Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Caliwan
Social Justice
1.1As described by Justice Jose P. Laurel in Calalang v. Williams G.R. No. 47800
December 2, 1940
Social justice is neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy, but the
humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that
justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated. Social
justice means the promotion of the welfare of all the people, the adoption by the Government of
measures calculated to insure economic stability of all the competent elements of society,
through the maintenance of a proper economic and social equilibrium in the interrelations of the
members of the community, constitutionally, through the adoption of measures legally
justifiable, or extra-constitutionally, through the exercise of powers underlying the existence of
all governments on the time-honored principle of salus populi est suprema lex. Social justice,
therefore, must be founded on the recognition of the necessity of interdependence among divers
and diverse units of a society and of the protection that should be equally and evenly extended to
all groups as a combined force in our social and economic life, consistent with the fundamental
and paramount objective of the state of promoting the health, comfort, and quiet of all persons,
and of bringing about the greatest good to the greatest number.
1.2 As cited by Justice Regalado in the case of Philippine Airlines,Inc vs. Santos Jr.
Under the policy of social justice, the law bends over backward to accommodate the
interests of the working class on the humane justification that those with less privileges in
life should have more privileges in law.
1.3 As explained by Justice Isagani Cruz, Sosito vs. Aguinaldo Development Corp. 156 SCRA 392
While the Constitution is committed to the policy of social justice and the protection of the
working class, it should not be supposed that every labor dispute will be automatically
decided in favor of labor. Management also has its own rights which, as such, are entitled to
respect and enforcement in the interest of simple fair play. Out of its concern for those with
less privileges in life, this Court has inclined more often than not toward the worker and
upheld his cause in his conflicts with the employer. Such favoritism, however, has not
blinded us to the rule that justice is in every case for the deserving, to be dispensed in the
light of the established facts and the applicable law and doctrine.
I. Introduction
A. Constitutional Basis
1. Article II, Section 21:
agrarian reform.
2. Article XII, Section 1: x x x The State shall promote industrialization and full
employment based on sound agricultural development and agrarian reform, x x x
3. Article XIII, Section 3: x x x The State shall regulate the relations between workers and
employers, recognizing the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of production and
the right of enterprises to reasonable returns on investments, and to expansion and
growth.
Land Reform is the physical redistribution of land such as the program under
Presidential Decree No. 27. Agrarian reform means the redistribution of lands
including the totality of factors and support services designed to lift the economic
status of the beneficiaries. Thus, agrarian reform is broader than land reform.
D. RA 6657 is Constitutional
In the case of Association of Small Landowners in the Philippines, Inc. v. Secretary of
Agrarian Reform,2 the Supreme Court held:
"The case before us presents no knotty complication insofar as the question of
compensable taking is concerned. To the extent that the measures under challenge merely
prescribe retention limits for landowners, there is an exercise of the police power for the
regulation of private property in accordance with the Constitution. But where, to carry out
such regulation, it becomes necessary to deprive such owners of whatever lands they may
own in excess of the maximum area allowed, there is definitely a taking under the power of
eminent domain for which payment of just compensation is imperative. The taking contemplated is not a mere limitation of the use of the land. What is required is the surrender of the
title to and the physical possession of the said excess and all beneficial rights accruing to the
owner in favor of the farmer-beneficiary. This is definitely an exercise not of the police
power but of the power of eminent domain.
2
"Classification has been defined as the grouping of persons or things similar to each other
in certain particulars and different from each other in these same particulars. To be valid, it
must conform to the following requirements: (1) it must be based on substantial distinctions;
(2) it must be germane to the purpose of the law; (3) it must not be limited to existing
conditions only; and (4) it must apply equally to all the members of the class. The Court
finds that all these requisites have been met by the measures here challenged as arbitrary and
discriminatory.
"Equal protection simply means that all persons or things similarly situated must be
treated alike both as to the rights conferred and the liabilities imposed. The petitioner have
not shown that they belong to a different class and entitled to a different treatment. The
argument that not only landowners but also owners of other properties must be made to share
the burden of implementing land reform must be rejected. There is a substantial distinction
between these two classes of owners that is clearly visible except to those who will not see.
