Corazon Constitution

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During the start of President Corazon Aquino's term in 1986, the Constitutional Commission approved Section 21 under Article II, which states that “The State shall promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform.” This led to the drafting of CARP, which took the Congress a year to make. On June 10, 1988, Republic Act No. 6657, also known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), was passed to promote social justice and industrialization. Although it was still a product of adherence to democratic principles, this law was found to have many flaws. Because of much dissatisfaction with the agrarian reform law, proposals from peasant groups and non-government organizations grew in order to implement an alternative program that was more advantageous to them. However, this did not succeed.

CARP recognizes not only farmers but all landless workers as beneficiaries with the condition that they cultivate the land. The two main departments in charge of this program are Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Aside from the land distribution, it also provides the delivery of support services and security to the farmers.

Under the Aquino administration, a total of 898,420 landless tenants and farmers became recipients of land titles and support services. Even with this, it can be considered unsuccessful because it only accomplished 22.5 percent of land distribution in 6 years. This was due to the fact that Aquino assigned 4 different DAR secretaries. The major setback for CARP was Aquino's Hacienda Luisita's Stock Distribution Option, which says that she was the first landlord to evade CARP on a grand scale.

The Constitution ratified by the Filipino people during the administration of President Corazon C. Aquino provides under Section 21 under Article II that “The State shall promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform.”

On June 10, 1988, former President Corazon C. Aquino signed into law Republic Act No. 6657 or otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). The law became effective on June 15, 1988.

Subsequently, four Presidential issuances were released in July 1987 after 48 nationwide consultations before the actual law was enacted.

President Corazon C. Aquino enacted the following laws:

• Executive Order No. 228, July 16, 1987 – Declared full ownership to qualified farmer-beneficiaries covered by PD 27. It also determined the value remaining unvalued rice and corn lands subject of PD 27 and provided for the manner of payment by the FBs and mode of compensation to landowners.

• Executive Order No. 229, July 22, 1987 – Provided mechanism for the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

• Proclamation No. 131, July 22, 1987 – Instituted the CARP as a major program of the government. It provided for a special fund known as the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF), with an initial amount of Php50 billion to cover the estimated cost of the program from 1987-1992.

• Executive Order No. 129-A, July 26, 1987 – streamlined and expanded the power and operations of the DAR.

• Republic Act No. 6657, June 10, 1988 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law) – An act which became effective June 15, 1988 and instituted a comprehensive agrarian reform program to promote social justice and industrialization providing the mechanism for its implementation and for other purposes. This law is still the one being implemented at present.

• Executive Order No. 405, June 14, 1990 – Vested in the Land Bank of the Philippines the responsibility to determine land valuation and compensation for all lands covered by CARP.

• Executive Order No. 407, June 14, 1990 – Accelerated the acquisition and distribution of agricultural lands, pasture lands, fishponds, agro-forestry lands and other lands of the public domain suitable for agriculture.