Scope of CARP
The Constitution in Sec.
4, Art. XIII, mandates the just distribution of all agricultural lands, subject
to such priorities and reasonable retention limits that the Congress may
prescribe, taking into account ecological, developmental or equity
considerations and subject to the payment of just compensation.
Prior to RA 6657, the operative law
on land distribution was PD 27 (1972).
However, PD 27 is limited in
scope, covering only tenanted private agricultural lands primarily devoted to
rice and corn operating under a system of share-crop or lease tenancy, whether
classified as landed estate or not. The constitutional provision therefore
expanded the scope of agrarian reform to cover all agricultural lands.
RA 6657 operationalized this
constitutional mandate and provides in Sec. 4 thereof that the CARP shall
cover, regardless of tenurial arrangement and commodity produced, all public
and private agricultural lands, as provided in Proclamation No. 131 and EO 229including other lands of the public
domain suitable for agriculture. More specifically, the following lands are
covered by CARP:
a) All
alienable and disposable lands of the public domain devoted to or suitable for
agriculture;
b) All
lands of the public domain in excess of the specific limits as determined by
Congress in Sec. 4 (a) of RA 6657;
c) All
other lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for agriculture; and
d) All
private lands devoted or suitable for agriculture regardless of the
agricultural products raised or that can be raised thereon (Rep. Act No. 6657 [1988], Sec. 4).