There is no need to elaborate on this matter. In any event, the Congress is allowed a wide
leeway in providing for a valid classification. Its decision is accorded recognition and
respect by the courts of justice except only where its discretion is abused to the detriment of
the Bill of Rights.
"It is worth remarking at this juncture that a statute may be sustained under the police
power only if there is a concurrence of the lawful subject and the lawful method. Put
otherwise, the interests of the public generally as distinguished from those of a particular
class require the interference of the State and, no less important, the means employed are
reasonably necessary for the attainment of the purpose sought to be achieved and not unduly
oppressive upon individuals. As the subject and purpose of agrarian reform have been laid
down by the Constitution itself, we may say that the first requirement has been satisfied.
What remains to be examined is the validity of the method employed to achieve the Constitutional goal.
"Eminent domain is an inherent power of the State that enable it to forcibly acquire
private lands intended for public use upon payment of just compensation to the owner.
Obviously, there is no need to expropriate where the owner is willing to sell under terms also
acceptable to the purchaser, in which case an ordinary deed of sale may be agreed upon by
the parties. It is only where the owner is unwilling to sell, or cannot accept the price or other
conditions offered by the vendee, that the power of eminent domain will come into play to
assert the paramount authority of the State over the interest of the property owner. Private
rights must then yield to the irresistible demands of the public interest on the time-honored
justification, as in the case of the police power, that the welfare of the people is the supreme
law.
"But for all its primacy and urgency, the power of expropriation is by no means absolute
(as indeed no power is absolute). The limitation is found in the constitutional injunction that
"private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation" and in the
abundant jurisprudence that has evolved from the interpretation of this principle. Basically,
the requirements for a proper exercise of the power are: (1) public use and (2) just
compensation.
"[T]he determination of just compensation is a function addressed to the courts of justice
and may not be usurped by any other branch or official of the government. EPZA v. Dulay
resolved a challenge to several decrees promulgated by President Marcos providing that the
just compensation for property under expropriation should be either the assessment of the
property by the government or the sworn valuation thereof by the owner, whichever was
lower.
"With these assumptions, the Court hereby declares that the content and manner of the
just compensation provided for in the afore-quoted Section 18 of the CARP Law is not violative of the Constitution. We do not mind admitting that a certain degree of pragmatism has
influenced our decision on this issue, but after all this Court is not a cloistered institution removed from the realities and demands of society or oblivious to the need for its
enhancement. The Court is as acutely anxious as the rest of our people to see the goal of
agrarian reform achieved at last after the frustrations and deprivations of our peasant masses
during all these disappointing decades. We are aware that invalidation of said section will
result in the nullification of the entire program, killing the farmer's hopes even as they
approach realization and resurrecting the specter of discontent and dissent in the restless
countryside. That is not in our view the intention of the Constitution, and that is not what we
shall decree today.
"Accepting the theory that payment of the just compensation is not always required to be
made fully in money, we find further that the proportion of cash payment to the other things
of value constituting the total payment, as determined on the basis of the areas of the lands
expropriated, is not unduly oppressive upon the landowner. It is noted that the smaller the
land, the bigger the payment in money, primarily because the small landowner will be
needing it more than the big landowner, who can afford a bigger balance in bonds and other
things of value. No less importantly, the government financial instruments making up the
balance of the payment are "negotiable at any time." The other modes, which are likewise
available to the landowner at his option, are also not unreasonable because payment is made
in shares of stock, LBP bonds, other properties or assets, tax credits, and other things of
value equivalent to the amount of just compensation."
