Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law and the Agricultural Tenancy Act of the Philippines

Section 35

There is hereby created the Office of Support Services under the DAR to be headed by an Undersecretary. The Office shall provide general support and coordinative services in the implementation of the program particularly in carrying out the provisions of the following services to farmer-beneficiaries and affected landowners: 1) Irrigation facilities, especially second crop or dry season irrigation facilities; 2) Infrastructure development and public works projects in areas and settlements that come under agrarian reform, and for this purpose, the preparation of the physical development plan of such settlements providing suitable barangay sites, potable water and power resources, irrigation systems and other facilities for a sound agricultural development plan; 3) Government subsidies for the use of irrigation facilities; 4) Price support and guarantee for all agricultural produce; 5) Extending to small landowners, farmers' organizations the necessary credit, like concessional and collateral-free loans, for agro-industrialization based on social collaterals like the guarantees of farmers' organization: 6) Promoting, developing and extending financial assistance to small-and medium-scale industries in agrarian reform areas; 7) Assigning sufficient numbers of agricultural extension workers to farmers' organizations; 8) Undertake research, development and dissemination of information on agrarian reform and low-cost and ecologically sound farm inputs and technologies to minimize reliance on expensive and imported agricultural inputs; 9) Development of cooperative management skills through intensive training; 10) Assistance in the identification of ready markets for agricultural produce and training in other various prospects of marketing; andtai 11) Administration operation management and funding of support services, programs and projects including pilot projects and models related to agrarian reform as developed by the DAR.

Section 36

In order to cover the expenses and cost of support services, at least forty percent (40%) of all appropriations for agrarian reform during the five (5) year extension period shall be immediately set aside and made available for this purpose: Provided, That the DAR shall pursue integrated land acquisition and distribution and support services strategy requiring a plan to be developed parallel to the land acquisition and distribution process. The planning and implementation for land acquisition and distribution shall be hand-in-hand with support services delivery: Provided, further, That for the next five (5) years, as far as practicable, a minimum of two (2) Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) shall be established by the DAR, in coordination with the local government units, non-governmental organizations, 'community-based cooperatives and people's organizations in each legislative district with a predominant agricultural population: Provided, furthermore, That the areas in which the ARCS are to be established shall have been substantially covered under the provisions of this Act and other agrarian or land reform laws: Provided, finally, That a complementary support services delivery strategy for existing agrarian reform beneficiaries that are not in barangays within the ARCs shall be adopted by the DAR. For this purpose, an Agrarian Reform Community is composed and managed by agrarian reform beneficiaries who shall be willing to be organized and to undertake the integrated development of an area and/or their organizations/ cooperatives. In each community, the DAR, together with the agencies and organizations abovementioned, shall identify the farmers' association, cooperative or their respective federations approved by the farmers- beneficiaries that shall take the lead in the agricultural development of the area. In addition, the DAR, in close coordination with the congressional oversight committee created herein, with due notice to the concerned representative of the legislative district prior to implementation shall be authorized to package proposals and receive grants, aids and other forms of financial assistance from any source.

