Ramil C.
Salundaga Reading in the Philippine History
1st year- B1B Professor/Instructor: Dr. Arnel L. Lantong
ACTIVITY NO. 10-11
THE AGRARIAN REFORM LAW
1.) What is the significance of the Agrarian Reform Law in the Philippines?
To first answer the question, what is the significance of the Agrarian reform law in the
Philippines, I think, I can say that this law has totally helped the lives of the people on our country,
especially the poor. By implementing this law, it seems that our government realize that they must
give importance to the Filipino farmers because if not for their perseverance to plant crops especially
rice, corns, wheat and etc. under the heat of the sun, for sure the country’s economy will go down and
at the same time many Filipinos will get hungry. The impact of the implementation of the CARP or
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program has been really good and positive, because there are data
released by our government that between the years 1990 to 2000, the case of the poverty in the
Philippines has decreased, due to the fact that the farmer beneficiaries earn and take home a higher
income compared to those farmers who are not yet included to the program. Also, in this project, our
government also provide irrigation for the land, free seed crops, fertilizers and many more, so the
chances that the beneficiaries will not suffer and get poor are really increased.
To summarize the whole topic, I just give some important details that I learned from the video
that I watched. So, the CARP was basically signed by President Corazon Aquino on June 10, 1988,
and became effective on June 15, 1988, in which all land or agricultural land in the Philippines,
despite of what is planted here, whether rice, corn or any crops, as an order from the government,
declared as an agrarian reform area, where tenant farmers and other agricultural workers can
become beneficiaries of this implemented program. The video also said, who can apply or be
qualified for it, just like, if the tenant farmer already owns a land, he can still apply to be part of this
program, as long as his/her total land ownership will not exceed to 3 hectares. Also, the video
mentioned that, once you became its beneficiaries, there are chances that the land you are cultivating
may also be yours, but clearly it is not free and it will be paid to the landbank where the DAR will give
you a certificate of ownership for the land you are cultivating, and it will be paid in 30 years
installment to the Landbank of the Philippines.
It is clear that once you got a certificate of ownership by the DAR, it can be considered a proof
that you already owns the land but remember that certificate is not considered as a land title. But
when you are already fully paid, you must immediately contact the landbank, where in cooperation
with the DAR, you will be given a title for the land.
This law is truly designed for farmers who are landless and poor. The project’s key aim is to
teach people about the value of farming and to inspire them to plant and sell fruits and vegetables as
an alternative source of income. I am grateful to our government for giving that program. They just
didn’t give the project for us, but they supported us during hard times. As of now, I can say that it will
greatly help us, especially farmers in the fight with this pandemic, because through farming we can
somehow survive this severe crisis caused by Covid 19.
