1
NINETEENTH CONGRESS   
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session  
 
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez 
House Bill No.  _____ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The establishment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program under Proclamation 
No. 131, Executive Order No. 229, Republic Act No. 6657 and other related laws would be 
incomplete without the institution of a system for administrative adjudication to settle 
controversies arising from the implementation of the law. 
Expectedly, a piece of social legislation which limits property rights and distributes land 
would generate numerous disputes.  To address this concern, the Department of Agrarian 
Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) was created under Executive Order No. 129-A dated July 
26, 1987. 
The DARAB affords the disadvantaged agrarian reform beneficiary an expeditious and 
inexpensive mode of resolving conflict.  Its proceedings are summary in nature and 
non-adversarial in character. 
Despite the good intentions behind its creation, the DARAB is beset with serious 
structural flaws, specifically, with respect to its composition and its capacity to effectively 
discharge its mandated tasks. 
This bill creates an independent body, to be known as the National Agrarian Reform 
Adjudication Commission (NARAC), composed of a chairman and fourteen (14) 
Commissioners, who are all appointed by the President upon recommendation of the DAR 
Secretary.  The qualifications of the commissioners are provided in the bill to ensure the 
appointment of qualified and competent persons to the said positions. 
The NARAC has jurisdiction over all agrarian disputes, including the determination of 
just compensation.  It sits en banc only for the purpose of promulgating rules of procedure and 
formulating policies. Its adjudicatory functions are exercised through five (5) divisions, which act 
independently of each other. 
Each division has Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicators (PARADs), which have 
exclusive original jurisdiction over all agrarian disputes.  The decisions of the PARADS are 
appealable to NARAC and thereafter to the Supreme Court by a petition for certiorari, unlike 
those of the DARAB which are appealable to the Court of Appeals. 
To ensure compliance with the reglementary period for deciding cases, the bill requires 
adjudicators to execute sworn statements, attesting compliance with such period before they 
can claim their salaries. 
The Chairman is authorized to prescribe and approve administrative adjudication to 
support the agrarian reform program of the government. 
For the foregoing reasons, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
 RUFUS B. RODRIGUEZ 
December 13, 2022
1:32PM
6649