II. Scope
A. Lands Covered
1. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover, regardless of tenurial
arrangement and commodity produced, ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AGRICULTURAL LANDS as provided in Proclamation No. 131 and Executive Order No. 229,
including other lands of the public domain suitable for agriculture: Provided, That
landholdings of landowners with a total area of five (5) hectares and below shall not be
covered for acquisition and distribution to qualified beneficiaries. [Section 4]
a. Agricultural land refers to land devoted to agricultural activity and not classified as
mineral, forest, residential, commercial or industrial land [Section 3(c)].
b. Agricultural activity means the cultivation of the soil, planting of crops, growing of
fruit trees, raising of fish, including the harvesting of such farm products, and other
farm activities and practices performed by a farmer in conjunction with such farming
operations done by persons whether natural or juridical [Section 3(b)].
2. Specifically, the following lands are covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program:
a. All alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or suitable for
agriculture. No reclassification of forest or mineral lands to agricultural lands shall be
undertaken after the approval of this Act until Congress, taking into account
ecological, developmental and equity considerations, shall have determined by law,
the specific limits of the public domain;
b. All lands of the public domain in excess of the specific limits as determined by
Congress in the preceding paragraph;
c. All other lands owned by the Government devoted to or suitable for agriculture; and
d. All private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of the agricultural
products raised or that can be raised thereon.
B. Exclusions from the Coverage of CARL
Parks;
Wildlife;
Forest reserves;
Reforestation;
Fish sanctuaries and breeding grounds;
Watersheds and mangroves.
2. Private lands actually, directly and exclusively used for prawn farms and fishponds shall
be exempt from the coverage of this Act: Provided, That said prawn farms and
fishponds have not been distributed and Certificate of Land Ownership Award
(CLOA) issued to agrarian reform beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program.
In cases where the fishponds or prawn farms have been subjected to the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law, by voluntary offer to sell, or commercial farms deferment or
notices of compulsory acquisition, a simple and absolute majority of the actual regular
workers or tenants must consent to the exemption within one (1) year from the effectivity
of this Act. When the workers or tenants do not agree to this exemption, the fishponds or
prawn farms shall be distributed collectively to the worker-beneficiaries or tenants who
shall form a cooperative or association to manage the same.
3. Likewise, execluded from the coverage the CARL are lands actually, directly and
exclusively used and found to be necessary for:
a. National defense;
b. School sites and campuses including experimental farm stations operated by public or
private schools for educational purposes;
c. Seeds and seedling research and pilot production center;
d. Church sites and convents appurtenant thereto;
e. Mosque sites and Islamic centers appurtenant thereto;
f. Communal burial grounds and cemeteries;
g. Penal colonies and penal farms actually worked by the inmates; and
h. Government and private research and quarantine centers.
4. All lands with eighteen percent (18%) slope and over which are not developed for
3
5. In the case of Luz Farms v. Secretary of Agrarian Reform,4 the Supreme Court has
excluded agricultural Lands Devoted to Commercial Livestock, Poultry and Swine
Raising from the coverage of CARL.
The Supreme Court said:
"The transcripts of the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission of 1986 on the
meaning of the word "agricultural," clearly show that it was never the intention of the
framers of the Constitution to include livestock and poultry industry in the coverage of
the constitutionally-mandated agrarian reform program of the Government.
"The Committee adopted the definition of "agricultural land" as defined under
Section 166 of RA 3844, as lands devoted to any growth, including but not limited to
crop lands, saltbeds, fishponds, idle and abandoned land (Record, CONCOM, August 7,
1986, Vol. III, p. 11).
"The intention of the Committee is to limit the application of the word "agriculture."
Commissioner Jamir proposed to insert the word "ARABLE" to distinguish this kind of
agricultural land from such lands as commercial and industrial lands and residential
properties because all of them fall under the general classification of the word "agricultural." This proposal, however, was not considered because the Committee contemplated
that agricultural lands are limited to arable and suitable agricultural lands and therefore,
do not include commercial, industrial and residential lands (Record, CONCOM, August
7, 1986, Vol. III, p. 30).
