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FIFTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
THIRD REGULAR SESSION )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES \

introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodrig!
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

Hougé Bill No. 6614

EXPLANATORY NOTE

According to Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program Law, it is the policy of the State to pursue a Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The welfare of the landless farmers and
farm workers will receive the highest consideration to promote social justice
and to move the nation towards sound rural development and
industrialization, and the establishment of owner cultivatorship of economic-
sized farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture. To this end, a more
equitable distribution and ownership of land, with due regard to the rights of
Jandowners to just compensation and to the ecological needs of the nation,
shall be undertaken to provide farmers and farm workers with the opportunity
to enhance their dignity and improve the quality of their lives through greater
productivity of agricultural lands.

However, 25 years after the enactment of the law, there are still
numerous landless farmers all over the country and the goals for which the
law was passed have yet to be met. For instance, for 2012, the target of the
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) was to process 180,000 hectares of
land but they were only able to process 32,403.90 hectares. The DAR also
targeted to have 17,254 hectares of land under leasehold agreements in 2012
but they were only able to have 7,724 hectares. Also, there are 20,144
pending cases in the DAR and as of June 2012, only 7,903 were resolved.
When it comes to Agrarian Legal Assistance cases, the target was to have the
4,390 cases submitted for resolution but only 268 were submitted. These are
just some of the data that will show that the work of the DAR is far from
finished. There are still more to be done which makes it necessary to extend
the life of the DAR and the effectivity of the CARP law.

In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly
sought. ”

RUFUS B. RODRIGUEZ

)

Ze
MAXIMO B. RODRIGUEZ, JR.



FIFTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES —)
THIRD REGULAR SESSION )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez and
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

House Bill No. 6614

AN ACT

FURTHER STRENGTHENING THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN
REFORM PROGRAM (CARP) BY FURTHER EXTENDING THE
ACQUISITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF ALL AGRICULTURAL LANDS,
FURTHER AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 7 and 63 OF
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6657, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS_ THE
COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM LAW OF 1988, AS AMENDED,
AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress Assembled.

SECTION 1. Section 7 of Republic Act 6657, as amended by Republic Act
9700 is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 7. Priorities. - The DAR, in coordination with the
Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) shall plan
and program the final acquisition and distribution of all
Temaining unacquired and undistributed agricultural lands
from the effectivity of this Act until [June 30, 2014] JUNE
30, 2019. Lands shall be acquired and distributed as
follows:

"Phase One: During the [five (6)-year] extension period
hereafter all remaining lands above fifty (50) hectares shall
be covered for purposes of agrarian reform upon the
effectivity of this Act. All private agricultural lands of
landowners with aggregate landholdings in excess of fifty
(60) hectares which have already been subjected to a
notice of coverage issued on or before December 10,
2008; rice and com lands under Presidential Decree No.
27; all idle or abandoned lands; all private lands voluntarily
offered by the owners for agrarian reform: Provided, That
with respect to voluntary land transfer, only those
submitted by June 30, 2009 shail be
allowed Provided, further, That afier June 30, 2009, the
modes of acquisition shall be limited to voluntary offer to
sell and compulsory acquisition: Provided, furthermore,
That all previously acquired lands wherein valuation is
subject to challenge by landowners shall be completed and
finally resolved pursuant to Section 17 of Republic Act No.


6657, as amended: Provided, finally, as mandated by the
Constitution. Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, and
Republic Act No. 3844, as amended, only farmers (tenants
or lessees) and regular farmworkers actually tilling the
lands, as certified under oath by the Barangay Agrarian
Reform Council (BARC) and attested under oath by the
landowners, are the qualified beneficiaries. The intended
beneficiary shall state under oath before the judge of the
city or municipal court that he/she is willing to work on the
and to make it productive and to assume the obligation of
paying the amortization for the compensation of the land
and the land taxes thereon: all lands foreclosed by
government financial institutions; all lands acquired by the
Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG);
and all other lands owned by the government devoted to or
suitable for agriculture, which shal! be acquired and
distributed immediately upon the effectivity of this Act, with
the implementation to be completed by [June 30, 2012]
JUNE 30, 2017;

"Phase Two: (a) Lands twenty-four (24) hectares up to fifly
(60) hectares shall likewise be covered for purposes of
agrarian reform upon the effectivity of this Act. All alienable
and disposable public agricultural lands; all arable public
agricuitural ands under agro-forest, pasture and
agricultural leases already cultivated and planted to crops
in accordance with Section 6, Article Xill of the
Constitution; all public agricultural lands which are to be
opened for new development and resettlement: and all
private agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate
landholdings above twenty-four (24) hectares up to fifty
(60) hectares which have already been subjected to a
notice of coverage issued on or before December 10,
2008, to implement principally the rights of farmers and
regular farmworkers, who are landless, to own directly or
collectively the lands they till, which shall be distributed
immediately upon the effectivity of this Act, with the
implementation to be completed by [June 30, 2012] June
30, 2017; and

"(b) All remaining private agricultural lands of landowners
with aggregate landholdings in excess of twenty-four (24)
hectares, regardless as to whether these have been
subjected to notices of coverage or not, with the
implementation to begin on July 1, 2012 and to be
completed by [June 30, 2013] JUNE 30, 2018;

“Phase Three: All other private agricultural lands
commencing with large landholdings and proceeding to
medium and small landholdings under the following
schedule:

