Lessons and Insights on Access to Land: The Philippine Experience Presented by ANGOC At the ILC-AoM 23 April 2009 Yak & Yeti Hotel, Kathmandu, Nepal

Overview 30 million hectares 7,107 islands 80+M population agriculture contributes 20% to GDP 350 years colonial rule Independence in 1945 Land categories: out of the 30M hectares: about 15M (50%) are “forest lands” under the state about 12M (40%) are agricultural lands the rest, about 3M (10%) are other categories

Land problem in the Philippines In 1988, the rich 20% owned 80% of the land, while the poorer 80% owned only 20% of the land. Land = wealth power prestige Most of big landowners are also local politicians & military About 200 elite families control about 80% of the economy, thru inter-marriages & inter-locking directorates

Importance of access to land: Rural poverty 38% (or 5.1M families) in poverty; earning less than USD100/ month for a family of 5 Poverty is mainly rural and agricultural Rural areas account for 71% of all poor families Peace & stability 400 peasant uprisings in 450 years Economic development Agriculture employs 40% of labor force; provides 23% of GDP Small farms are more productive than large farms, per unit area

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP): 1998 Targeted to redistribute around 8.1M ha. of agricultural land and integrated social forestry areas to 3.9 million landless tenant farmers Initial financing of Php50 B from sales of government properties, receipts from assets recovered from Marcos ill-gotten wealth, ODA, etc.; Php100 billion when CARP was extended for another 10 years ( ) Covers all agricultural lands, regardless of crop Eligible beneficiaries: owner/cultivator; leaseholders granted permanent use rights over the lands; farmworkers who rendered service for value as an employee or laborer

Land ceiling of 5 hectares; and if applicable 3 hectares for each child more than 15 years of age and actual tilling the land Land redistribution (w/ annual amortization for 25 years) Provision of support services Equal rights to land for women Participation of CSOs and farmer organizations in implementation Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP): 1998

Impact of CARP Panel data survey in select provinces shows strong owner-cultivatorship and significant declines in tenancy Macro study indicates that more secure land tenure and secure land ownership enhance the willingness of landowners and beneficiaries to invest Over 60% of Filipinos say agrarian reform was the main reason for peace in the countryside (1996 SWS survey, 8 years after CARP Law was passed) Higher incomes of farmer beneficiaries compared to non-beneficiaries… (However, beneficiaries just slightly above poverty line (External DAR Evaluation)

Challenges of CARP An uncertain future ◦ Budget issue: CARP will need new funding allocation by landlord- dominated Congress The remaining lands to be redistributed are difficult ◦ Much of the remaining lands to be redistributed are private lands, with strong landlord resistance Other forces (climate change, biofuels, land conversions, etc.) Other pending legislations and initiatives to counteract CARP ’ s gains (charter change, farmland as collateral, etc)

Insights and Lessons Learned Agrarian reform is an ongoing political act Agrarian reforms must be based on legal framework (1987 Constitution – principles of social equity & ecological balance) AR = (LTI + SS) PP LR + BI AR = (Land Tenure + Support Services) x Participation Landlord Resistance + Bureaucratic Inertia

Speed & political credibility of program implementation Technical & institutional capacity Need reliable data to support advocacy for AR, through continuous documentation, tooling and dissemination on the program Insights and Lessons Learned

Need for National Land Use Law to rationalize resource use and harmonize overlapping policies ◦ At least 11 laws on access to land in the Philippines: CARP, IPRA, Fisheries Code, UDHA, LGC, AFMA, NIPAS, Forestry Code Insights and Lessons Learned

Need for local structures for local dialogue & negotiation Importance of self- organization & empowerment of rural poor women and men