereby
mandated to complete the land distribution of this Act within the specified time frame.

SECTION 7. Prioritization within simultaneous distribution — The Department shall
exert all efforts to simultaneously distribute the lands covered by this Act. It shall create
the appropriate implementing arms and mechanism in order to carry out the
simultaneous distribution of the different categories and classifications of lands
enumerated in Section 5 of this Act: Provided, That in carrying out the simultaneous
distribution of lands, it shall give priority to lands mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (h) of
Section 5 of this Act.

V. Free Land Distribution

SECTION 8. Free land distribution — The lands covered by this Act shall be
distributed at no cost to farmer beneficiaries. The central goal of this Act is free land
distribution based on social justice.

SECTION 9. Writing off of amortization on lands distributed under Presidential
Decree No. 27 and Republic Act No. 6657, as amended by Republic Act No. 9700 —
The amortization schedule or any balance thereof, including the interests, of lands
already distributed under Presidential Decree No. 27 and Republic Act No. 6657, as
amended by Republic Act No.9700, are hereby declared as written off. The farmer-
beneficiaries of such lands shall be deemed their full owners upon the effectivity of this
Act.

SECTION 10. Restoration to farmer-beneficiaries of lands under cancelled
Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAS), Certificate of Land Transfers
(CLTs) and Emancipation Patents (EPs) or with pending cancellation proceedings
due to non-payment — The lands covered by Certificates of Land Ownership Awards
(CLOAS), Certificate of Land Transfers (CLTs), and Emancipation Patents (EPs)
already cancelled due to the failure of farmer-beneficiaries to amortize, where such
lands have not yet been awarded to other qualified farmer-beneficiaries, are hereby
restored to the ownership and possession of original farmer-beneficiaries who shall be
deemed full owners of the land upon the effectivity of this Act. If such lands were
already awarded to other qualified farmer-beneficiaries, the award shall be recognized
and the amortization schedule for the land or the balance thereof are hereby likewise
declared as written off such that the rights of full ownership over such lands shall
devolve upon the subsequent qualified farmer-beneficiaries in accordance with Section
9 of this Act.

All pending cancellation proceedings of CLOAS, CLT’ and EPs due to the failure of
farmers to amortize their lands are hereby declared terminated and resolved in favor of


farmer-beneficiaries. The lands covered by such CLOAs. CLTs and EPs shall be
immediately restored to the ownership and possession of farmer-beneficiaries who shall
be deemed full owners of the land in accordance with Section 9 of this Act.

Section 11. Issuance of Title of Full Emancipation — All farmer-beneficiaries under
this Act shall be issued, at no cost, a Title of Full Emancipation.

VI. Modes of Acquisition

SECTION 12. State acquisition of lands covered for distribution — The State, through
the Department, shall acquire and distribute all public and private agricultural lands
exceeding five (5) hectares and for this purpose shall notify the landowner within fifteen
days upon the effectivity of this Act. A maximum of five (5) hectares shall remain to
the landowner and the excess shall be subject to expropriation: Provided, That the land
does not fall under Section 16 of this Act: Provided, further, That the landowner shall
personally cultivate the retained lands.

With regard to public and government-owned lands that fall under the scope of land
distribution mentioned in Section 5 of this Act, the concerned departments, agencies,
other government instrumentalities and institutions, including government financial
institutions and government-owned or controlled corporations, and local government
units, which exercise administration or control over such lands shall, within fifteen (15)
days after the effectivity of this Act, turn these lands over to the Department for land
distribution.

For purposes of land distribution, the Department shall assume jurisdiction over all
alienable and disposable lands of the public domain under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Within fifteen (15) days
after the effectivity of this Act, the DENR shall tum over the lands to the Department.

The public and government-owned lands turned over under this Section shal] be
integrated into the Land Reform Zones, as mentioned in Section 24, where these lands
are located.

SECTION 13. Filipinization of lands and agribusiness enterprises owned, controlled
and operated by Transnational corporations (TNCs) — This Act hereby declares the
zation of agribusiness enterprises, including the land and non-land assets, of all
agribusiness TNCs operating within the territory and jurisdiction of this country. The
Filipinization of their lands, non-land assets, and agribusiness enterprises shall take
effect immediately upon the effectivity of this Act.

The Filipinization and acquisition of such agribusiness enterprises shall be made in the

following manner:


a) The contract between the TNCs with private persons, natural or juridical, and
any government office or entity shall be cancelled and terminated and notice to
that effect shall be given the contracting parties:

b

The lands operated by TNCs, where these lands have remained in private
ownership, including all non-land assets therein shall be placed under State’s
ownership, subject to the rule of expropriation or confiscation as defined in this
Act. The control or management of their agribusiness enterprise shall also be
undertaken by the State or_turned over to the agricultural workers employed,
regardless of employment status, in the operation of the TNCs; or

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Where these lands have remained public or government-owned lands and
undistributed, the contracts causing the TNCs’ continued possession, control and
operation of the land are hereby cancelled and terminated and notice to that effect
shall be given to the contracting parties. The government agency, instrumentality
and institution, including government financial institutions and government-
owned or controlled corporations, administering the land shall turn over the land
to the Department in accordance with Section 12 hereof. Likewise, the control
and management of the agribusiness enterprise of the TNCs shall be turned over
to State or the agricultural workers’ organizations, unions, associations or
cooperatives.

