Land Reform and Philippine History

Land Reform

  • Land reform involves the state acquiring land from large landowners (with compensation) and transferring it to small farmers or landless workers.
  • Agrarian reform includes modernizing agricultural practices and improving living conditions for the entire agrarian community.

Pre-Spanish Era

  • The social system was feudal, with datus (chiefs) as the nobility, followed by freemen, serfs, and slaves.
  • Slaves were allowed some share of the harvest but were considered their master’s property.
  • Rice served as the medium of exchange due to the absence of money.

Spanish Era

  • Encomienda System was established.
  • Four Estate Proprietors: religious orders, Spanish peninsulares, the criollos/creoles, and native principales.
  • Inquilino System was implemented

American Regime

  • The Torrens system of land registration was introduced to address the lack of records and accurate land surveys.
  • By 1919, about 69% of Friar Lands had been bought and disposed of by the U.S. Civil Government.
  • Qualifications for voting:
    • Be males, age 23 and above
    • Speak, read, and write English/Spanish, own real property worth at least P500P500, or have held local positions.

Commonwealth Period

  • Social Justice Program aimed to break up land estates and distribute them to tenants.
  • Introduction of welfare programs: an eight-hour working day and a minimum wage.
  • Republic Act No. 4054, or the Rice Share Tenancy Act, was passed: a 50-50 sharing arrangement between landowners and tenants.

The Third Republic

  • Ramon Magsaysay:
    • Republic Act No. 1166: Creation of the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA).
    • Republic Act No. 1199: Agricultural Tenancy Act provided security of tenure for tenants.
    • Republic Act No. 1400: Land Reform Act.
  • Diosdado Macapagal:
    • Republic Act No. 3844, known as the Agricultural Land Reform Code, abolished share tenancy, institutionalized leasehold, and invested rights of preemption and redemption for tenant farmers.

Martial Law and Fourth Republic

  • International Rice Research Institute (IRRI): developed a new rice variety called IR8-288-3 (Miracle Rice).
  • Presidential Decree 27 Landlords who owned more than 7 hectares must sell.
  • Masagana 99: Boost rice productivity and self-sufficiency, essentially a credit program.

Fifth Republic

  • Cory Aquino (Republic Act 6657):
    • The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.
    • 5 hectare retention limit, 3 hectares for legitimate heirs at least 15 years of age, a mandate to cover all the lands, delivery of services, the creation of adjudication body.
  • Structural Adjustment Program
    • Open the market of the Philippines to imported goods.
    • Eliminate the quotas on all agricultural imports.
    • Reduce dramatically the tariffs on imported goods to lower tariff rates

History of Philippine Government and Constitutions

  • Precolonial Philippines
    • Jose Rizal argued that the early Philippine society was not uncivilized or barbaric.
    • Early thinkers dismissed native institutions as inadequate.
    • Early river-based settlements played a crucial role in shaping their way of life and political systems.