PROHIBITING THE EJECTMENT OF TENANT-TILLERS FROM THEIR FARMHOLDINGS PENDING THE PROMULGATION OF THE RULES AND REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 27

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 316
• Sections: 6

Preamble

WHEREAS, notwithstanding my earlier instructions that no

tenant-farmer shall be ejected from the land cultivated by him, many

landowners are ejecting or threatening to eject their tenants;

WHEREAS, numerous complaints for ejectment have been filed

in the courts by landowners against their tenants and orders have been

issued enjoining or restraining the latter from entering and cultivating

their farmholdings or impounding their harvest; and likewise, numerous

criminal cases have been filed by landowners against tenant-tillers

which arise from the possession and cultivation of farmholdings and

other agrarian causes, as a result of which tenant-farmers have been

arrested and detained;

WHEREAS, the aforementioned acts have resulted in strained

relations between landowners and tenant-farmers or tillers of the soil

which threaten to disturb the peace and order conditions in the rural

areas; and

WHEREAS, these ejectment suits or other acts of harassment

by landowners intended to eject or remove their tenants cannot be

sanctioned or condoned by the Government, especially in the light of our

current efforts to bring forth a New Society — a Filipino society that

is more compassionate and that adheres to the basic principle of social

justice;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the

Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as

Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and

pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General

Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby order and

decree, as part of the law of the land the following:

Section 1

SECTION 1. No tenant-farmer in agricultural lands primarily

devoted to rice and corn shall be ejected or removed from his

farmholding until such time as the respective rights of the

tenant-farmer and the landowner shall have been determined in accordance

with the rules and regulations implementing Presidential Decree No. 27.

Section 2

SEC. 2. Unless certified by the Secretary of Agrarian

Reform us a proper case for trial or hearing by a court or judge or

other officer of competent jurisdiction, no judge of the Court of

Agrarian Relations, Court of First Instance, municipal or city court, or

any other tribunal or fiscal shall take cognizance of any ejectment

case or any other case designed to harass or remove a tenant of an

agricultural land primarily devoted to rice and corn, and if any such

cases are filed, these cases shall first be referred to the Secretary of

Agrarian Reform or his authorized representative in the locality for a

preliminary determination of the relationship between the contending

parties. If the Secretary of Agrarian Reform finds that the case is a

proper case for the court or judge or other hearing officer to hear, he

shall so certify and such court, judge or other hearing officer may

assume jurisdiction over the dispute or controversy.

Section 3

SEC. 3. In all cases, efforts shall be exerted by all

government officials to maintain the status quo in the relation

between tenant-farmers and landowners as already embodied in

Presidential instructions.

Section 4

SEC. 4. All provisions of existing laws, orders, rules and

regulations, or parts thereof, in conflict or inconsistent herewith are

hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 5

SEC. 5. This Decree shall lake effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 22nd day of October, in the year

of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President

Republic of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) ROBERTO V. REYES

Assistant Executive Secretary