AGRARIAN REFORM IN THE PHILIPPINES—EVER FORWARD, NOW AND FOREVER

Third Series

For the past few years, DARAB Caraga where the author has been the Acting Regional Adjudicator, has always been in the lead in terms of delivery of accomplishment, and PARAD Glen Auza, and the entire DARAB Staffs of the five Provinces have always been an integral part of the team which earned us distinguished awards and accolades which have been bestowed on us not only once or twice but every yearly national assessment.

We are proud with our national distinction and this atmosphere has been our trademark which we have been invigoratingly keeping up to maintain. Our track record exemplifies our passion for public service, hard work, and dedication that made DARAB CARAGA Region the lamplighter in the DAR Adjudication Board (DARAB), one that is yet to be outdone and outfought.

NO WONDER we have been consistently receiving an outstanding performance award in the national arena and just recently bestowed “the most Outstanding Achievement Award- National Level” for the consecutive years of 2006 and 2007 accomplishments. As proof, this impressive and inspiring recognition had been published in the Manila Bulletin last October 06, 2008 issue.

Actual and Physical Distribution

Another amendment is that the CARPER law specifies that award of land must be actual and physical possession. This means that the FB shall be physically placed in actual possession of the awarded land. If in case there is a pending litigation over the subject land, the FB has the usufructuary rights over it. Usufruct gives a right to the usufructuary to enjoy the property of another with the obligation of preserving its form and substance. The usufructuary is entitled to all the natural, industrial and civil fruits of the property and may personally enjoy the thing in usufruct, lease it to another, or alienate his right of usufruct, even by a gratuitous title, but all the contracts he may enter into as such usufructuary shall terminate upon the expiration of the usufruct. If the FB is not in actual possession or has not been afforded usufructuary rights, he/she can demand from the DAR for an actual and physical award of the land to him/her. The amendment provides:

Section 9. “rights and responsibilities shall commence from their receipt of a duly registered emancipation patent or certificate of land ownership award and their actual physical possession of the awarded land. Such award shall be completed in not more than one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of registration of the title in the name of the Republic of the Philippines…”

Indefeasibility of EP and CLOA

The CARPER law legislates the Supreme Court decision in Estribillo vs. DAR (G.R. No. 159674, June 30, 2006) declaring titles of land awarded under any agrarian reform program are indefeasible and imprescriptible. The titles (i.e. EP and CLOA) will be afforded the same protection as Torrens title under the Torrens system. This provision provides protection to the CLOA’s or EP’s of farmers being cancelled after it has been registered already for a long time.

Section 9. “…that the emancipation patents, the certificates of land ownership award, and other titles issued under any agrarian reform program shall be indefeasible and imprescriptible after one (1) year from its registration with the office of the registry of deeds, subject to the conditions, limitations and qualifications of this act, the property registration decree, and other pertinent laws. the emancipation patents or the certificates of land ownership award being titles brought under the operation of the Torrens system, are conferred with the same indefeasibility and security afforded to all titles under the said system, as provided for by presidential decree no. 1529.”

Cancellation of CLOA or EP is under the Exclusive and Original Jurisdiction of the DAR Secretary

Another important amendment is that the cancellation of title whether registered or not, is now under the original and exclusive jurisdiction of the DAR Secretary. The decision of the DAR Secretary under the CARPER law is immediately executory even pending appeal to judicial courts.

Affordability Clause Made Mandatory

The CARPER law explicitly mandates that farmers will pay reduced amortizations established by PARC for the first 3 years. For the next years, the law put a ceiling on the annual amortization to not more than 5% to 10% of the value of the annual gross production. The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) is mandated to reduce the interest or the principal to make repayment affordable. The amortization depends on the annual gross production determined by the DAR which will effectively make the amortization of farmer beneficiaries affordable. This is a great improvement from the CARL because the affordability clause here is made mandatory for LBP and DAR to implement.

The affordability principle arises from the nature of agrarian reform as a social justice measure and not really a market transaction or realty sale. The State comes as the equalizer trying to observe due process in correcting unjust ownership of agricultural land by paying the difference between just compensation and the affordable amortization of farmers.

The amendment provision provides:

Section 11. the payments for the first three (3) years after the award [may] shall be at reduced amounts as established by the PARC: provided, that the first five (5) annual payments may not be more than five percent (5%) of the value of the annual gross production as established by the DAR. should the scheduled annual payments after the fifth (5^th) year exceed ten percent (10%) of the annual gross production and the failure to produce accordingly is not due to the beneficiary's fault, the LBP [may] shall reduce the interest rate and/or reduce the principal obligation to make the repayment affordable.

More Participation of Farmers in the CARP Implementation

The CARPER law provides a mechanism for greater farmer participation in the policy formulation and program implementation of CARP through ARB membership in the PARC. Even potential agrarian reform beneficiaries may be nominated. The most important is the requirement of ARBs’ concurrence in all the stages of the program.

Section 14.“The representatives of the agrarian reform beneficiaries to the PARC shall be chosen from the nominees of the duly accredited agrarian reform beneficiaries' organizations, or in its absence, from organizations of actual and potential agrarian reform beneficiaries as forwarded to and processed by the PARC excom.

INTERLUDE

Give out what you would like to receive and it will be reflected back to you. If someone has done something wrong to you, give them some affection, some gift of kindness. Even if they do not change, at least, you have changed how you perceive them (abeto a. salcedo, jr.).

Continuation on my next post…..