Securing the Right to Land FULL - ANGOC

The Philippines has produced some of the most progressive reform
legislation in recent years. Republic Act (R.A.) 6657, or the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, is comprehensive in its
coverage, while remaining mindful of the interests of IPs, and
guaranteeing equal landownership rights to men and women.
R.A. 8371, or the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA),
recognizes, promotes, and protects the rights of IPs, including
their right to ancestral domain and lands, self-governance, and
the right to cultural integrity. The Philippines has also enacted a
law governing its fishery resources, which emphasizes stewardship
and protection, rather than production and exploitation. Its
Bangladesh
East Bengal State Acquisition
and Tenancy Act
(EBSATA) of 1950
Land Reform Policy of 1972
Land Reform Ordinance of
1984
Khas Land Management and
Distribution Policy
Vested Property Restoration
Act of 2001
THE PROLONGED STRUGGLE FOR LAND RIGHTS IN ASIA
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forestry management strategy is based on the principle that as
long as the people’s needs are prioritized, forestry resources
would be sustainably utilized.
The following is a selection of those laws and programs that
have been introduced to improve the poor’s access to land and
tenurial security. They are by no means comprehensive; but
they provide an overview of the legal and policy framework defining
ownership, control and access to land in the respective
countries. It must also be said that their implementation is another
matter.
Table 2. Legal and Policy Environment of Access to Land in Six Asian Countries
Aimed to make peasants direct tenants of the government, with rights to transfer, inherit
and cultivate their land as they see fit
Prohibited the subletting of land with the aim of eliminating rent-seeking behavior and absentee
landownership
The 1994 Amendment mandated that in the case of landholdings lost to erosion, the right,
title and interest of the tenant or his/her successor in interest are retained during the period
of loss through erosion, but not exceeding 30 years.
Gave government the mandate to acquire surplus land and to distribute it to landless peasants
Authorized the government to acquire flooded and accreted land and to treat these as khas land
Exempted landowners holding less than 3.33 hectares from paying land tax
Reduced the ceiling for landholdings from 13.3 hectares to 8 hectares
Prohibited the purchase or transfer of land in the name of another person in order to conceal
identity of the true landowner
Fixed the minimum wage of agricultural laborers at the equivalent value of 3 kilograms of rice
Prohibited the eviction of peasants from their paternal homestead
Instituted a three-way sharing of farm produce: 1 /3 to the landowner; 1 /3 to the sharecropper;
and the remaining third to be divided proportionately between the landowner and the
sharecropper on the basis of expenses incurred by each one
Granted joint ownership of khas land to husband and wife
Abolished the Vested Property Act (VPA)—formerly the Enemy Property Act (EPA)—that dispossessed
the Hindi population of their ancestral land during the war between Pakistan (of
which Bangladesh used to be part) and India in 1965. After Bangladesh became independent
from Pakistan in 1971, the EPA was retained and renamed as VPA, and resulted in the
confiscation of some 800,000 hectares of Hindu property. Around 0.75 million Hindu households
were reportedly victimized by this law.
ASIAN NGO COALITION FOR AGRARIAN REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT