July 10, 1975
MEMORANDUM
TO : DAR Regional Directors, District Officers, Team Leaders and all Fieldmen
SUBJECT : Interim Guidelines on Retention by Small Landowners
On July 8, 1975, upon consultation on the matter of retention, His Excellency, President Ferdinand E. Marcos instructed that landowners of tenanted rice and/or corn lands with aggregate areas of less than twenty-four (24) hectares may retain not more than seven (7) hectares if they so desire, provided, that they do not own other agricultural lands with a total area of seven (7) hectares or more on lands used for residential, industrial or commercial purposes where they derive incomes for their livelihood. In other words, such other agricultural lands shall not be tenanted rice and/or corn lands. TICAcD
For the effective implementation of the directive, the following interim guidelines are hereby promulgated:
1. Determine carefully the landholdings of any landowner to find out if he is not entitled to retain any portion of his tenanted rice and/or corn lands;
2. If retention is not available to a landowner as stated above, then all his tenanted rice and/or corn lands shall be covered by land transfer;
3. If a landowner is entitled to retain a portion of his tenanted rice and/or corn land, such portion shall be a contiguous are of not more than seven (7) hectares and the landowner given the choice to identify and segregate such area but in so doing, see to it that it shall be the least prejudicial to the entire landholding and to the majority of the tenant-farmers;
4. The retained area shall be under leasehold and no tenant-farmer therein shall be ejected, ousted or otherwise removed or excluded from his farmholding. The leasehold relation shall be in writing and in a language known to the tenant-farmers and shall be registered as heretofore required;
5. Tenanted rice and/or corn lands seven (7) hectares or less shall not be covered by Operation Land Transfer. The relation of the landowner and the tenant-farmers in these areas shall be leasehold and like in the retained areas, no tenant-farmer shall be ejected, ousted or otherwise removed or excluded from his farmholding. Equally, the leasehold relation shall be in writing and in a language known to the tenant-farmers and shall be registered as heretofore required;
6. In all cases, exert utmost efforts in encouraging landowner of areas where retention is available and tenanted rice and/or corn lands seven (7) hectares or less to transfer their lands directly to their tenant-farmers in accordance with the provisions of P.D. No. 27 and the guarantees provided therein and in P.D. No. 251, or through the Land Bank of the Philippines under LOI No. 273;
7. Implement these guidelines immediately and expedite all pending matters covered by previous instructions.
Please be guided accordingly.
(SGD.) CONRADO F. ESTRELLA
Secretary
RETENTION GUIDE TABLE
TENANTED RICE AND/WITH OTHER LANDS RETENTION OPTION OR CORN LANDS
May retain 7 hectares
of the tenanted rice
Less than 24 hectares 7 hectares and less and/or corn lands, the
rest transferred to the
tenants under OLT.
No right to retain any
area of the tenanted
Less than 24 hectares More than 7 hectares rice and/or corn lands.
All areas are transferred
to the tenants under
OLT.
Leasehold relation bet-
7 hectares and less With or without other ween landowners and
lands tenants. Leasehold con-
tracts must be written.