"(a) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings
above ten (10) hectares up to twenty- four (24)hectares,
insofar as the excess hectarage above ten (10) hectares is
concemed, to begin on July 1.2012 and to be completed


by {June 30, 2013] JUNE 30, 2018; and

"(e) Lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings from
the retention limit up to ten (10) hectares, to begin on July
1, 2013 and to be completed by [June 30, 2013] JUNE 30,
2019; to implement principally the right of farmers and
fegular farmworkers who are landless, to own directly or
collectively the lands they til

"The schedule of acquisition and redistribution of all
agricultural lands covered by this program shail be made in
accordance with the above order 0 f priority, which shall be
provided in the implementing rules to be prepared by the
PARC, taking into consideration the following: the
landholdings wherein the farmers are organized and
understand the meaning and obligations of farmland
‘ownership; the distribution of lands to the tillers at the
earliest practicable time; the enhancement of agricultural
productivity; and the availability of funds and resources to
implement and support the program: Provided, That the
PARC shall design and conduct seminars, symposia,
information campaigns, and other similar programs for
farmers who are not organized or not covered by any
landholdings. Completion by these farmers of the
aforementioned seminars, symposia, and other similar
programs shall be encouraged in the implementation of
this Act particularly the provisions of this Section

"Land acquisition and distribution shall be completed by
[June 30, 2013] JUNE 30, 2019 on a province-by-
province basis. In any case, the PARC or the PARC
Executive Committee (PARC EXCOM), upon
recommendation by the Provincial Agrarian Reform
Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM), may declare certain
provinces as priority land reform areas, in which case the
acquisition and distribution of private agricultural lands
therein under advanced phases may be implemented
ahead of the above schedules on the condition that prior
phases in these provinces have been completed:
Provided, That notwithstanding the above schedules,
phase three (b) shall not be implemented in a particular
province until at least ninety percent (90%) of the provincial
balance of that particular province as of January 1, 2009
under Phase One, Phase Two (a), Phase Two (b),,and
Phase Three (a), excluding lands under the jurisdiction of
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), have been successfully completed.

“The PARC shall establish guidelines to implement the
above priorities and distribution scheme, including the
determination of who are qualified beneficiaries: Provided,
That an owner-tiller may be a beneficiary of the land
he/she does not own but is actually cultivating to the extent
of the difference between the area of the land he/she owns
and the award ceiling of three (3) hectares: Provided,
further, That collective ownership by the farmer


beneficiaries shall be subject to Section 25 of Republic Act
No. 6857, as amended: Provided, furthermore, That rural
women shall be given the opportunity t 0 participate in the
development planning and implementation of this Act
Provided, finally, That in no case should the agrarian
teform beneficiaries’ sex, economic, religious, social,
cultural and political attributes adversely affect the
distribution of lands.”

SEC 2. Section 63 of Republic Act No. 6857, as amended by Republic Act
9700 is hereby further amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 63. Funding Source. - The amount needed to
further implement the CARP as provided in this Act,
until June 30, 2014] JUNE 30, 2019, upon expiration
of funding under Republic Act No. 8532 and other
pertinent laws, shall be funded from the Agrarian
Reform Fund and other funding sources in the amount
of at least One hundred fifty billion pesos
(P150,000,000,000.00).

"Additional amounts are hereby authorized to be
appropriated as and when needed to augment the
Agrarian Reform Fund in order to fully implement the
provisions of this Act during the [five (5)-year]
extension period
"Sources of funding or appropriations shall include the
following
"(a) Proceeds of the sales of the Privatization
and Management Office (PMO);
"(b) All receipts from assets recovered and
from sales of ill-gotten wealth recovered
through the PCGG excluding the amount
appropriated for compensation to victims of
human rights violations under the applicable
law;
"(c) Proceeds of the disposition and
development of the properties of the
Government in foreign countries, for the
specific purposes of financing production
credits, infrastructure and other support
services required by this Act;
“(@) All income and, collections of whatever
form and nature arising from the agrarian
reform operations, projects and programs of
the DAR and other CARP implementing
agencies;
"(e) Portion of amounts accruing to the
Philippines from all sources of official foreign
aid grants and concessional financing from all
countries, to be used for the specific purposes


of financing productions, credits,

infrastructures, and other support services

required by this Act:

"(f) Yearly appropriations of no less than Five

billion pesos (P5,000,000,000.00) from the

General Appropriations Act;

"(g) Gratuitous financial assistance from

legitimate sources; and

"(h) Other government funds not otherwise

appropriated.
“All funds appropriated to implement the provisions of
this Act shall be considered continuing appropriations
during the period of its implementation: Provided, That
if the need arises, specific amounts for bond
redemptions, interest payments and other existing
obligations arising from the implementation of the
program shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act: Provided, further, That all just
compensation payments to landowners, including
execution of judgments therefore, shall only be
sourced from the — Agrarian —_—Reform
Fund: Provided, however, That just compensation
payments that cannot be covered within the approved
annual budget of the program shali be chargeable
against the debt service program of the national
government, or any unprogrammed item in the
General Appropriations Act: Provided, finally, That
after the completion of the land acquisition and
distribution component of the CARP, the yearly
appropriation shall be allocated fully to support
services, agrarian justice delivery and operational
requirements of the DAR and the other CARP
implementing agencies.”

‘SEC 3. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The PARC and the DAR shall
provide the necessary implementing rules and regulations within thirty (30)
days upon the approval of this Act.

SEC 4. Repealing Clause. All laws, executive orders, rules and regulations or
parts thereof in conflict with the provision of this Act are hereby repealed or
amended accordingly.

SEC 5. Separability Clause. - \f, for any reason, any section or provision of
this Act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions
not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC 6. Effectivity. -This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
its full and complete publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2)
newspapers of general circulation,

Approved.