"In the interpellation, then Commissioner Regalado (now a Supreme Court Justice),
posed several questions, among others, quoted as follows:
xxx xxx xxx
"Line 19 refers to genuine reform program founded on the primary right of farmers
and farmworkers. I wonder if it means that leasehold tenancy is thereby proscribed
under this provision because it speaks of the primary right of farmers and farm4
B. Priorities [Section 7]
1. Guiding Principle: In effecting the transfer, priority must be given to lands that are
tenanted.
2. Factors to consider in the Implementation
a. Need to distribute lands to the tillers at the earliest practical time;
b. Need to enhance agricultural productivity; and
c. Availability of funds and resources to implement and support the program
3. Phases of Implementation
Phase One: During the five (5)-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 (50) hectares which have already been subjected to a notice of coverage issued on or
before December 10, 2008; rice and corn 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
shall be allowed: Provided, further, That after 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 land 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 shall be acquired and
distributed immediately upon the effectivity of this Act, with the implementation to be
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. 6657, as amended: Provided, furthermore,
That rural women shall be given the opportunity t o participate in the development planning
and implementation of this Act: Provided, finally, That in no case should the agrarian reform
beneficiaries' sex, economic, religious, social, cultural and political attributes adversely affect
the distribution of lands.
A. Leasehold Tenancy
1. Tenancy in General
a. Definition: Agricultural tenancy is the physical possession by a person of land devoted to agriculture, belonging to or legally possessed by another for the purpose of production through the labor of the former and of the members of his immediate farm
household in consideration of which the former agrees to share the harvest with the
latter or to pay a price certain or ascertainable, either in produce or in money, or in
both [Section 3 of RA 1199, Guerrero v. CA5]
b. Types of Tenancy Relation
i. Sharehold Tenancy; and
ii. Leasehold Tenancy
2. Leasehold vs. Sharehold Tenancy
The two tenancy systems are distinct and different form each other. In sharehold, the
tenant may choose to shoulder, in addition to labor, any one or more of the items of
contributions (such as farm implements, work animals, final harrowing,
transplanting), while in leasehold, the tenant or lessee always shoulders all items of
production except the land. Under the sharehold system, the tenant and the
landholder are co-managers, whereas in leasehold, the tenant is the sole manager of
the farmholding. Finally, in sharehold tenancy, the tenant and the landholder divide
the harvest in proportion to their contributions, while in leasehold tenancy, the tenant
or lessee gets the whole produce with the mere obligation to pay a fixed rental.
[People v. Adillo6]
Sharehold
Leasehold
Expenses of Production
Tenant
Management
Tenant
Payment
There are important differences between a leasehold tenancy and a civil law lease. The
subject matter of leasehold tenancy is limited to agricultural lands; that of civil law lease
may be either rural or urban property. As to attention and cultivation, the law requires
the leasehold tenant to personally attend to, and cultivate the agricultural land, whereas
the civil law lessee need not personally cultivate or work the thing leased. As to purpose,
the landholding in leasehold tenancy is devoted to agriculture, whereas in civil law lease,
the purpose may be for any other lawful pursuit. As to the law that governs, the civil law
lease is governed by the Civil Code, whereas leasehold tenancy is governed by special
laws. [Gabriel v. Pangilinan7]
68 SCRA 90.
58 SCRA 590.
Subject Matter
Purpose
Agriculture only
Governing Law
Special laws
Civil Code
4. Purpose of the Leasehold Relation: To protect and improve the tenurial and economic
status of the farmers in tenanted lands. [Section 12]
5. Application [Section 12]
a. Tenanted lands under the retention limit; and
b. Tenanted lands not yet acquired under the CARL
Three percent (3%) of the gross sales from the production of such lands;
Distributed within sixty (60) days of the end of the fiscal year;
Treated as additional compensation to regular and other farmworkers of such lands;
During the transitory period (before the land is turned over to the farmworker-
V. Registration
A. Within 180 days from the effectivity of CARL, landowners, natural or juridical, shall file a
sworn statement in the assessor's office the following information:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
B. The DAR, in coordination with the Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC) shall
register all agricultural lessees, tenants and farmworkers who are qualifies to be beneficiaries
under the CARL. These potential beneficiaries shall provide the following data:
a. names and members of their immediate farm household;
b. owners and administrators of the lands they work on and the length of tenurial relationship;
c. location and area of the land they work;
d. crops planted; and
e. their share in the harvest or amount of rental paid or wages received.