Section 37

The State shall adopt the integrated policy of support services delivery to agrarian reform beneficiaries. To this end, the DAR, the Department of Finance, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shall institute reforms to liberalize access to credit by agrarian reform beneficiaries. The PARC shall ensure that support services for agrarian reform beneficiaries are provided, such as: (a) Land surveys and titling; (b) Socialized terms on agricultural credit facilities; Thirty percent (30%) of all appropriations for support services referred to in Section 36 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, shall be immediately set aside and made available for agricultural credit facilities: Provided, That one-third (1/3) of this segregated appropriation shall be specifically allocated for subsidies to support the initial capitalization for agricultural production to new agrarian reform beneficiaries upon the awarding of the emancipation patent or the certificate of land ownership award and the remaining two-thirds (2/3) shall be allocated to provide access to socialized credit to existing agrarian reform beneficiaries, including the leaseholders: Provided, further, the LBP and other concerned government financial institutions, accredited savings and credit cooperatives, financial service cooperatives and accredited cooperative banks shall provide the delivery system for disbursement of the above financial assistance to individual agrarian reform beneficiaries, holders of collective titles and cooperatives. For this purpose, all financing institutions may accept as collateral for loans the purchase orders, marketing agreements or expected harvests: Provided, That loans obtained shall be used in the improvement or development of the farm holding of the agrarian reform beneficiary or the establishment of facilities which shall enhance production or marketing of agricultural products of increase farm income therefrom: Provided, further, That of the remaining seventy percent (70%) for the support services, fifteen percent (15%) shall be earmarked for farm inputs as requested by the duly accredited agrarian reform beneficiaries' organizations, such as, but not limited to: (1) seeds, seedlings and/or planting materials; (2) organic fertilizers; (3) pesticides; (4)herbicides; and (5) farm animals, implements/'machineries; and five percent (5%) for seminars, trainings and the like to help empower agrarian reform beneficiaries. (c) Extension services by way of planting, cropping, production and post-harvest technology transfer, as well as marketing and management assistance and support to cooperatives and farmers' organizations; (d) Infrastructure such as, but not limited to, access trails, mini-dams, public utilities, marketing and storage facilities; (e) Research, production and use of organic fertilizers and other local substances necessary in farming and cultivation; and (f) Direct and active DAR assistance in the education and organization of actual and potential agrarian reform beneficiaries, at the barangay, municipal, city, provincial, and national levels, towards helping them understand their rights and responsibilities as owner-cultivators developing farm- related trust relationships among themselves and their neighbors, and increasing farm production and profitability with the ultimate end of empowering them to chart their own destiny. The representatives of the agrarian reform beneficiaries to the PARC shall be chosen from the 'nominees of the duly accredited agrarian reform beneficiaries' organizations, or in its absence, from organizations of actual and potential agrarian reform beneficiaries as forwarded to and processed by the PARC EXCOM. The PARC shall formulate policies to ensure that support services for agrarian reform beneficiaries shall be provided at all stages of the program implementation with the concurrence of the concerned agrarian reform beneficiaries. The PARC shall likewise adopt, implement, and monitor policies and programs to ensure the fundamental equality of women and men in the agrarian reform program as well as respect for the human rights, social protection, and decent working conditions of both paid and unpaid men and women farmer-beneficiaries. The Bagong Kilusang Kabuhayan sa Kaunlaran (BKKK) Secretariat shall be transferred and attached t o the LBP, for its supervision including all its applicable and existing funds, personnel, properties, equipment and records. Misuse or diversion of the financial and support services herein provided shall result in sanctions against the beneficiary guilty thereof, including the forfeiture of the land transferred to him/her or lesser sanctions as may be provided by the PARC, without prejudice to criminal prosecution.

Section 37-A

Support services shall be extended equally to women and men agrarian reform beneficiaries. The PARC shall ensure that these support services, as provided for in this Act, integrate the specific needs and well-being of women farmer- beneficiaries taking into account the specific requirements of female family members of farmer- beneficiaries. The PARC shall also ensure that rural women will be able to participate in all community activities. To this effect, rural women are entitled to self-organization in order to obtain equal access to economic opportunities and to have access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing facilities and technology, and other support services, and equal treatment in land reform and resettlement schemes. The DAR shall establish and maintain a women's desk, which will be primarily responsible for formulating and implementing programs and activities related to the protection and promotion of women's rights, as well as providing an avenue where women can register their complaints and grievances principally related t o their rural activities.

Section 38

The PARC, with the assistance of such other government agencies and instrumentalities as it may direct, shall provide landowners affected by the CARP and prior agrarian reform programs with the following services: (a) Investment information, financial and counseling assistance, particularly investment information on government-owned and/or -controlled corporations and disposable assets of the government in pursuit of national industrialization and economic independence: (b) Facilities, programs and schemes for the conversion or exchange of bonds issued for payment of the lands acquired with stocks and bonds issued by the National Government, the BSP and other government institutions and instrumentalities; (c) Marketing of agrarian reform bonds, as well as promoting the marketability of said bonds in traditional and non-traditional financial markets and stock exchanges: and/or (d) Other services designed t o utilize productively the proceeds of the sale of such lands for rural industrialization. A landowner who invests in rural-based industries shall be entitled to the incentives granted to a registered enterprise engaged in a pioneer or preferred area of investment as provided for in the Omnibus Investment Code of 1987,or to such other incentives as the PARC, the LBP, or other government financial institutions shall provide. The LBP shall redeem a landowner's agrarian reform bonds at face value as an incentive: Provided, That at least fifty percent (50%) of the proceeds thereof shall be invested in a Board of Investments (BOI)-registered company or in any agri-business or agro-industrial enterprise in the region where the CARP-covered landholding is located. An additional incentive of two percent (2%) in cash shall be paid to a landowner who maintains his/her enterprise as a going concern for five (5) years or keeps his/her investments in a BOI- registered firm for the same period: Provided, further, That the rights of the agrarian reform beneficiaries are not, in any way, prejudiced or impaired thereby. The DAR, the LBP and the Department of Trade and Industry shall jointly formulate the program to carry out these provisions under the supervision of the PARC: Provided, That in no case shall the landowners' sex, economic, religious, social, cultural and political attributes exclude them from accessing these support services.

Section 39

The DAR shall carry out land consolidation projects to promote equal distribution of landholdings, to provide the needed infrastructures in agriculture, and to conserve soil fertility and prevent erosion.