Where the lands operated by TNCs were already awarded to agricultural workers”
organizations, unions, associations or cooperatives under Section 8 of Republic Act No.
6657, as amended by Republic Act No.9700, the contracts causing the TNCs’ continued
possession, control, and operation of the land shall be similarly cancelled and
terminated and the workers’ organizations, unions, associations or cooperatives shall be
deemed owners of the land.

SECTION 14. Expropriation of lands of commercial farms, agricultural estates,
cattle and livestock farms, aquaculture and pasture owned and operated by Filipino
landowners or corporations — Lands of commercial farms and agricultural estates
owned or operated by Filipino landowners or corporations shall also be expropriated.

However, if such lands and their non-land assets are found to fall under the category of
sullied landholdings, as defined in this Act, the same shall be confiscated in accordance
with Section 16 hereof.

In the case of lands operated as cattle and livestock farms, aquaculture, and pasture, the
expropriation of such lands shall include their non-land assets, and other improvements,
structures and instruments vital and necessary to their operation. If such lands and their
non-land assets are found to fall under the category of sullied landholdings, the same
shall be confiscated in accordance with Section 16 of this Act.

SECTION 15. Non-land assets in commercial farms and agricultural estates and the
Right of First Refusal of agricultural workers — The non-land assets of commercial


farms and agricultural estates shall remain in the ownership of Filipino landowners or
corporations which may use the property to enter into joint corporate undertaking with
the agricultural workers who are beneficiaries of land distribution of commercial farms
and agricultural estates. If the Filipino landowners or corporations opt to sell their non-
land assets, they must first offer to sell the property to the agricultural workers to whom
the land would be awarded: Provided, That if the agricultural workers. by any reason,
cannot purchase the non-land assets as first offered, the State, through the DA and
Department, shall purchase the non-land assets and turn them over to the agricultural
workers who shall receive the land in accordance with Section 41.

SECTION 16. Confiscation of sullied landholdings — Landholdings which are proven
to have been acquired by their landowners through fraud, deception, intimidation, or
the use of force or violence, and landholdings whose landowners have maintained
private armed groups which are known to farmers as having been involved in
extrajudicial execution and abduction of farmers or have used such private armies
against farmers and farmers’ organizations in connection with agrarian disputes shall
be confiscated in accordance with the provisions of Sections 21 and 22 of this Act. The
confiscation shall include the non-land assets on the land, except the residential house
of the landowner: Provided, That if the landowner has other residential house in some
other place, the residential house attached to the land shall be included in the
confiscation. The confiscated non-land assets shall be distributed to the qualified
farmer-beneficiaries in accordance with Section 36 of this Act.

SECTION 17. Small landowners option to sell — in all other lands not exceeding
fificen (15) hectares, including the lands of retirees, professionals, and low and middle-
income employees, the landowners shall be given the option to sell their lands in excess
of five hectares to the State within one (1) year after the effectivity of this Act: Provided,
That the remaining five (5) hectares shall be personally cultivated by the landowner.

If they use the option to sell within the prescribed period, the just compensation for their
lands shall be based on the price agreed upon in the negotiations procedure provided for
in subsection (b) of Section 44 of this Act. If they fail to exercise their option to sell
afier one (1) year, their lands shall be paid just compensation in accordance with
subsection (c) of Section 44 of this Act.

SECTION 18. No expropriation of landholdings below five (5) hectares and lands
owned by higher-income and middle-income farmers — Lands that are below five (5)
hectares and the lands of middle-income and higher-income farmers shall not be
expropriated. However, in the case of lands below five (5) hectares whose owners do
not personally till the land, the landowners shall be encouraged to sell the land.

VII. Procedure for Filipinization and Confiscation

SECTION 19. Effecting the Filipinization of the agribusiness operations of
Transnational corporations (TNCs) ~ Within five (5) days after the effectivity of this


Act, the Department shall issue a notice of cancellation of contract to the agribusiness
TNCs and the private landowners of the lands operated by TNCs. They shall also be
notified that the Government of the Republic of the Philippines has cancelled the
business permit of the TNC in so far as operation of the agribusiness if concerned and
has placed the entire operation of their agribusiness enterprise, including the land and
non-land assets, under State control. In the case of public or government-owned lands
operated by agribusiness TNCs, the TNCs shall be notified that the contract allowing
their continued possession, control, and operation of the land has been rescinded and
terminated.

In the said notice, the TNC shall be ordered to effect the turn-over of the land and non-
land assets, control, supervision, and management of its agribusiness enterprise to the
State or the agricultural workers’ organization, unions, associations or cooperatives.

After the State or the agricultural workers have assumed control of the land, non-land
assets and the entire agribusiness enterprise, the TNC shall immediately wrap up their
operations within fifteen (15) days.

In the case when the control and management of the land and non-land assets of the
agribusiness TNCs have been transferred to the State, the Department shall assist the
agricultural workers in the operation of the agribusiness enterprise until such time that
they can effectively manage its operation but the income and profit of the land and the
business shall redound to the benefit of the agricultural workers.

SECTION 20. Validation of the list of sullied landholdings — \n cach Land Reform
Zone, the People’s Coordinating Council for Agrarian Reform (PCCAR) shall conduct
consultations with organizations of farmers, agricultural workers, fisherfolk and
indigenous peoples to draw the list of landowners with sullicd landholdings, as defined
in this Act, and submit the list to the Department. The list shall be accompanied by the
documentation of the profile of the landowners, the character of their land ownership,
the history of their acquisition and their employment practices and treatment of their
tenants, agricultural workers, employees and other farmers and workers tilling or
working on their land and the specific cases of the involvement of the landowners’
private armed groups in extra-judicial executions and abductions of farmers, including
the cases of their use of such private armed groups against the farmers and farmers”
organizations in connection with agrarian disputes. The documentation shall be under
oath and duly notarized, to be signed by the officers of the organization or the farmer
who have/has direct knowledge of the character of the landowner, history of acquisition
of the land and his employment practices.