2
NINETEENTH CONGRESS   
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session  
 
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez 
House Bill No.  _____ 
AN ACT 
CREATING THE NATIONAL AGRARIAN REFORM ADJUDICATION COMMISSION, 
DEFINING ITS POWERS AND FUNCTIONS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1.  The National Agrarian Reform Adjudication Commission: Creation, 
Composition and Jurisdiction. - There shall be created a National Agrarian Reform 
Adjudication Commission, hereinafter known as the Commission, to be composed of a 
Chairman and fourteen (14) members.  There shall be established a provincial office of the 
Commission in each province of the country, to be headed by a Provincial Agrarian Reform 
Adjudicator (PARAD).  The Commission shall be attached to the Department of Agrarian Reform 
(DAR) for program and policy coordination only. 
The Commission may sit en banc or in five (5) divisions, each composed of three (3) 
members. 
The Commission shall exercise its adjudicatory and all other powers, functions, and 
duties, through its divisions. The first, second and third divisions shall handle cases coming from 
Luzon and the fourth and fifth divisions shall handle cases from Visayas and Mindanao, 
respectively.  The divisions shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction over cases decided by the 
PARADs within their respective territorial jurisdictions. 
The Chairman shall be the Presiding Commissioner of the first division and shall 
designate the presiding commissioners of the other divisions.  In case of the effective absence 
or incapacity of the Chairman, the Presiding Commissioner of the second division shall be the 
acting chairman. 
The Commission shall be vested with jurisdiction to determine and adjudicate all agrarian 
reform disputes arising from or in connection with the implementation of Republic Act No. 6657, 
otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988, and other agrarian 
reform laws. 
SEC. 2. Powers of the Commission. - The Commission has the following powers and 
authority, to be exercised, in proper cases, by the members of the Commission sitting en banc 
or through its divisions or the PARADs, as herein provided: 
1) To promulgate rules and regulations governing the hearing and disposition of cases
before it and the PARAD as well as those pertaining to its internal functions and such
as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act;
2) To administer oaths, summon the parties to a controversy, issue subpoenas requiring
the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of such books, papers,
and other documents as may be material to a just determination of the matter under 
investigation, and to testify in any investigation or hearing conducted pursuant to this 
Act;  
3) To conduct investigation for the determination of a question, matter or controversy
within its jurisdiction, proceed to hear and determine the disputes even in the
absence of any party thereto who has been summoned or served with notice to
appear, conduct its proceedings or any part thereof in public, adjourn its hearings to
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any time and place, refer technical matters to an expert and to accept his report as 
evidence after hearing of the parties upon due notice, direct parties to be joined or 
excluded from the proceedings, correct, amend or waive any error, defect or 
irregularity, whether in substance or in  form, give all such directions as it may deem 
necessary or expedient in the determination of the dispute before it, and dismiss any 
matter or refrain from further hearing or from determining the dispute or part thereof, 
where it is trivial or where further proceedings by the Commission are not necessary 
or desirable; and    
4) To hold any person in direct or indirect contempt and impose appropriate penalties 
therefor in accordance with law.  A person guilty of misbehavior in the presence of 
or so near the Chairman or any member of the Commission or any PARAD as to 
obstruct or interrupt the proceedings before the same, including disrespect toward 
said officials, offensive conduct toward others, or refusal to be sworn or to answer 
as a witness or to subscribe to an affidavit or deposition when lawfully required to do 
so, may be summarily adjudged in direct contempt by said officials and punished by 
a fine not exceeding Five thousand pesos (P=5,000.00) or imprisonment not 
exceeding five (5) days, or both if it be before the Commission or a member thereof, 
or by a fine not exceeding One thousand pesos (P=1,000.00) or imprisonment not 
exceeding one (1) day, or both if it be before the PARAD.  The person adjudged in 
direct contempt by a PARAD may appeal to the Commission and the execution of 
the judgment shall be suspended pending the resolution of the appeal upon the filing 
by such person of a bond on condition that he will abide by and perform the judgment 
of the Commission should the appeal be decided against him.  Judgment of the 
Commission on direct contempt is immediately executory and unappealable.  
Indirect contempt shall be dealt with by the Commission or the PARAD in the manner 
prescribed under Rule 71 of the Rules of Court.    
5) To enjoin or restrain any actual or threatened commission of any or all prohibited or 
unlawful acts or to require the performance of a particular act in any agrarian dispute 
which, if not restrained or performed forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable 
damage to any part or render ineffectual any decision in favor of such party: 
Provided, That no temporary or permanent injunction in any case involving or 
growing out of an agrarian dispute as defined in this Act shall be issued except after 
hearing the testimony of witnesses, with opportunity for cross-examination, in 
support of the allegations of the complaint made under oath, and testimony in 
opposition thereto, if offered, and only after a finding of fact by the Commission, to 
the effect:    
a) That prohibited or unlawful acts have been threatened and will be committed and 
will be continued unless restrained: Provided, That no injunction or temporary 
restraining order shall be issued on account of any threat, prohibited or unlawful 
act, except against the person, association or organization making the threat or 
committing the prohibited or unlawful act or actually authorizing or ratifying the 
same after actual knowledge thereof;    
b) That substantial and irreparable injury to complainant's property will follow;    
c) That as to each item of relief to be granted, greater injury will be inflicted upon the 
complainant by the denial of relief than upon the defendant by the granting of 
relief;    
d) That complainant has no adequate remedy at law; and    
e) That the public officers charged with the duty to protect complainant's property are 
unable or unwilling to furnish adequate protection.    
 
SEC. 3. Manner of Voting. - The concurrence of two (2) Commissioners of a division 
shall be necessary for the pronouncement of a judgment or resolution.  Whenever the required 
membership in a division is not complete and the concurrence of two (2) Commissioners to 
arrive at a judgment or resolution cannot be obtained, the Chairman shall designate such 
number of additional Commissioners from other divisions as may be necessary.   


 
 
4
The conclusions of a division on any case submitted to it for decision shall be reached 
in consultation before the case is assigned to a member for the writing of the opinion.    It shall 
be mandatory for the division to meet for purposes of the consultation ordained herein.  A 
certification to this effect signed by the Presiding Commissioner of the division shall be issued 
and a copy thereof attached to the record of the case and served upon the parties.   
 