B. Procedure
1. Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) [Section 20]
a. Must be submitted to the DAR within one year from effectivity of the CARl;
b. Must not be less favorable to the transferee than those of the government's standing ;
and
c. Shall include sanctions for non-compliance by either party and shall be duly recorded
and its implementation monitored by the DAR.
D. Only those submitted by June 30, 2009 shall be allowed.
2. Compulsory Acquisition [Section 16]
a. Notice to acquire the land shall be sent to the landowner and the beneficiaries. The
notice shall also be posted in a conspicuous place in the municipal building and the
barangay hall of the place where the property is located.
b. Within thirty (30) days from receipt of the written notice, the landowner shall inform
the DAR of his acceptance or rejection of the offer.
c. If the offer is accepted, the LBP pays the landowner and within thirty (30) days, the
landowner executes and delivers a deed of transfer to the Government and surrenders
the Certificate of Title and other muniments of title.
d. In case of rejection or failure to reply, the DAR shall conduct summary
administrative proceedings to determine the compensation. If he does concur with
the compensation determined by the DAR, he can the matter to the Courts.
e. Payment of the just compensation as determined by the DAR or the Court.
f. Registration with the Register of Deeds for the issuance of Transfer Certificate of
Title in the name of the Republic of the Philippines.
g. Standing Crops: The landowner shall retain his share of any standing crops
unharvested at the time the DAR shall take possession of the land and shall be given
reasonable time to harvest the same (Section 28).
C. Compensation
1. Determination of Just Compensation.
In determining just compensation, the cost of acquisition of the land, the value of the
2. Under EO 405 (1990), Land Bank of the Philippines shall be primarily responsible for
the determination of the land valuation and compensation.
3. Mode of Payment [Section 18]
a. Cash under the following scheme:
i. For lands above 50 hectares
ii. For lands above 24 and up to 50
iii. For lands 24 and below
*
:
:
:
25%
30%
35%
In case of VOS, the landowner shall be entitled to an additional 5% cash payment. [Section 19]
VII.
Land Redistribution
7 SCRA 812.
The mere fact that the expected quantity of harvest, as visualized and calculated by
agricultural experts, is not actually realized, or that the harvest did not increase, is not
a sufficient basis for concluding that the tenants failed to follow proven farm
practices. [Belmi v. CAR8]
Under the CARL, a beneficiary is landless if he owns less than three (3) hectares of
agricultural land. [Section 25]
4. Beneficiaries whose land have been the subject of foreclosure by the Land Bank of the
Philippines. [Section 26]
*
Under the CARL, the LBP may foreclose on the mortgage for non-payment of the
beneficiary of an aggregate of three (3) annual amortizations. [Section 26]
C. Awards
1. Emancipation Patents (EPs) are issued for lands covered under Operation Land
Transfer (OLT) of Presidential Decree No. 27.
2. Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) are issued for private agricultural
lands and resettlement areas covered under Republic Act No. 6657, otherwise known as
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988.
3. Free Patents are issued for public agricultural lands.
*
Under Section 15 of EO 229 (1987), all alienable and disposable lands of the public
domain suitable for agriculture and outside proclaimed settlements shall be
redistributed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
4. Certificates of Stewardship Contracts are issued for forest areas under the Integrated
Social Forestry Program.
If the land is sold to the government or to the LBP, the children or the spouse of the
transferee shall have a right to repurchase within a period of two (2) years.
2. Conversions of Lands. - An application for conversion may be entertained only after the
lapse of five (5) years from the award, when the land ceases to be economically feasible
and sound for agricultural purposes or the locality has become urbanized and the land
will have a greater economic value for residential, commercial or industrial purpose.
[Section 66]
VIII.