The PCCAR shall also gather such other documents and evidences that are necessary to
substantiate the factual averments of the documentation.

SECTION 21. Summary hearing for sullied landholdings - Within three (3) days after
receiving the documentation mentioned in paragraph 2 of Section 21 of this Act, the
Department, through the Secretary, shall cause the cancellation of title of the landowner


and conduct a summary hearing to determine whether the landowner is entitled to just
compensation.

The landowner shall have the right to contest the findings that the land is sullied but
such action shall be limited only to the determination of whether or not he or she is
entitled to just compensation. Despite the filing of the action by the landowner
contesting the said findings, the distribution of the land and transfer of its ownership to
the qualified farmer-beneficiaries shall immediately ensue.

SECTION 22. Issuance of Compulsory Acquisition Order and liability of the
landowner — After fifteen (15) days from notice of acquisition, if the landowner fails to
vacate the land, the Department shall issue a Compulsory Acquisition Order against the
landowner and, within three (3) days, send the order to the Department Sheriff for
execution. The Compulsory Acquisition Order shall particularly and clearly delineate
the boundaries of the lands to be covered and distributed and clearly name and describe
the non-land assets to be seized for lands that fall under the category of sullied
landholdings.

‘The Department Sheriff shall execute the Compulsory Acquisition Order within three
(3) days from receipt of the Order from the Secretary. In executing the Compulsory
Acquisition Order, the Department Sheriff shall form volunteers from farmers’
organizations and agrarian reform advocates.

The landowner or any person acting in his behalf who refuses to vacate the land and its
premises or who resists the enforcement of the demand or order to vacate after fifteen
days (15) from the effectivity of this Act shall be liable for contempt and a separate
prosecution under Section 70 of this Act without prejudice to such other liabilities
he/she may incur under the Revised Penal Code.

VILL. Land Reform Zones

SECTION 23. Pooling and constitution of covered lands into Land Reform Zones —
All lands covered by this Act shall be pooled and constituted into Land Reform Zones
which shall correspond to a size not bigger than a province but not smaller than a
congressional district. The Land Reform Zones shall serve as the basic unit of operation
for the land distribution under this Act.

The Land Reform Zones shall have an operation center that coordinates all activities
related to land distribution and serves as clearing house for the exchange of data and
information regarding land availability, number of beneficiaries, status of land
distribution in relation to the number of beneficiaries, problems encountered, and other
information relevant and necessary to hastening or resolving difficulties in land
distribution.



SECTION 24. Conduct of survey of beneficiaries — In cach Land Reform Zone, the
Department, through its field offices, shall conduct a survey of the beneficiaries which
must be completed within a period of thirty (30) days after the effectivity of this Act.
For this purpose, the Department shall enlist, through the PCCAR, the participation and
help of farmers’ organizations. The survey shall identify and categorize the population
of beneficiaries according to their landholdings, tenurial status as farmers and
employment status as agricultural workers, the size of their family, their income and
monthly expenditures, and the available labor force of their family.

SECTION 25. Land distribution plan — In each Land Reform Zone, the Department,
after the conduct of the survey, shall convene the PCCAR in order to craft a land
distribution plan to be drawn from the participation and inputs of farmers’
organizations, including rural women, agrarian reform advocates, advocates of rural
development, food security and environment protection and other stakeholders of
agrarian reform. The land distribution plan shall be based on the criteria for equitable
distribution of land and optimized land utilization for achieving increased income of the
beneficiaries as mentioned in Section 28 of this Act, further taking into consideration
the factors of food security, ecological soundness and sustainable development.

SECTION 26. Creation of national database of all information collected from the
survey — The Department shall establish a national database of all the data and
information on the land covered by land distribution of this Act and the data and
information gathered from the survey. The national database shall be networked with
the regional, provincial, and municipal offices of the Department and centers of
operation of Land Reform Zones. The Department shall provide easy access of
information for public consumption, to farmers’ organizations and agrarian reform
advocates and ensure that it is periodically updated.

IX. Determining the Size of Land for Distribution to Farmer-Beneficiaries

SECTION 27. Factors for determining the size of land for distribution to
beneficiaries — The Department, in close coordination with farmers’ organizations,
shall distribute the lands to the beneficiaries in accordance with the land distribution
plan crafted by PCCAR for each Land Reform Zone. As to cach farmer-beneficiary, the
distribution shall be based on the quality of the land, the available labor force of the
family of the farmer-beneficiary, and the crops planted or recommended by the land
distribution plan for improved production and family income of the farmer-
beneficiaries: Provided, That the size of land to be awarded to the farmer-beneticiaries
shall not exceed what they can actually personally till, but not to exceed five (5)
hectares.

SECTION 28, Restructuring the cropping system in lands operated by TNCs —
Where, upon consultation with farmers’ organizations and environmental advocates, the
Department, and the DA in consideration of food security. ecological soundness and
sustainable agricultural development, the agricultural workers in lands operated by


agribusiness TNCs may decide to reduce the hectarage devoted to monoculture export
production for the cultivation of staple food crops and such other crops found to be
suitable with the natural and human endowments of the area

SECTION 29. Provision for homelots and sources of additional or alternative
livelihoods — The land distribution shall include provision for the homelot of farmer-
beneficiaries. In the case of commercial farms, agricultural estates, and lands operated
by TNCs, and the lands operated as cattle and livestock farms, aquaculture and pasture,
a portion of such lands shall be allotted at no cost for the housing needs of their
agricultural workers and for other sources of livelihood. The housing facilities of TNCs
shall be given to the most needy among the agricultural workers employed in the
operation of nationalized agribusiness enterprise.

