Agrarian Problems in the Philippines

President Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998) When President Fidel V. Ramos formally took over in 1992, his administration came face to face with publics who have lost confidence in the agrarian reform program. His administration committed to the vision “Fairer, faster and more meaningful implementation of the Agrarian Reform Program.

President Fidel V. Ramos enacted the following laws:

Republic Act No. 7881, 1995 – Amended certain provisions of RA 6657 and exempted fishponds and prawns from the coverage of CARP.

Republic Act No. 7905, 1995 – Strengthened the implementation of the CARP.

Executive Order No. 363, 1997 – Limits the type of lands that may be converted by setting conditions under which limits the type of lands that may be converted by setting conditions under which specific categories of agricultural land are either absolutely non-negotiable for conversion or highly restricted for conversion.

Republic Act No. 8435, 1997 (Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act AFMA) – Plugged the legal loopholes in land use conversion.

Republic Act 8532, 1998 (Agrarian Reform Fund Bill) – Provided an additional Php50 billion for CARP and extended its implementation for another 10 years.

President Joseph E. Estrada (1998-2000) “ERAP PARA SA MAHIRAP’. This was the battle cry that endeared President Joseph Estrada and made him very popular during the 1998 presidential election.

President Joseph E. Estrada initiated the enactment of the following law:

Executive Order N0. 151, September 1999 (Farmer’s Trust Fund) – Allowed the voluntary consolidation of small farm operation into medium and large scale integrated enterprise that can access long-term capital.

During his administration, President Estrada launched the Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA. The DAR forged into joint ventures with private investors into agrarian sector to make FBs competitive.

However, the Estrada Administration was short lived. The masses who put him into office demanded for his ouster.