DAR crafts new rules on land transfer

By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 19, 2016 - 12:00am

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MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has crafted new rules aimed at accelerating
the process of transferring ownership of agricultural lands, and attracting more investments in the sector.

The new rules are intended to create an environment sustainable for agribusiness in the country by securing
tenure rights of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and strengthening business relations between
beneficiaries and investors.

AO No. 04 provides rules on agribusiness venture agreements (AVAs) while AO No. 06 regulates the transfer
of ownership of agricultural lands.

AVAs are defined as contracts entered into by an agrarian reform beneficiary or group of ARBs, on one
hand, and an investor, on the other, which involve the possession of the land; distribution of the produce
of the land, and commitment of the owners to produce certain crops.

Both remained faithful to the provisions of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, but the
requirements and procedure were streamlined to simplify the process, explained DAR Assistant
Secretary Justin Vincent La Chica, chairperson of the DAR Guidelines Drafting Committee.

La Chica said that in the last decade, issues surrounding AVAs cropped up which prompted the DAR to
undertake several series of consultations, one of which was conducted by an independent team formed
by the DAR and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.

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The result of the consultations together with many international principles that were recently issued, and
grounded by the Constitution and pertinent laws, became the basis of the new rules, he said.

The DAR made sure that the AO will not unduly impede on what the beneficiaries and the investors can
agree together and will rather look at whether consent was freely given by the beneficiaries in an
atmosphere of comity.

The rule also also noted the role of the government to provide support services to the farmer-owners to
allow them to negotiate with investors, as far as practicable, on an equal footing.

While the requirements and the process were made simpler, the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council
still has the discretion on approving these agreements under the new rules. This is provided for by the
law and we have no authority nor any intention to circumvent that, La Chica pointed out.

The rules also gave premium to mediation and conciliation as the primary form of dispute resolution.

La Chica said that opportunties for red tape in the transfer of ownership of agricultural lands have been
lessened or eliminated altogether withthe issuance of AO No. 06.

The transfer of ownership of agricultural lands, including those not distributed through an agrarian reform
program, must be cleared by the DAR before it is registered. The DAR is tasked to verify that the said
transfer is not restricted by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law,he said.
The law bars the ARBs to transfer the awarded land during a holding period of 10 years and that is while
the amortization to the government has not yet been fully paid.

Only transfers through hereditary succession, or to the government or another qualified beneficiary are
allowed during the said period.

If the restrictions do not apply, the DAR will have to clear the transfer, La Chica said.

400,000 hectares of land distributed

by 2019 DAR
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BY THE MANILA TIMES ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2016THE LATEST NEWS, TODAY'S BREAKING NEWS
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is eyeing to distribute 400,000 hectares of land
to 379,236 agrarian reform beneficiaries by 2019 or less than three years from now.

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Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano announced the target during the recent
presentation of DARs P10-billion proposed budget for 2017 before the House
appropriations panel.

If DAR met the self-imposed deadline, Mariano said, there would only be 72,450 hectares
left for distribution in the remaining three years of the Duterte administration.

There are 148,636 hectares more to be handed over to the agrarian reform beneficiaries on
top of the 472,450 hectares that should be distributed by 2022, according to him.

The DAR chief was referring to the 148,636 hectares of problematic landholdings or
privately owned agricultural lands that are yet to be covered by the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) Law.

Mariano said the total area to be distributed within six years is over 621,000 hectares.

We want to take this opportunity for Congress to also help the department in passing a new
agrarian reform law that will expand the mandate of the DAR and facilitate the coverage of
more agricultural lands not yet covered by our agrarian reform program. We recommend
that the proposed legislation consider coverage of lands previously exempted or excluded
from agrarian reform coverage at the least cost, if not free, to farmers, he told the House
Committee on Appropriations.

The CARP law covers alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or
suitable for agriculture; lands of the public domain in excess of the specific limits as
determined by Congress; lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for
agriculture; and private lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture regardless of the
agricultural products raised or that can be raised there.

The CARP Law bans reclassifying forest or mineral lands as agricultural lands unless
Congress determines it by law.

From 1987 to 2016, DAR records would show that of the 4.8 million hectares covered under
the CARP Law, 4.7 million hectares had Emancipation Patents and Certificate of Land
Ownership Award (EP/CLOA) and were distributed to 2.8 million agrarian reform
beneficiaries nationwide.

Of the 4.7 million hectares, 2.6 million or 55 percent are Private Agricultural Lands (PAL)
and the remaining 2.1 million hectares are non-PAL.

In addition, 1.8 million hectares of the 4.7 million hectares that have been awarded to
agrarian reform beneficiaries are compensable by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

The remaining 2.9 million hectares are non-LBP compensable. LLANESCA T. PANTI

DAR issues guidelines for agrarian law

implementation cases

The Department of Agrarian Reform

(DAR) recently issued rules of regulations amending Administrative Order (A.O.) No. 03, Series of
2003 on adjudication of cases involving Agrarian Law Implementation (ALI) to foster a just, inexpensive,
and expeditious determination of agrarian case though A.O. No. 03, Series of 2017.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael V. Mariano said these rules shall be known as the 2017 Rules of
Procedures for ALI Cases.

He said these rules shall govern among others, all cases arising from or involving classification and
identification of landholdings for coverage under the agrarian reform program and the initial issuance of
Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) and Emamcipation Patents (EPs), including protest or
oppositions and petitions for lifting of such coverage.

He also added the classification, identification, inclusion, exclusion, qualification, or disqualification of

potential/actual farmer-beneficiaries, subdivision surveys of land under the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program and other agrarian cases, disputes, matters or concerns referred by the Secretary to the
Regional Director, other DAR Officials, or in other cases where the Secretary assumes jurisdiction.

Mariano said the Regional Director shall exercise primary jurisdiction over all ALI cases except when a
separate special rule vest primary jurisdiction in a different DAR Office.

However, the Secretary shall exercise appellate jurisdiction over all ALI cases, and may delegate the
resolution of appeals to any Undersecretary.

He disclosed that when an ALI case raises a prejudicial issue, such issue being a DARAB case, the
Secretary/Regional Director shall dismiss without prejudice the case pending resolution of the prejudicial
question.

Appeals to the Secretary shall be given due course on the decision of the Regional Director on serious
errors in the findings of facts or conclusion of law which may cause grave and irreparable damage or
injury to the appellant or coercion, fraud, or clear graft and corruption in the issuance of a decision
Mariano said.

He added that a party may file only one motion for reconsideration of the decision of the Secretary or
deciding authority within a non-extendible period of fifteen days from receipt of the Secretarys decision.

Mariano said appeals from the decision of the Secretary may be taken to the Office of the President
within fifteen days from receipt thereof.

He said that orders/decisions/resolution shall become final and executory after the lapse of fifteen days
from the receipt by the last recipient of an official copy thereof and no motion for reconsideration nor
appeal therefrom.

Execution shall issue automatically as a matter of course upon finality of the case. The Regional Director
shall issue the necessary certificate of finality within five days from date of finality of a case, Mariano
added.

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