TOSUBJECT

3['\cpllblir of tIle ~bilillilines~l\vrelHe ([ollrt

aI?ffi re of tbe Qeo IIrt %romi nifj'tratorJtilnll i1n

OCA CIRCULAR NO. 62-2010

ALL JUDGES OF LOWER COURTS

IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTIONS 7 AND 50·A OFR.A. No. 6657, ALSO KNOWN AS THECOMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN RE}'ORM LAW OF1988, AS RESPECTIVELY AMENDED BY SECTIONS 5AND 19 OF R.A. No. 9700 (AN ACT STRENGTHENINGTHE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORMPROGRAM [CARP], EXTENDING THEACQUISITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF ALLAGRICULTURAL LANDS, INSTITUTINGNECESSARY REFORMS, AMENDING FOR THEPURPOSE CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF REPUBLICACT NO. 6657, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE

. COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM LAW OF1988, AS AMENDED, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDSTHEREFOR)

Republic Act No. 9700 (R.A No. 9700), extending the implementationof the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) for the next five (5)years, introduced several reforms to Republic Act No. 6657 (R.A. No. 6657)otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 19R8. Amongothers, Section 5 of R.A. No. 9700 amended Section 7 of R.A. No. 6657 on thepriorities in the land acquisition and distribution, while Section 19 of R.A. No.9700 amended Section 50 of R.A. No. 6657 on the quasi-judicial powers of theDepartment of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

With respect to Section 7 of R.A. No. 6657 as amended by Section 5 ofR.A. No. 9700, the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), throughHon. Nasser C. Pangandaman, OAR Secretary and Chairman, PARC ExecutiveCommittee, invited the attention of this Court concerning the refusal of somemunicipal judges to administer the oath in applications of intendedbeneficiaries under the CARP, pursuant to paragraph 2 thereof, to wit:

"xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

Provided, finally, as mandated by the Constitution, Republic Act No. 6657,as amended, and Republic Act No. 3844,as amended, only farmers (tenants or

lessees) and regular farmworkers actually tilling the lands, as certified underoath by the Barangay Agrarian Reform Council (BARC) and attested underoath by the landowners, are the qualified beneficiaries. The intendedbeneficiary shall state under oath before the judge of the city ormunicipal court that he/she is willing to work on the land to make itproductive llnd to assume the ohligation of paying the amortization forthe compensation of the land and the land taxes thereon; x x x."(Emphasis supplied.)

Henceforth, all concerned are hereby DIRECTED to judiciously andfaithfully OBSERVE the above-mentioned provision of the law in order toensure the prompt and smooth acquisition and distribution of agriculLurallandsto our farmers in the countryside.

With respect to Section 50 of R.A. No. 6657, it should be noted that asearly as 1 July 2002, Administrative Circular No. 29-2002 was issued toremind all trial court judges of the need for a careful and judicious applicationof R.A. No. 6657, in view of the increasing numher of complaints on matters ofjurisdiction over agrarian disputes. The circular cited therein Section 50 asfollows:

Section 50. Quasi-Judicial Powers of the DAR. -- The OAR is herebyvested with primary jurisdiction to determine and adjudicate agrarian reformmatters and shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all mattersinvolving the implementation of agrarian reform, except those falling underthe exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and theDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources (DEN R).

With the enactment of R.A. No. 9700, Section 19 thereof furtheramended Section 50 of R.A. No. 6657 by adding Section 50-A, thus:

"SECo 19. Section 50 of Republic Act No. 6657, as amended, is herebyfurther amended to read as follows:

-SEe. 50-A. Rxclusive Jurisdiction on Agrarian Dispute.- Nocourt or prosecutor's office shall take cognizance of casespertaining to the implementation of the CARP except thoseprovided under Section 57 of Republic Act No. 6657, asamended. H there is an allegation from any of the parties thatthe case is agrarian in nature and one of the parties is a farmer,farmworker, or tenant, the case shall be automaticallyreferred by the judge or the prosecutor to the OAR whichshall determine and certify within tifteen (15) days fromreferral whether an agrarian dispute exists: Provided, Thatfrom the determination of the DAR, an aggrieved party shallhave judicial recourse. In cases referred by the municipal trialcourt and the prosecutor's office, the appeal shall be with theproper regional trial court and in cases referred by the regionaltrial court, the appeal shall be to the Court of Appeals.

In cases where regular courts or quasi-judicial bodies havecompetent jurisdiction, agrarian reform beneficiaries oridentified beneficiaries and/or their associations shall havelegal standing and interest to intervene concerning theirindividual or collective rights and/or interests under the CARP.

The fact of non-registration of such associations with theSecurities and Exchange Commission, or CooperativeDevelopment Authority, or any concerned government agencyshall not be used against them to deny the existence of theirlegal standing and interest in a case filed before such courtsand quasi-judicial bodies. n, (Emphasis Supplied.)

This is in consonance with Department of Agrarian Reform v. Cuenca, I

where the Court stated that "ra]ll controversies on the implementation of theComprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) fall under the jurisdictionof the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), even though they raisequestions that are also legal or constitutional in nature. All doubts shouldbe resolved in favor of the DAR, since the law has granted it special andoriginal authority to hear and adjudicate agrarian matters." (Emphasis supplied)

In Salazar v. de Leon,2 the Court dismissed the Complaint for recoveryof possession of real property and declared that the dispute between the partiesas landowner and tenant is agrarian in nature falling within the domain of theDARAB. The Court also noted that such ruling is "in line with the doctrine ofprimary jurisdiction which precludes the regular courts from resolving acontroversy over which jurisdiction has been lodged with an administrativebody of special competence."

This jurisprudential trend shows the Court's recognition of DAR as theadministrative body of special competence and expertise granted by law withprimary and exclusive original jurisdiction over agrarian reform maLLers. Infurtherance of the Court's policy to expedite the resolution of cases involvingagrarian disputes and to fully implement the objectives of agrarian reform laws,all courts and judges concerned are hereby enjoined to strictly observe Section50-A uf R.A. No. 6657, as amended by R.A. No. 9700, and refer all casesbefore it alleged to involve an agrarian dispute to the DAR for the necessarydetermi nation and certification.

For your information, guidance, and strict compliance.

28 April 2010.

I G.R. o. 154112,23 September 2004,439 SeRA 15.G.R. o. 127'165, 2U January 2UU,)