SECTION 30. Where the lands of a municipality are inadequate to satisfy the land
distribution requirements in relation to the number of farmer-beneficiaries, the names
of farmer-beneficiaries who do not receive any land or who receive inadequate land
shall be immediately forwarded to the center of operation of the Land Reform Zone for
inclusion in the land distribution in other municipalities where there are available lands
for distribution. Such farmer-beneficiaries shall be considered as having preferential
right to land distribution under paragraph (c) of Section 33.

X. Beneficiaries

SECTION 31. Beneficiaries of land distribution — The beneficiaries of the land
distribution program under this Act shall be:

a) all landless farmers, as defined in this Act, who have not received any land from
all previous agrarian reform programs, tenants and leaseholders in tenanted
private agricultural lands;

b)

farmers, who became beneficiaries of Presidential Decree No. 27 and Republic
Act No.6657, as amended by Republic Act No. 9700, whose lands are not enough
to sustain the economic needs of their families in relation to their available labor
force;

©

agricultural workers informally employed in the farm units of small landowners;
the agricultural workers of commercial farms and agricultural estates, regardless
of employment status; and the workers of cattle and livestock farms, aquaculture
and pasture, regardless of employment status: Provided, That in the case of
tenanted agricultural estates, the land shall be distributed to the tenants of the
agricultural estate;

d) fishers occupying foreshore lands;


¢) settlers and tillers in alienable and disposable lands of the public domain and
settlement areas; and

1) in all other lands, the present farmer-occupants and other landless farmers in
nearby barrios or municipalities.

Farmers who became beneficiaries of land distribution under Presidential Decree No.
27 and Republic Act No. 6657, as amended by Republic Act No. 9700, but who lost
their land for any reason shall not be disqualified as beneficiaries under this Act.

SECTION 32. Preferential treatment of beneficiaries — \n distributing the land under
this Act, the land distribution plan shall observe the following preferential treatment of
beneficiaries:

a. With regard to lands owned by private landowners, the preferential beneficiaries
shall be their tenants, leaseholders, or the farmers presently occupying and tilling
the land;

b. With regard to lands operated as commercial farms, agricultural estates,
livestock and cattle farms, aquaculture, pasture, the beneficiaries shall be the
agricultural workers and workers employed regularly, contractually or
seasonally in the commercial farm, agricultural estate. livestock and cattle farms,
aquaculture, or pasture and the tenants in the case of tenanted agricultural estates;
and

c. With regard to all other lands, the beneficiaries shall be the farmers, agricultural
workers, and fisherfolk, presently occupying and tilling the land and other
landless farmers in nearby barrios or municipalities in a given Land Reform
Zone; the same rule shall apply to alienable and disposable lands of the public
domain and settlement areas, pasture lands without pasture lease agreements, and
foreshore lands.

SECTION 33. Dispute resolution among beneficiaries ~ Any dispute arising from the
application of preferential treatment of farmer beneficiaries shall be resolved by the
existing farmers’ organizations in the barrio or municipality where the land is located.
The farmers’ organization shall endeavor to amicably resolve the dispute as soon as
possible.

SECTION 34. Provision for internally-displaced farmers ~ Tenants, leaseholders and
other farmers who return to the land they had left because they were harassed into flight
by the landowner or evicted by court order or ousted through the use of threats,
intimidation, force and violence by the landowner, or because of militarization. shall
not lose their rights to the land if the land is not yet occupied by another farmer. If the
land is already occupied and tilled by another farmer-beneficiary, the internally-
displaced farmers shall be given land from the available lands in the barrio or
municipality or Land Reform Zone.


SECTION 35. Cooperative distribution of non-land assets in sullied landholdings —
The confiscated non-land assets in sullied landholdings shall be distributed to the
farmer-beneficiaries in the concept of cooperative ownership.

SECTION 36. Landowners as part of the beneficiaries — |.andowners who are entitled
to five (5) hectares and willing to till the land personally shall form part of the
beneficiaries of land distribution.

SECTION 37. Other beneficiaries - Subject to the factors mentioned in Section 28 of
this Act, middle-income and higher-income farmers shall also be considered part of the
beneficiaries of land distribution in order to raise their income: Provided, That they
shall till the land personally.

Overseas Filipino workers and all other persons of good standing who have lett their
home barangays and who wish to return to their barangays of origin in order to engage
in farming may upon return be given due share of the land being distributed, subject to
the availability of land and to the consent of farmers’ organizations existing in the said
barangays: Provided, That they shall personally till the land themselves.

SECTION 38. Periodic monitoring of landowners who are beneficiaries — The
Department shall periodically monitor the compliance of landowners who are included
as beneficiaries of land distribution. If they are found to have failed to personally till
the land, the land shall be confiscated and turned over to the farmers’ organization or
cooperative existing in the barrio or municipality where the land is situated.