SEC. 4. Headquarters. - The Commission and its first, second and third divisions shall 
have their offices in Metropolitan Manila and the fourth and fifth divisions, in the cities of Cebu 
and Cagayan de Oro, respectively.   
 
SEC. 5. Appointment; Qualifications; Oath and Term of Office. - The Chairman and 
the other Commissioners shall be appointed by the President upon recommendation of the 
Secretary of Agrarian Reform.  The PARADs shall be appointed by the Chairman subject to civil 
service law, rules and regulations.  The Chairman and the other Commissioners shall be 
members of the Philippine Bar and must have been engaged in the practice of law in the 
Philippines for at least fifteen (15) years, with at least five (5) years of experience or exposure 
in the field of agrarian relations or agrarian reform.   
The PARADs shall likewise be members of the Philippine Bar and must have been 
engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines for at least seven (7) years, with at least three 
(3) years experience or exposure in the field of agrarian relations or agrarian reform.   
The Chairman, the Commissioners and the PARADs shall, before assuming the duties 
and functions of their respective offices, each execute a statement under oath that he, his 
spouse and children do not own any agricultural land which have not been properly subjected 
to the provisions of Republic Act No. 6657 and other agrarian reform laws.   
The Chairman, the Commissioners and the PARADs shall hold office during good 
behavior until they reach the age of sixty-five (65) years, unless sooner removed for cause as 
provided by law or become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their office. 
   
SEC. 6. Staff Complement; Administrative Supervision. - The Commission shall be 
complemented by the following staffing pattern:   
I.   Office of the Chairman   
Support Staff   
One (1) Executive Clerk of the Commission   
Five (5) Attorney VI   
Five (5) Legal Officer III   
One (1) Executive Assistant V   
Two (2) Executive Assistant IV   
Two (2) Executive Assistant III   
Four (4) Computer Programmers   
Three (3) Stenographic Reporters   
One (1) Sheriff   
One (1) Interpreter   
One (1) Bailiff   
One (1) Docketing Clerk   
Three (3) Senior Clerks   
Two (2) Private Secretaries   
One (1) Driver   
One (1) Messenger   
Finance Management Division   
Division Chief   
One (1) Cashier   
One (1) Accountant IV   
One (1) Accountant III   
One (1) Accountant II   
One (1) Accountant I   


 
 
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One (1) Budget Officer IV 
One (1) Budget Officer IIIS. No. 1567 
One (1) Budget Officer II   
One (1) Budget Officer I   
One (1) Senior Bookkeeper   
One (1) Bookkeeper   
Two (2) Accounting Clerks   
Two (2) Computer Programmers   
Three (3) Senior Clerks   
Litigation Division   
Division Chief   
Two (2) Attorney VI   
Four (4) Attorney V   
Six (6) Legal Officer III   
Three (3) Computer Programmers   
Two (2) Stenographic Reporters   
Three (3) Senior Clerks   
Land Valuation Division   
Division Chief   
One (1) Attorney V   
Four (4) Attorney IV   
Three (3) Legal Officer III   
Four (4) Appraisers   
One (1) Accountant V   
One (1) Accountant IV   
Three (3) Computer Programmers   
Three (3) Stenographic Reporters   
Three (3) Senior Clerks   
Legal Research and Information Division   
Division Chief   
Three (3) Research Attorney V   
Five (5) Legal Officer III   
Three (3) Technical Assistants   
Two (2) Statisticians   
Two (2) Computer Programmers   
Two (2) Senior Clerks   
Administrative and Management Division   
One (1) Division Chief   
One (1) Personnel Officer   
Two (2) Human Resource Development Officer III   
Two (2) Human Resource Development Officer II   
One (1) Administrative Officer V   
One (1) Administrative Officer III   
Three (3) Senior Clerks   
Four (4) Computer Programmers   
Two (2) Messengerial Aides   
Two (2) Utility Men   
Two (2) Duplicating Machine Operators   
Two (2) Security Guards   
Records Division   
Division Chief   
Two (2) Records Officer III   
One (1) Records Officer II   
One (1) Records Officer I   
One (1) Clerk III   


