January 25, 1993
JOINT DAR-DA MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 01-93
TO : All Undersecretaries, Directors,
Provincial And Municipal
Agrarian Reform Officers,
And Others Concerned
SUBJECT : Guidelines For The Accreditation Of
Agricultural Workers/Peasant
Organizations For The First Sectoral
Elections Under The Local Government
Code Of 1991
A. PREFATORY STATEMENT
Resolution No. 2515 of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), promulgated by virtue of the powers vested in the Commission by the Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code, Republic Act No. 6646, No. 7166 and No. 7160, and other pertinent election laws, has designated the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agrarian Reform as the accreditation agencies for the agricultural workers/peasant sector in connection with the conduct of the first sectoral elections under the Local Government Code of 1991.
Pursuant to the said Resolution, the following guidelines are hereby prescribed:
B. DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Farmer refers to a natural person whose primary livelihood is the cultivation of land or the production of agricultural crops, either by himself, or primarily with the assistance of his immediate farm household, whether the land is owned by him, or by another person under a leasehold or share tenancy agreement or arrangement with the owner thereof.
2. Farmworker is a natural person who renders service for value as an employee or laborer in an agricultural enterprise or farm regardless of whether his compensation is paid on a daily, weekly, monthly or pakyaw basis. The term includes an individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, a pending agrarian dispute and who has not obtained a substantially equivalent and regular farm employment.
3. Agricultural sector organizations refer to organizations the majority of the members of which is composed of farmers and farmworkers as defined above.
4. Accrediting agency refers to the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Agriculture, including the field offices of such agencies.
5. Designated agency refers to the field offices of the Department of Interior and Local Government wherever no DAR or DA field office is present.
C. OPERATING PROCEDURES
1. Filing of Application for Accreditation
a. Agricultural sector organizations shall file their application for accreditation with the DAR or DA not later than 19 March 1993. Registration of local chapters, as described below, shall likewise be done not later than the said date.
b. Applications shall be in the form of a letter, duly signed by the head or any authorized officer of the organization.
c. The following shall be stated or included in the application:
1) Name and address of the organization;
2) Political subdivision it represents;
3) Names of officers and members and their places of residence;
4) Date the organization was established;
5) Purposes of the organization (these should explicitly state the organization's concern for agriculture or that it aims to implement programs in agriculture and related activities);
6) Name of national or provincial organization to which the applying organization is affiliated with;
7) Name of provincial or municipal chapters affiliated with the applying organization;
8) Programs of the organization in the local areas in the last two years, describing the activities, areas covered, and number and type of beneficiaries; and
9) A copy of registration certificate from duly recognized registering office like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), Bureau of Rural Workers (BRW), etc.
10) Any other relevant printed information about the organization.
2. Where to File
a. Organizations with nationwide membership shall file their applications with the Office of the Director, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Department of Agriculture, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City.
The municipal, city, or provincial chapters of accredited nationwide organizations need not apply for accreditation, but shall register with the proper Provincial or Municipal Agrarian Reform Office of the DAR by submitting a registration form as described below.
b. Organizations with province or municipality-wide membership shall file their applications with the Provincial Agrarian Reform Office (PARO) or Municipal Agrarian Reform Office (MARO) as the case may be.
The municipal or city chapters of accredited province wide organizations need not apply for accreditation, but shall register with the Municipal Agrarian Reform Office concerned by submitting a registration from as described below.
In cases where the DAR has no office in the municipality where an organization seeks to participate for the elections, the local office of the Department of Interior and Local Government is hereby designated to accept and process applications for accreditation or to accept registration forms. However, the approval or disapproval of applications for accreditation shall be done by the Provincial Agrarian Reform Office concerned. In cases where only registration is required, the designated DILG office shall provide the Provincial Agrarian Reform Office with a copy of the registration forms it received.
3. Procedure for Registration
a. When only registration is required, the organization shall submit a registration form containing the following information:
1) Name and address of the organization;
2) Political subdivision it represents;
3) Names of officers and members and their places of residence;
4) Date established;
5) Programs of the organization in the area; and
6) Name of national or provincial organization to which the applying organization is affiliated with.
b. All registration forms shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the Certificate of Accreditation issued by the DA or DAR to the nation or province-wide organization.
4. Criteria for Accreditation
a. The track record or reputation of the organization (for existing organizations) or of its organizers, officers, and members (for new organizations) shall be assessed.
b. Municipal organizations shall have at least twenty-five (25) members residing in that municipality.
c. Organizations seeking accreditation in the provincial level as provincial organization must be present in at least two municipalities subject to the requirement of the above paragraph.
d. Majority of the members of the organization must be farmers or farmworkers.
5. Decision on Applications
a. Within two (2) days from receipt of the application for accreditation, the accrediting agency (ATI/PARO/MARO) or the designated agency (DILG) shall post a copy thereof in its bulletin board.
b. Any opposition to the application shall be filed with the accrediting agency within three (3) days from the date of posting of the application.
c. The accrediting agency (ATI/PARO/MARO) shall decide upon the application and issue the Certificate of Accreditation (Refer to Annex 1) within seven days after filing or within two days after receipt of the processed application from the designated agency (DILG).
d. Any party adversely affected by the rulings and decisions of the accrediting agency may appeal to the COMELEC within five days from notice of the ruling or decision. The COMELEC shall decide the appeal within five days from filing.
e. All decisions of the COMELEC shall be final and executory.
The accredited organization shall, within two days upon the receipt of the Certificate of Accreditation, submit to the COMELEC an authenticated copy of such certificate.
The DA and the DAR shall, at least thirty days (30) before the day of elections, jointly submit to the COMELEC a certified consolidated list of all certificates of Accreditation issued. In this regard, all PAROs shall prepare the consolidated list of accredited and registered organizations in their respective provinces and submit the same to the Office of the Director, Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development (BARBD), DAR Central Office.
6. Implementation and Monitoring
The Office of the Undersecretary for Field Operations and Support Services, Department of Agrarian Reform, and the Office of the Undersecretary for Administration and Attached Agencies, Department of Agriculture shall be primarily responsible for the implementation of these rules of procedure.
Done this 25th day of January 1993.
Department of Agrarian Reform Department of Agriculture
(SGD.) ERNESTO D. GARILAO
Secretary
(SGD.) ROBERTP S. SEBASTIAN
Secretary
ANNEX 1
Sample Certificate of Accreditation
CERTIFICATE OF ACCREDITATION/REGISTRATION
NO._________
Pursuant to Resolution No. 2515 of the Commission of Elections (COMELEC) and Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1, Series of 1993, of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agrarian Reform, the agricultural sector organization whose name and address appears below has been [ ] accredited or [ ] registered to participate in the 1993 elections of sectoral representatives.
Organization : _________________________________
Address : ___________________________
Affiliation : _________________________________
(if for (Name of accredited national or provincial
registration) organization)
]Given this __________ day of ________, 1993 in ____________.
__________________
PARO/MARO