The Agricultural Land Reform Code, officially designated as Republic Act No. 3844, was an advancement of

land reform in the Philippines Land reform in the Philippines has long been a contentious issue rooted in the Philippines's Spanish Colonial Period. Some efforts began during the American Colonial Period with renewed efforts during the Commonwealth, following independence, dur ...

that was enacted in 1963 under President

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth president of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth vice president, serving from 1 ...

. It abolished tenancy and established a leasehold system in which farmers paid fixed rentals to landlords, rather than a percentage of harvest. In agricultural leasehold, the farmer cultivates the land belonging to, or possessed by, another with the latter's consent for a price certain in money or in produce or both. It also established the

Land Bank of the Philippines Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP; often referred to simply as LandBank), is a government-owned bank in the Philippines with a special focus on serving the needs of farmers and fishermen. While it provides the services of a universal bank, it ...

to help with land reform, particularly the purchase of agricultural estates for division and resale to small landholders, and the purchase of land by the agricultural lessee. While the law was a significant advance over previous legislation, the bill was weakened by numerous amendments imposed by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, which was dominated by

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...

s. It was also weakened by the failure of Congress to allocate necessary funds for effective implementation of the law. The act has been further amended several times subsequent to becoming law by later legislation.Subsequent legislation includes
Republic Act No. 6657
approved June 10, 1988

approved February 23, 1995

approved February 23, 1995

approved February 23, 1998

Provisions

The main provisions of the Agricultural Land Reform Code were: *To establish and encourage the formation of family-sized farms as the basis for Philippine agriculture *To improve the lives of farmers by liberating them from harmful practices such as illegal interest rates *To encourage greater productivity and increase income of small farmers *To apply labor laws equally regardless of status *To provide a land settlement program and promote equitable distribution of land *To make poor farmers self-reliant, responsible citizens to strengthen society

References

External links

Department of Agrarian Reform website
{{Asia in topic, Land reform in

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Agriculture in the Philippines Philippine legislation Presidency of Diosdado Macapagal

Provisions

See also

References

External links