 
 
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One (1) Clerk II   
One (1) Clerk   
One (1) Messenger   
Legislative Liaison Division   
One (1) Division Chief   
Three (3) Legislative Liaison Specialists   
One (1) Press Relations Officer   
Three (3) Computer Programmers   
Three (3) Senior Clerks   
One (1) Duplicating Machine Operator   
II.  Office of the Division Presiding Commissioner   
Support Staff   
One (1) Deputy Executive Clerk of Division   
One (1) Executive Secretary V   
One (1) Executive Assistant IV   
One (1) Executive Assistant III   
Three (3) Attorney V   
Four (4) Legal Officer III   
Three (3) Stenographic Reporters   
One (1) Interpreter   
One (1) Bailiff   
One (1) Sheriff   
Three (3) Computer Programmers   
Three (3) Senior Clerks               
Two (2) Private Secretaries   
One (1) Driver   
One (1) Messenger   
Clerical and Utility Division   
One (1) Senior Clerk   
Two (2) Clerk Typists   
Two (2) Utility Men   
Two (2) Messengers   
One (1) Duplicating Machine Operator   
Two (2) Security Guards   
Land Valuation Division   
Four (4) Appraisers   
One (1) Accountant IV   
One (1) Accountant III   
Two (2) Attorney IV   
Three (3) Clerk-Typists   
Two (2) Computer Programmers   
III.  Office of the Commissioner   
Support Staff   
Three (3) Attorney V   
One (1) Executive Assistant IV   
One (1) Executive Assistant III   
One (1) Executive Assistant II   
Three (3) Legal Officer III   
Two (2) Computer Programmers   
Two (2) Stenographers   
One (1) Interpreter   
One (1) Sheriff   
One (1) Clerk-Typist   
One (1) Private Secretary   
One (1) Driver   


 
 
7
One (1) Messenger   
IV.  Office of the Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD)   
Support Staff   
One (1) Executive Assistant III   
One (1) Executive Assistant II   
One (1) Attorney V   
Three (3) Legal Officer III   
One (1) Researcher   
One (1) Interpreter   
One (1) Bailiff   
One (1) Docketing Clerk   
Two (2) Computer Programmers   
One (1) Stenographic Reporter   
One (1) Sheriff   
Two (2) Senior Clerks   
One (1) Private Secretary   
One (1) Driver   
One (1) Messenger   
Clerical and Utility Division  
One (1) Senior Clerks   
Two (2) Clerk-Typists   
Two (2) Messengers   
One (1) Duplicating Machine Operator   
Two (2) Security Guards   
The Chairman of the Commission shall appoint additional staff and employees of the 
Commission and its divisions and provincial offices as the needs of the service may require, 
subject to civil service law, rules and regulations, and upgrade their current salaries, benefits 
and other emoluments in accordance with law.    
The Chairman, aided by the Executive Clerk of the Commission, shall have 
administrative supervision over the Commission, its divisions, and all its personnel including the 
PARADs.    
The Commission, when sitting en banc shall be assisted by the same Executive Clerk, 
and when acting thru its divisions, by said Executive Clerk for its first division and four (4) other 
Deputy Executive Clerks for the second, third, fourth and fifth divisions, respectively, in the 
performance of similar or equivalent functions and duties as are discharged by the Clerk of Court 
and Deputy Clerks of Court of the Court of Appeals.  
 
SEC. 7. Jurisdiction of the PARAD. - The PARAD shall have original and exclusive 
jurisdiction to hear and decide, within thirty (30) calendar days after the submission of the case 
by the parties for decision without extension, even in the absence of stenographic notes, the 
following agrarian disputes:    
a) The rights and obligations under agrarian reform laws of persons, whether natural or 
juridical, engaged in the management, cultivation or use of all agricultural lands 
covered under Republic Act No.  6657 and other agrarian reform laws;    
b) The fixing and collection of lease rentals, disturbance compensation, amortization 
payments, and similar disputes concerning the functions of the Land Bank of the 
Philippines (LBP) in the agrarian reform program;    
c) Those involving the sale, lease, alienation, foreclosure, pre-emption or redemption of 
agricultural lands covered under Republic Act No. 6657 and other agrarian reform 
laws;  
d) Petitions for determination of just compensation to be paid to landowners for lands 
covered under Republic Act No. 6657 and other agrarian reform laws;    
e) Those arising from or connected with membership or representation in compact farms, 
farmers' cooperatives and other registered farmers' associations or organizations;    
f) Those involving the issuance, correction and cancellation of certificates of land 


 
 
8
ownership award and emancipation patents which are registered with the Land 
Registration Authority; and    
g) Such other agrarian cases or disputes arising from or connected with the 
implementation of Republic Act No. 6657 and other agrarian reform laws.    
 