SECTION 39. Start of ownership rights of beneficiaries — For purposes of reckoning
the start of enjoyment of rights, protection, and privileges, the ownership rights of
farmer-beneficiaries over the land awarded them shall commence at the moment of their
identification and validation by the Department as beneficiary of land distribution. But
for purposes of reckoning the start of obligations, the ownership rights of farmer-
beneficiaries shall be deemed to commence on the date of actual installation or
occupation or, in the case of farmers who have occupied the land before the effectivity
of this Act, on the date of their identification as beneficiary.

XI. Provisions for the Beneficiaries of Commercial Farms, Agricultural Estates,
Livestock and Cattle Farms, Aquaculture and Pasture

SECTION 40. Collective ownership of beneficiaries in commercial farms,
agricultural estates, livestock and cattle farms, aquaculture and pasture lands ~ Upon
consultation with the agricultural workers, the lands of commercial farms, agricultural
estates, livestock and cattle farms, orchards, fruit farms, aquaculture, and pasture lands
shall be distributed to the agricultural workers or workers in the concept of producers’
cooperatives or collective ownership. In the case of livestock and cattle farms,
aquaculture and pasture, the lands to be distributed shall include the non-land assets.


The organization of agricultural workers or workers which receive the land and non-
land assets shall act as State administrator and all its decisions and acts involving the
property shall have the consent and approval of the majority of agricultural workers or
workers.

Being in the nature of producers’ cooperatives and collective ownership, agricultural
workers or workers who get employed in the joint corporate undertaking or in the cattle
and livestock farms, aquaculture, and pasture lands after the land distribution shall be
considered part of the producers’ cooperatives or collective ownership, as the case
maybe, and shall be entitled to a share of the income, profits and all other benefits the
land and non-land assets will generate.

SECTION 41. Management or decision-making body of joint corporate undertaking
~ The joint corporate undertaking that will be formed between the agricultural workers
and the owner of the non-land assets shall be managed by a three-man management
committee. Two (2) of the members of the management committee shall come from the
ranks of agricultural workers, chosen by and among themselves, who shall serve on the
pleasure of the agricultural workers.

However, if the lands of commercial farms and agricultural estates are found to fall
under the category of sullied landholdings, such lands and their non-land assets shall be
managed and operated by the agricultural workers in the same manner as the
nationalized agribusiness enterprise of TNCs.

SECTION 42. Livestock and cattle farms, aquaculture and pasture lands to be
operated as producers’ cooperatives — The livestock and cattle farms, aquaculture and
pasture shall be operated by their beneficiaries as producers’ cooperatives. The
Department in collaboration with the existing organization of farmers in the barangay
or municipality where the land is situated shall assist the beneficiaries in forming a
producers’ cooperative.


XII. Just Compensation

SECTION 43. Determining just compensation for lands subject to expropriation —
The lands subject to expropriation shall be paid just compensation to be preliminarily
determined by the Department in accordance with the following:

a. In all landholdings above fifteen (15) hectares, the just compensation shall be
based on, whichever is lower, the purchase price of the land or the average tax
assessment on the land for the last three (3) years prior to the effectivity of this
Act.

b. In the case of landowners who are given the option to sell provided in Section
17, and landowners with landholdings below five (5) hectares, the just
compensation for their lands shall be the price agreed upon after negotiations
involving the Department, the tenants or farmers or agricultural workers tilling
the land, the farmers” organizations and the landowner concerned.

Within five (5) days after a landowner offers his land for sale to the State, the
PCCAR shall call a valuation negotiation meeting to be participated by the
landowner concerned, a Department representative. the tenants or agricultural
workers of the landowner and a representative of the farmers’ organization in the
municipality where the land is located. Where the landowner has no tenant or
agricultural worker, the farmers occupying and tilling the land shall be allowed
to participate in the valuation negotiation meeting.

If the negotiations cannot reach an agreement after month, the lands shalll be
paid just compensation which shall be preliminarily based on the average tax
assessment for the last three (3) years prior to the effectivity of this Act.

In the case of retirees, overseas Filipino workers, professionals, and low and
middle-income employees who have acquired landholdings within the last five
(5) years before the effectivity of this Act, if the negotiations cannot reach an
agreement after a month, their lands shall be paid just compensation
preliminarily based on the purchase price.

c. In the case of landowners who are given the option to sell under Section 17 of
this Act but failed to avail of their option within the prescribed period, the just
compensation for their lands shall be preliminarily based on the average tax
assessment for the last three (3) years prior to the effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 44. Modes of payment — The compensation for the expropriated lands shall
be made through a combination of any of the following:

a. cash payment;
b. shares of investment in industrial or commercial enterprise;
c. tax credits which can be used to offset against any tax liability; and



d. set-off of unpaid loans from any financial institution.

XII. Exclusive Jurisdiction and Immunity of the Department
From Judicial Intervention

SECTION 45, Exclusive and primary jurisdiction of the Department - The
Department and its deputized People’s Coordinating Council for Agrarian Reform shall
have exclusive and primary jurisdiction over all disputes or cases involving the
adjudication of issues, questions and controversies, including the preliminary
determination of just compensation, necessary and related to the implementation of this
Act.

SECTION 46. Preliminary determination of the case by the Department — No court,
tribunal, or prosecutor shall take cognizance of any case, civil or criminal, designed to
remove, eject, oust, exclude, or harass potential, qualified and awarded farmer-
beneficiaries under this Act, unless certified by the Secretary of the Department that the
case is proper for trial or hearing by a court or judge or other officer of competent
jurisdiction. If any such case is filed with any court, tribunal or prosecutor, the case
shall be referred to the Secretary of the Department for a preliminary determination if
the case is an agrarian matter, dispute or controversy as defined under this Act. If the
Secretary of the Department finds that the case is a proper case for the court or judge or
other hearing officer to hear, he/she shall so certify and such court, judge or other
hearing officers may assume jurisdiction over the dispute or controversy.

