Land Redistribution in the Philippines

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)

By Neil Jerome C. Morales

     The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was a land reform law mandated by Republic Act No. 6657, signed by President Corazon Aquino on June 10, 1988. It was the fifth land reform law in fifty years, following the land reform laws of Presidents Manuel Quezon, Ramon Magsaysay, Diosdado Macapagal and Ferdinand Marcos.

     According to RA 6657, CARP aims “for a more equitable distribution and ownership of land.” It meant to distribute lands to farmers in a span of 10 years, but was extended by the 11^th Congress due to delays in land distribution and lack of budget allocation.

      Section 3 of RA 6657 defined agrarian reform as the “redistribution of lands, regardless of crops or fruits produced, to farmers and regular farm workers who are landless” and “all other arrangements alternative to the physical redistribution of lands, such as production or profit-sharing, labor administration and the distribution of shares of stock which will allow beneficiaries to receive a just share of the fruits of the lands they work.”

Vast agricultural lands are distributed to the farmers tilling the land, whereas only a maximum of five hectares can be retained by the landlords, and three hectares for each of their children.

     However, a common CARP loophole was that landlords escaped relinquishing their lands through land reclassifications. Lands classified by local zoning ordinances as residential, commercial and industrial lands are excluded from CARP.

SOURCE:
Department of Agrarian Reform website, http://www.dar.gov.ph

   The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program is an excellent and a wise act because it gives the farmers their right to cultivate their own land. It is their right to have their equal share, so that no person can oppress them. But unfortunately many Filipinos didn't obey this act some of them are voracious  they don't give what the farmers should have. In some countries CARP is progressive they give what the farmers should have it is sad to know that here in our country this simple act cannot be done by our fellow Filipino residents. They are afraid that there property will be shared, they want their property for their own good.

    They don't realized how the farmers need this property, they need it to sustain their economic problem. So that they can help their family and so they can send their children to school. As what I have observed children of farmers just graduated in High School they did not enter college because of financial problem. So many of them as early as 17 years old entered married life, they don't have dreams to pursue because of this problem. Even if they have personal dreams they cannot proceed because of financial problem.

     If they obey these kind of act many Filipino can leave there old boring life to new ones because of the opportunity given to these people, they will have their  own properties and live the life they wanted to be.