SEC. 8. Salaries, Benefits and Certification Requirement. - The Chairman and other 
Members of the Commission shall receive an annual salary equivalent to, and the same 
allowances and benefits as, those of the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Court 
of Appeals, respectively.  The PARAD shall receive an annual salary equivalent to, and the 
same allowances and benefits as, those of a judge of a Regional Trial Court.    
The Chairman, the Commissioners, and the PARADs shall, before receiving their 
salaries, execute a statement under oath that they have complied with the reglementary periods 
prescribed herein for the disposition of cases.    
 
SEC. 9.  Proceedings Before the Commission. 
a) Notice and Hearing; Restraining Order. - Hearings on petitions for the issuance of 
restraining orders or injunctions shall be held after due and personal notice thereof 
has been served, in such manner as the Commission shall direct, to all known 
persons against whom relief is sought, and also to the chief executive and other 
public officials of the province or city within which the unlawful acts have been 
threatened or committed, charged with the duty to protect complainant's property: 
Provided, however, That if the complainant shall also allege that, unless a temporary 
restraining order shall be issued without notice, a substantial and irreparable injury 
to complainant's property will be unavoidable, such a temporary restraining order 
may be issued upon testimony under oath, sufficient, if sustained, to justify the 
Commission in issuing a temporary injunction upon hearing after notice.  The 
temporary restraining order shall be effective for no longer than twenty (20) days and 
shall become void at the expiration of said period.  Unless otherwise ordered by the 
Commission in justifiable cases, no temporary restraining order or temporary 
injunction shall be issued except on condition that the complainant shall first file an 
undertaking with adequate security in an amount to be fixed by the Commission 
sufficient to recompense those enjoined for any loss, expense or damage caused by 
the improvident or erroneous issuance of such order or injunction, including all 
reasonable costs together with reasonable attorney's fees and expense of defense 
against the order or against the granting of any injunctive relief sought in the same 
proceeding and subsequently denied by the Commission.    
The undertaking herein mentioned shall be understood to constitute an 
agreement entered into by the complainant and the surety upon which an order may 
be rendered in the same suit or proceeding against said complainant and surety, 
upon a hearing to assess damages, or which hearing complainant and surety shall 
have reasonable notice, the said complainant and surety submitting themselves to 
the jurisdiction of the Commission for that purpose: Provided, That nothing herein 
contained shall deprive any party having a  claim or cause of action under or upon  
such undertaking from electing to pursue his ordinary remedy by suit at law: 
Provided, further, That the reception of evidence for the application of a writ of 
injunction may be delegated by the Commission to any PARAD who shall conduct 
such hearings in such places as he may determine to be accessible to the parties 
and their witnesses and who shall submit thereafter his recommendation to the 
Commission.    
b) Technical Rules: Not Binding. - The Commission or the PARAD shall not be bound 
by technical rules of procedure and evidence prevailing in the regular courts but shall 
proceed to hear and decide all cases, disputes or controversies in a most expeditious 
and objective manner, employing all reasonable means to ascertain the facts of 
every case without regard to technicalities of law or procedure.  Towards this end, it 
shall adopt uniform rules of procedure to achieve a just, expeditious and inexpensive 


 
 
9
determination of every action or proceeding before it and the PARADs.  In all 
proceedings before the PARAD, the use of the local language or dialect shall be 
preferred, to enable the farmer-litigants and para-legals to participate fully.    
c) Appearance of Farmer-Leaders and Para-legals. - Responsible farmer leaders and 
para-legals shall be allowed to represent themselves, their fellow farmers, or their 
organizations, in any proceeding before the Commission or the PARAD. When there 
are two (2) or more representatives for any individual or group, the representatives 
should choose only one from among themselves to represent such party or group 
before any proceeding.    
 