The preliminary determination of the Secretary of the Department that the case, dispute
or controversy is an agrarian matter, shall be final and binding upon the judge,
prosecutor or any other officer of competent jurisdiction.

If the case is certified as a proper case for trial, said certification is not binding upon the
court or judge or hearing officer. Said court or judge or hearing officer may, after due
hearing, affirm, reverse or modify said preliminary determination, as the evidence and
substantial merits of the case may warrant,

SECTION 47. Immunity of the Department from judicial intervention - No
temporary restraining order, injunction, prohibition or mandamus shall be issued by the
lower courts against the Department in the exercise of its exclusive and primary
jurisdiction and in the performance of its duties and functions necessary and relevant to
the implementation of this Act.

XIV. Provisions for the Protection of the Lands of Beneficiaries
SECTION 48. Prohibition against sale, mortgage, transfer or any conveyance or

disposition — The sale, mortgage, transfer or any conveyance or disposition of the lands
awarded to farmer-beneficiaries shall be prohibited except where the transfer is by


hereditary succession. In the case of transfer by hereditary succession, the land shall be
given to the heir who is willing to personally till the land and the most needy among the
children of the farmer-beneficiary.

If the farmer-beneficiary can no longer till the land for one reason or another, he/she
shall turn over the land to the farmers’ organization or cooperative existing in the barrio
or municipality. The farmers’ organization or cooperative shall then select the most
qualified farmer-beneficiary with preference to the heirs who are most needy and are
willing to till the land.

SECTION 49. Prohibition against land reclassification and land use conversion —
The lands covered by land distribution or already awarded to farmer-beneficiaries under
this Act shall not be subject to conversion and reclassification by any government unit,
agency, institution or instrumentality. All pending reclassification proceedings shall be
terminated upon the effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 50. Immunity of covered lands from levy on unpaid taxes and writing off
of tax arrears and delinquencies ~ The lands covered by this Act and already awarded
to farmer-beneficiaries shall be immune from any levy on unpaid taxes. In all cases of
unpaid taxes of farmer-beneficiaries, it shall be the obligation of the farmers’
organization in the barrio or municipality to come to the aid of farmer-heneficiaries by
negotiating in their behalf with the local government unit or other revenue-collecting,
agencies of the government for such terms and conditions that will enable the farmer-
beneficiaries to pay their tax arrearages and delinquencies without compromising the
needs of their families. The terms and conditions reached in the negotiations shall have
the consent of the farmer-beneficiary concerned.

If the tax arrearages of farmer-beneficiaries are caused by crop failure brought about by
fortuitous event or force majeure, the farmer-beneficiaries shall enjoy a three-year tax
moratorium to enable them to recover from the crop failure.

‘The arrearages and delinquencies incurred by farmer-beneliciaries in the payment of
property tax attached to the amortization schedule of lands already distributed under
P.D. 27 and R. A. 6657, as amended by R.A. 9700, are hereby declared as written off.

SECTION 51. Indefeasibility of the land distribution of this Act ~The act of land
distribution to the farmer-beneficiaries under this Act shall be indefeasible, except on
the issue of adverse claim of another farmer-beneficiary to preferential right over the
land, and its indefeasibility takes effect upon the identification by the Department of the
farmer-beneficiaries as beneficiary of land distribution.

In no case shall any lower court or judge take cognizance of any case, complaint, or
petition filed by any person questioning the award directly or collaterally.

Any adverse claim of ownership to the land or to just compensation shall not in any way
affect nor constitute a bar to the distribution of the land to the farmer-beneficiaries.


SECTION 52. Land Reform Zones as protected areas — The Land Reform Zones are
hereby declared as protected areas from any economic activity that causes destruction
in the ecological system as to affect the productivity of the lands awarded to farmer-
beneficiaries or any economic activity in which the farmer-beneficiaries run the risk of
losing their livelihood and control over their lands. Such activities shall be strictly
prohibited from the Land Reform Zones.

XV. Promotion of Cooperatives

SECTION 53. Promotion of cooperatives among the farmer-beneficiaries — The
Department shall promote the formation, harmonized and synchronized with land
distribution, of the farmer-beneficiaries into cooperatives and other organizations of
mutual-aid. It shall encourage the farmer-beneficiaries to pool together their productive
resources and labor in order to increase their production and income and to equitably
share in the benefits of improved production. It shall endeavor to make the cooperative
the basic unit of production among the beneficiaries.

SECTION 54. Integrating the cooperative education program in the process of land
distribution - The Department shall devise and develop an education and training
program for the promotion of cooperatives among the farmer-beneficiaries. The
program shall include the imparting and development of skills in cooperative
organizing, cooperative administration, cooperative finance, and cooperative
production. It shall be integrated into the land distribution process.

SECTION 55. Incentives program for beneficiaries’ cooperatives - The Department,
together with the PCCAR, farmers’ organizations and the DA, shall devise an incentives
program for cooperatives of farmer-beneficiaries.

XVI. Support Services and Improving the Productivity
and Working Conditions of the Beneficiaries

SECTION 56. Support services ~The State shall implement a program for the delivery
of support services to farmer-beneficiaries. The program shall be based on a holistic
approach to human and social development and integrated into the land distribution
program with the long-term end view of increasing the productivity of farmer-
beneficiaries in order to transform them into cooperatives or organizations of efficient
member-producers.

