In 1978, when the country adopted the parliamentary form of government, the DAR was renamed Ministry of Agrarian Reform. On July 26, 1987, the Department by virtue of Executive Order No. 129-A was organized structurally and functionally. Expanded the powers and operations of the Department.

On September 27, 2004, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, signed Executive Order No. 364, and the Department of Agrarian Reform was renamed to Department of Land Reform. Also broadened the scope of the Department, making it responsible for all land reform in the country. It also placed the Philippine Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP) under its supervision and control. Recognition of the ownership of ancestral domain by indigenous peoples also became the responsibility of this new department, under the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). Bangla Font For Microsoft Word 2007.

On August 23, 2005, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Executive Order No. 456 and renamed the Department of Land Reform back to Department of Agrarian Reform, since 'the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law goes beyond just land reform but includes the totality of all factors and support services designed to lift the economic status of the beneficiaries.' At the present administration of President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III, the DAR which is the lead agency for CARP implementation is bent on sustaining the gains of agrarian reform through its three major components– Land Tenure Improvement (LTI), Program Beneficiaries Development (PBD) and Agrarian Justice Delivery (AJD). Together with the efforts to fight graft and corruption by the President, it is imperative to have institutional reforms within DAR as a complement to the abovementioned DAR components as well as give credence, transparency and accountability at all sectors of the DAR bureaucracy.hieved through agrarian reform. AGRARIAN REFORM HISTORY Uncovering the Roots of Land Ownership Problems Pre-Colonial Times (Before 16th Century) The Philippines, even before being colonized by different countries, already have developed an organization for their communities. The land owned by these communities is known as barangay which consists of 30-100 families which is administered by different chiefs.

In these barangays, everyone regardless of status had access on the land and mutually shares resources to the rest of the community. They believed in and practiced the concept of “stewardship” where relationship between man and nature is important. Land cultivation was done commonly by kaingin system or the slash and burn method wherein land was cleared by burning the bushes before planting the crops or either land was plowed and harrowed before planting. On the other hand, food production was intended for family consumption only at first but later on neighboring communities where engaged in a barter trade, exchanging their goods with others.

Some even traded their agricultural products with luxury items of some foreign traders like the Chinese, Arabs and Europeans. The only recorded transaction of land sale during that time was the Maragtas Code. This is the selling of the Panay Island to the ten Bornean datus in exchange for a golden salakot and a long gold necklace. Although the Code of Luwaranwas one of the oldest written laws of the Muslim society which contains provision on the lease of cultivated lands, there was no record how the lease arrangement was practiced. Spanish Era (1521-1896) When the Spanish came to the country in 1521, they introduced “pueblo” an agriculture system wherein the native rural communities were organized into pueblo and each Christianized native family is given four to five hectares of land to cultivate, thus there is no landless class. Nonetheless, these native families are merely landholders and not legitimate landowners.

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law: ObjectivesThe primary objective of instituting the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform law was to successfully devise land reform in Philippines.It was President Arroyo, who signed the Executive Order No. 456on 23rd August to rename the Department of Land Reform asDepartment of Agrarian Reform.