SEC. 10. Appeal. - Declarations, awards, or orders of the PARADs are final and 
executory unless appealed to the Commission by any or both parties within fifteen (15) calendar 
days from receipt of such decisions, awards, or orders.  Such appeal may be entertained only 
on any of the following grounds:    
1) If there is a prima facie evidence of abuse of discretion on the part of the PARAD;    
2) If the decision, order or award was secured through fraud or coercion, including graft 
and corruption;    
3) If made purely on questions of law; and   
4) If serious errors on the findings of facts are raised which would cause grave or 
irreparable damage or injury to the appellant.    
In case of a judgment involving a monetary award, an appeal by the landowner may be 
perfected only upon the posting of a cash or surety bond issued by a reputable bonding company 
duly accredited by the Commission in the amount equivalent to the monetary award in the 
judgment appealed from.    
In all cases, the appellant shall furnish a copy of the memorandum of appeal to the other 
party who shall file a comment thereon not later than ten (10) calendar days from receipt thereof.    
The Commission shall decide all cases within twenty (20) calendar days from receipt of 
the Comment of the appellee.  The decision of the Commission shall be final and executory after 
fifteen (15) calendar days from receipt thereof by the parties.  The losing party may be allowed 
only one motion for reconsideration.  
 
SEC. 11. Execution of Decisions, Orders, or Awards. -  The Commission or any 
PARAD may, motu proprio on motion of any interested party, issue a writ of execution on a 
judgment within five (5) years from the date it becomes final and executory, requiring a sheriff 
or a duly deputized officer to execute and enforce final decisions, orders or awards of the 
Commission or PARADs.  In any case, it shall be the duty of the responsible officer to 
immediately separately furnish the parties and their counsel of record with copies of the 
decisions, orders or awards.  Failure to comply with the duty prescribed herein shall subject such 
responsible officer to appropriate administrative sanctions.   
The Chairman of the Commission may designate special sheriffs and take any measure 
under existing laws to ensure compliance with the decisions, orders or awards of the 
Commission and PARADs, including the imposition of administrative fines which shall not be 
less than Five hundred pesos (P=500.00) nor more than Ten thousand pesos (P=10,000.00).    
 
SEC. 12. Penalty for Frivolous Appeals. - To discourage frivolous or dilatory appeals 
from the decisions or orders of the PARAD, the Commission may impose reasonable penalties, 
including but not limited to fines or censures upon erring parties and/or their counsel of record.   
 
SEC. 13. Certification of the BARC. - The PARAD shall not take cognizance of any 
agrarian dispute unless a certification from the Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC) 
that the dispute has been submitted to it for mediation and conciliation without any success of 
settlement is presented. If no certification is issued by the BARC within thirty (30) days after a 
matter or issue is submitted to it for mediation or conciliation the case or dispute may be brought 
before the PARAD.   
 


 
 
10 
SEC. 14. Certiorari. - Any decision, order, award or ruling of the Commission on any 
agrarian dispute or on any matter pertaining to the application, implementation, enforcement, or 
interpretation of Republic Act No. 6657 and other pertinent laws on agrarian reform may be 
brought to the Supreme Court on certiorari within fifteen (15) days from receipt of a copy thereof.   
 
SEC. 15. Personnel. - All PARADs and affected support personnel of the Department 
of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) shall continue to hold office and discharge their 
functions in a hold-over capacity under the Commission pending appointment or re-appointment 
to their respective positions or until their successors shall have been appointed.    Existing 
Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (RARAD) positions under the DARAB are deemed 
abolished and their existing personnel shall also be appointed to any vacant position to which 
they may qualify.   
 
SEC. 16. Appropriations. - There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the 
implementation of this Act the sum of One hundred fifty million pesos (P=150,000,000.00) to be 
included in the budget of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for the initial year of 
implementation.  Thereafter, such amount as may be needed for the administration and 
operation of the Commission shall be included in the Annual General Appropriations Act.   
 
SEC. 17. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules 
and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or 
modified accordingly.   
 
SEC. 18. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation, 
whichever comes earlier.    
 
Approved,