Along this thrust, the program of support services shall consist of credit facilities,
production support, post-harvest, market access and market price guarantees and such
other services necessary to make their production viable and increase their income. The
credit facility shall have an interest rate affordable to the farmer-beneficiaries and shall


make full use of alternative collateral systems that do not put up as collateral the land
of farmer-beneficiaries.

‘The support services for production shall include research for the development of
sustainable farming technology to sever the farmer-beneficiaries from dependence on
imported technology and inputs.

SECTION 57. State support to agricultural workers’ enterprise in nationalized lands;
and provision for same incentives and privileges — The State, through the Department
together with the DA and DTI and other appropriate government agencies, shall extend
to the agricultural workers operating the farms or plantations in nationalized lands all
the indispensable and necessary support, incentives, and privileges to make their
enterprise viable.

SECTION 58. Improving the working conditions of agricultural workers in
nationalized lands, commercial farms, and agricultural estates —

a) The status of employment, rank, wages and benefits of agricultural workers in
nationalized agribusiness enterprise and in joint corporate relations shall not be
diminished from the level they received prior to land distribution;

b) There shall be no cut-off in the length of service of all agricultural workers under
the new operations of lands distributed;

c) Alll seasonal, casual, contractual, project employees, piece-rate workers and
other employees shall be considered regular employces; and

d) The agricultural workers shall be entitled to a share in the income and profit of
the enterprise

SECTION 59. Improving the working conditions of agricultural workers employed
by higher-income and middle-income farmers — Higher-income and middle-income
farmers who are employing agricultural workers shall increase the wages and improve
the working conditions of their agricultural workers.

XVII. Budgetary Provision and Strengthening the Department

SECTION 60. Progressive augmentation of Department budget for LAD — During
the five (5) years of implementation of the land acquisition and distribution (LAD)
program under this Act, the Department shall have a progressively augmented regular
annual budget starting with Fifty Billion Pesos (P50,000.000,000) on the first year
which shall increase by not less than Two Billion Pesos (P2,000,000,000) every year
thereafter.

Whatever excess in the budget for LAD shall be appropriated and disbursed for support
service to the farmers.


SECTION 61. Augmentation of personnel — To carry out its mandate under this Act,
subject to civil service laws and rules, the Department shall recruit additional personnel
for the various tasks and functions involved in the land distribution program: Provided,
That the annual total expenditures for the recruitment of additional personnel shall not
exceed twenty per cent (20%) of the annual total increment to the total budget.

SECTION 62. The PCCAR and Strengthening the links of the Department with
farmers’ organizations and other agrarian reform stakeholders — The Department
shall immediately initiate the creation of a People’s Coordinating Council for Agrarian
Reform to be composed of representatives from the Department and the DA and leaders
of all cooperatives and organizations of farmers, agricultural workers, fisherfolks.
indigenous peoples, rural women, and agrarian reform advocates existing in a Land
Reform Zone, or any representative appointed by such organizations. The PCCAR shall
be the deputized people’s coordinating council and support arm of the Department in
conducting the survey of beneficiaries, drawing the land distribution plan, assessing the
quality of the lands, conducting education and information campaigns, promoting
cooperatives and in delivering support services to the farmer-beneficiaries. It shall serve
as coordinating body for involving the broad ranks of farmers and agrarian reform
advocates, through their leaders and chosen representatives. in all aspects of the land
distribution so that the Department can harness and deploy the personnel and resources
of such organizations and sectors in carrying out land distribution.

XVIII. The Land Reform Support Services Fund

SECTION 63. Land Reform Support Services Fund — In addition to the annual budget
of the Department, the amount of Fifty Billion Pesos (P50,000,000,000) is hereby
allocated for the implementation of the support services program of this Act. The
amount shall be constituted as Land Reform Support Services Fund which shall
primarily serve as trust fund to ensure the delivery of support services to farmer-
beneficiaries.

‘The local government units in Land Reform Zones shall augment the Land Reform
Support Services Fund by allocating ten percent (10%) of their annual budget to the
provision of support services for the farmer-beneficiaries in their area of jurisdiction.

SECTION 64. Releases of Land Reform Support Services Fund, annual total budget
and particular allocation ~ The Land Reform Support Services Fund shall be released
to the Department in tranches of Ten Billion Pesos (P10,000.000,000) each year for the
five-year period of implementation of this Act. The annual tranche releases shall be
integrated into the annual budget of the Department to constitute the total annual budget
(annual regular budget of the Department plus tranche releases from the Land Reform
Support Services Fund): Provided, That sixty percent (60%) of the total annual budget
shall be allocated as follows:

a. Thirty percent (30%) for credit facilities;


b. Thirty percent (30%) for production support;

c. Thirty-five percent (35%) for post-harvest facilities development, market access,
marketing, and price guarantees; and

d. Five percent (5 %) for research and development.

XIX. Transitory Provisions

SECTION 65. Reduction of all land rents to ten percent (10%) of the net harvest
during the implementation period — During the five (5) year land distribution period,
all leasehold or tenancy rents in lands covered by land distribution but not yet actually
distributed, shall be reduced to 10 - 90 percent sharing of the net harvest in favor of the
farmer leaseholder or tenant: Provided, That the cost of production shall be shouldered
equally by the landowner and the leascholder or tenant.