Corporate Farms
A. Definition
*
Corporate farms are farms which are owned or operated by corporations or other business
associations. [Section 29]
B. Distribution
Agricultural activity means the cultivation of the soil, planting of crops, growing
of fruit trees, raising of fish, including the harvesting of such farm products, and
other farm activities and practices performed by a farmer in conjunction with
such farming operations done by persons whether natural or juridical [Section
3(b)].
D. Funding
*
At least twenty-five percent (25%) of all appropriations for agrarian reform shall be
immediately set aside and made available for support services. In addition, the DAR
shall be authorized to package proposals and receive grants, aid and other forms of
financial assistance from any source. [Section 36]
A. Subsistence Fishing: Small fisherfolk, including seaweed farmer, shall be assured of greater
access to the utilization of water resources.
B. Logging and Mining Concessions: Subject to the requirement of a balanced ecology and
conservation of water resources, suitable areas in logging, mining and pasture areas, shall be
Certificates of Stewardship Contracts are issued for forest areas under the Integrated
Social Forestry Program.
C. Sparsely Occupied Public Agricultural Lands: Sparsely occupied agricultural lands of the
public domain shall be surveyed, proclaimed and developed as farm settlements for qualified
landless people.
*
Uncultivated lands of the public domain shall be made available on a lease basis to
interested and qualified parties. Priority shall be given to those who will engage in the
development of capital-intensive, traditional or pioneering crops.
D. Idle, Abandoned, Forecloses and Sequestered Lands: Idle, abandoned, foreclosed and
sequestered lands shall be planned for distribution as home lots and family-size farmlots to
actual occupants. If land area permits, other landless families shall be accommodated in
these lands.
E. Rural Women: All qualified women members of the agricultural labor force must be
guaranteed and assured equal rights to ownership of the land, equal shares of the farm's produce, and representation in advisory or appropriate decision-making bodies.
F. Veterans and Retirees: Landless ware veterans and veterans of military campaigns, their
surviving spouses and orphans, retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the
Integrated National Police, returnees, surrenderees and similar beneficiaries shall be given
due consideration in the disposition of agricultural lands of the public domain.
G. Agriculture Graduates: Graduates of agricultural schools who are landless shall be assisted
by the government in their desire to own and till agricultural lands.
The BARC shall be operated on a self-help basis and will be composed of the
following:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
D. Others
1. No injunction, restraining order, prohibition or mandamus shall be issued by the lower
courts against the DAR, DA, DENR and DOJ in their implementation of CARP. [Section
68]
*
2. The PARC, in the exercise of its functions, is hereby authorized to call upon the
assistance and support of other government agencies, bureaus and offices, including
government-owned or controlled corporations. [Section 69]
XII.
Administrative Adjudication
A. Jurisdiction
1. The Department of Agrarian Reform is hereby vested with primary jurisdiction to
determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters and shall have exclusive original
jurisdiction over all matter involving the implementation of agrarian reform, except
those falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture and the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. [Section 50]
2. DAR Adjudicator
a. Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB)
i. Exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction
ii. Exercises functional supervision over the RARADs and PARADs
b. Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (RARAD)
i. Executive Adjudicator in his region
ii. Receives, hears and adjudicates cases which the PARAD cannot handle because
the latter is disqualified or inhibits himself or because the case is complex or
Failure to present a BARC certification is not a ground for dismissal of the action.
The complainant or petitioner will be given every opportunity to secure the BARC
certification. [Rule III, Section 1(c) of the DARAB Rules]
C. Rules of Procedure
1. It shall not be bound by technical rules of procedure and evidence but shall proceed to
hear and decide all cases, disputes or controversies in a most expeditious manner,
employing all reasonable means to ascertain the facts of every case in accordance with
justice and equity and the merits of the case. [Section 50]
2. Responsible leaders shall be allowed to represent themselves, their fellow farmers, or
their organizations in any proceedings before the DAR [Section 50]
3. To discourage frivolous or dilatory appeals from the decision or order on the local or
provincial levels, the DAR may impose reasonable penalties, including but not limited to
fines or censures upon erring parties. [Section 52]
D. Enforcement Powers
1. It shall have the power to summon witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, require
submission of reports, compel the production of books and documents and answers to
interrogatories and issue subpoena, and subpoena duces tecum and to enforce its writs
through sheriffs or other duly deputized officers. It shall likewise have the power to
punish direct and indirect contempt in the same manner and subject to the same penalties
as provided in the Rules of Court. [Section 50]
2. The DAR has executed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippine National
Police, in order that the latter may assist the DAR in the enforcement of its orders.