SECTION 66. Education and information drive — The PCCAR in each Land Reform
Zone shal! conduct a top-to-bottom education and information drive on the provisions
of this Act. For this purpose, it shall involve and mobilize the organizations of farmers,
agricultural workers, fisherfolks, indigenous peoples and other agrarian reform
stakeholders. The education and information campaign shall reach out not only to the
population of farmer-beneficiaries but also to workers, businessmen, government
officials, teachers, students and other sectors in order to develop among these various
sectors the sense of public stake in genuine agrarian reform.

SECTION 67. Duty of Notaries Public and Register of Deeds ~ Upon the effectivity
of this Act, a Notary Public shall not notarize a document involving the sale, mortgage,
transfer, conveyance, or any disposition of agricultural lands without any certification
from the Department that the land is not covered by land distribution. The Notary Public
who notarizes any document involving the sale, mortgage. transfer, conveyance or
disposition of any land shall furnish the Department a copy of the document within three
(3) days after notarizing the document.

The Register of Deeds shall likewise report to the Department any application for
registration involving the sale, mortgage, transfer, conveyance or any disposition of
agricultural lands within twenty-four (24) hours after the receipt of such application and
shall refrain action thereon until favorable recommendation is issued by the
Department.

In filing the report, the ROD shall furnish the Department all documents, including the
history of ownership of the land, necessary and relevant to determining whether the
transaction is with the intent to evade land distribution. The ROD shall not act on the
application unless the Department issues a certification that the land is not covered by
land distribution. If the Department certifies that the land is covered by land distribution,
the ROD shall deny the application.


SECTION 68. Five-year tax holiday for farmer-beneficiaries - The farmer-
beneficiaries of land distribution shall enjoy a five-year tax holiday to be reckoned from
the date of their actual occupation and tilling of the land.

XX. Prohibited Acts and Penal Provisions

SECTION 69. Prohibited Acts — The following acts and omissions shall be prohibited:

1. The sale, mortgage, transfer, conveyance, or any disposition of agricultural lands
by the landowner upon the effectivity of this Act except when the transfer is by
hereditary succession;

2. The ousting by the landowner of his tenants, leaseholders or farmers actually
tilling the land for any reason:

3. The submission by the landowner of persons who are not actual tillers of the land
in order to install fake or dummy beneficiaries;

4. Inducing or using coercion, threat or intimidation on the farmer-beneficiaries to
sell, mortgage, transfer, convey or dispose the lands awarded them in violation
of Section 49 of this Act;

5. Inducing or using coercion, threat or intimidation on the farmer-beneficiaries to
effect the conversion of the lands awarded them in violation of Section 50 of this
Act;

6. Converting lands covered by this Act or already awarded to farmer-beneficiaries
to uses other than agricultural in violation of Section 50 of this Act;

7. Refusal to vacate the premises of the land and resisting the enforcement of the
Compulsory Acquisition Order;

8. Concealing properties identified by the Department as part of the land and non-
land assets to be expropriated or confiscated « or damaging such properties to
render them useless to the farmer-benefici

9. The act of notarizing, in violation of the first paragraph of Section 68 of this Act,
by a Notary Public any document involving the sale, mortgage, transfer,
conveyance or any disposition of agricultural lands or the failure of the Notary
Public to furnish the Department a copy of the document as mentioned Section
68 of this Act; and

10.The misdeclaration, submission of false report or the failure of the ROD, in
violation of the second paragraph of Section 68, to report any application for
registration involving the sale, mortgage, transfer, conveyance or disposition of


lands covered by this Act or the registration of the sale, mortgage, transfer,
conveyance or disposition of the land without the required certification from the
Department.

SECTION 70. Penalties

b

¢)

ion of any of the prohibited acts or omissions mentioned in the
preceding Section, except in the case of failure of the Notary Public to furnish
the Department a copy of the document mentioned in Section 68, shall, upon
conviction, be punished by imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one
(1) day but not exceeding ten (10) years and by imposition of a tine of not less
than One Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (P150,000) but not exceeding Two
Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (P250,000). If the convicted person is a
government official or employee, he/she shall suffer the additional penalty of
permanent disqualification to hold any public office.

The failure of the Notary Public to furnish the Department a copy of the
document mentioned in the first paragraph of Section 68 of this Act shall, upon
conviction, be punished by imprisonment of not less than four (4) months but
not exceeding six (6) months and a fine of not less than Twenty Five Thousand
Pesos (P25,000) but not exceeding Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000). In addition,
he/she shall be permanently disqualified to hold the commission of Notary
Public.

Any prosecutor or judge who violates the prohibitions mentioned in Section 47
and the second paragraph of Section 52 of this Act shall, upon conviction, be
punished by imprisonment of not less than four (4) years but not exceeding six
(6) years and a fine of not less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100.000)
but not exceeding One Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (P 150,000). In addition,
he/she shall be permanently disqualified to hold any public office

XXL. Miscellaneous Provisions

SECTION 71. Implementing Rules and Regulations — The Department, in
consultation with the PCCAR, farmers’ organizations and advocates of agrarian reform,
shall issue the Implementing Rules and Regulations of this Act within fifteen (15) days
from its effectivity.

SECTION 72. Separability Clause — If, for any reason, any section or provision of this
Act is declared null and void, no other sections, provision. or part hereof shall be
affected and the same shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 73. Repealing Clause — Laws including Republic Act No. 6657 as amended
by Republic Act No. 9700, decrees including Presidential Decree No. 27, presidential


proclamations, executive and administrative orders, ordinances and other issuances that
are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed and amended accordingly.

SECTION 74. Effectivity Clause — This Act shall take effect immediately upon its
publication in the Official Gazette or at least two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation,

Approved.