E. Judicial Review
1. Any decision, order, award or ruling of the DAR on any agrarian dispute or on any matter
pertaining to the application, implementation, enforcement or interpretation of the CARL
and other pertinent laws on agrarian reform may be brought to the Court of Appeals by
certiorari within fifteen (15) days from receipt of a copy thereof. [Section 54]
2. The findings of fact of the DAR shall be final and conclusive if based on substantial
evidence.
3. Notwithstanding an appeal to the Court of Appeals, the decision of the DAR shall be
immediately executory. [Section 50]
XIII.
B. Appeals
1. Appeal from the Decision of the Special Agrarian Court
*
Within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the decision of the Special Agrarian Court,
an appeal may be taken by filing a petition for review with the Court of Appeals.
Within a non-extendible period of fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the decision of
the Court of Appeals, an appeal may be taken by filing a petition for review with the
Supreme Court.
B. Conversions
1. Authority to Allow Conversion of Agricultural Land for Non-agricultural Uses
a. Under Executive Order No. 129-A, Series of 1987, the Department of Agrarian
Reform is authorized to:
i. Approve or disapprove the conversion, restructuring or readjustment of
agricultural lands into non-agricultural uses; [Section 4(j)]
ii. Have exclusive authority to approve or disapprove conversion of agricultural
lands for residential, commercial, industrial and other land uses as may be
provided for by law. [Section 5(l)]
b. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law provides that the DAR ... may authorize
the reclassification or conversion on the land and its disposition. [Section 65]
2. Conversion
a. After the lapse of five (5) years from its award, when the land ceases to be
economically feasible and sound for agricultural purposes, or the locality has become
highly urbanized and the land will have greater economic value for residential,
commercial or industrial purposes, the DAR, upon application of the beneficiary or
the landowner, may authorize the reclassification or conversion on the land and its
disposition: Provided, That the beneficiary shall have fully paid his obligation.
[Section 65]
b. Grounds for conversion
i. Five (5) years had lapsed from the award of the land;
ii. The land ceases to be economically feasible and sound for agricultural purposes,
or the locality has become highly urbanized and the land will have greater
economic value for residential, commercial or industrial purposes; and
iii. Beneficiary shall have fully paid his obligation.
c. Administrative Order No. 20, Series of 1992 [Took effect on 30 December 1992]
*
President Fidel V. Ramos directed the observance by all agencies and local
government units the following interim guidelines on agricultural land use
conversion.
i. All irrigated or irrigable agricultural lands shall not be subject to and nonnegotiable for conversion;
ii. All other agricultural lands may be converted only upon strict compliance
with existing laws, rules and regulations.
3. Disturbance Compensation
XV.
Section 36(1) of Republic Act No. 3844, as amended provides: the agricultural lessee
shall be entitled to disturbance compensation equivalent to five years rental on his
landholding.
A. Suppletory Application: The provisions of Republic Act No. 3844, as amended, Presidential
Decree Nos. 27 and 266, as amended, Executive Order Nos. 228 and 229, both Series of
1987; and other laws not inconsistent with this Act shall have suppletory effect. [Section 75]
B. Repealing Clause: Section 35 of Republic Act No. 3844, Presidential Decree No. 316, the
last two paragraphs of Section 12 of Presidential Decree No. 946, Presidential Decree No.
1038, and all other laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, issuances or parts
thereof inconsistent with CARL are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
XVI. Effectivity
* CARL takes effect immediately after publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of
general circulation. CARL was printed 15 June 1988.