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Agra
Agra
Agricultural tenancy is classified into share tenancy and leasehold tenancy (M. A.
GERMAN, SHARE AND LEASEHOLD TENANCY, 13 [1995]).
Share tenancy means "the relationship which exists whenever two persons agree on a
joint undertaking for agricultural production wherein one party furnishes the land and the
other his labor, with either or both contributing any one or several of the items of
production, the tenant cultivating the land personally with aid of labor available from
members of his immediate farm household, and the produce thereof to be divided between
the landholder and the tenant." (Rep. Act No. 3844 [1963]. Sec. 166 [25]).
With the passage of RA 3844, share tenancy has been declared to be contrary to public
policy and abolished (Rep. Act No. 3844[1963], sec. 4) except in the case of fishponds,
saltbeds, and lands principally planted to citrus, coconuts, cacao, coffee, durian and other
similar permanent trees at the time of the approval of said Act (Rep. Act No. 3844 [1963], sec.
35). When RA 6389 (1971) was enacted, agricultural share tenancy has been automatically
converted to leasehold but the exemptions remained. It was only under RA 6657 when the
exemptions were expressly repealed.
Leasehold tenancy exists when a person who, either personally or with the aid of labor
available from members of his immediate farm household undertakes to cultivate a piece of
agricultural land susceptible of cultivation by a single person together with members of his
immediate farm household, belonging to or legally possessed by, another in consideration of
a fixed amount in money or in produce or in both (Rep. Act No. 1199 [1954], sec. 4).
Under RA 6657, the only agricultural tenancy relation that is recognized is leasehold
tenancy. Said law expressly repealed Sec. 35 of RA 3844, making all tenanted agricultural
lands throughout the country subject to leasehold.
Leasehold tenancy may be established by operation of law, that is, through the abolition of
share tenancy under Sec. 4 of RA 3844; through the exercise by the tenant of his right to elect
leasehold; or by agreement of the parties either orally or in writing, expressly or impliedly,
which was the condition before 1972 (M.A. German,supra, at 27).
Leasehold relation is instituted in retained areas with tenant(s) under RA 6657 or PD
27 who opts to choose to remain therein instead of becoming a beneficiary in the same or
another agricultural land with similar or comparable features. The tenant must exercise his
option within one (1) year from the time the landowner manifests his choice of the area for
retention (Rep. Act No. 6657[1988], sec. 6). Leasehold relation also exists in all tenanted
agricultural lands that are not yet covered under CARP (DAR Adm. O. No. 5 [1993]).
The institution of leasehold in these areas ensure the protection and improvement of the
tenurial and economic status of tenant-tillers therein. (Rep. Act No. 6657 [1988], sec. 6).
Leasehold tenancy distinguished from civil law lease
In Gabriel vs. Pangilinan, 58 SCRA 590 (1974), the Supreme Court distinguished leasehold
tenancy from civil law lease.
There are important differences between a leasehold tenancy and a civil law lease. The
subject matter of leasehold tenancy is limited to agricultural land; that of civil law lease may
be either rural or urban property. As to attention and cultivation, the law requires the
leasehold tenant to personally attend to, and cultivate the agricultural land, whereas the civil
law lessee need not personally cultivate or work the thing leased. As to purpose, the
landholding in leasehold tenancy is devoted to agriculture, whereas in civil law lease, the
purpose may be for any other lawful pursuits. As to the law that governs, the civil law lease is
governed by the Civil Code, whereas leasehold tenancy is governed by special laws (at 596).
Elements of Agricultural Tenancy
The following are the essential requisites for the existence of a tenancy relation:
a) The parties are the landholder and the tenant;
b) The subject is agricultural land;
c) There is consent by the landholder for the tenant to work on the land, given either
orally or in writing, expressly or impliedly;
d) The purpose is agricultural production;
e) There is personal cultivation or with the help of the immediate farm household; and
f) There is compensation in terms of payment of a fixed amount in money and/or
produce. (Carag vs. CA, 151 SCRA 44 [1987]; Gabriel vs. Pangilinan, 58 SCRA 590
[1974]; Oarde vs. CA, 280 SCRA 235 [1997]; Qua vs. CA, 198 SCRA 236 [1991])
The Supreme Court emphasized in numerous cases that "(a)ll these requisites must concur
in order to create a tenancy relationship between the parties. The absence of one does not
make an occupant of a parcel of land, or a cultivator thereof, or a planter thereon, a de
jure tenant. This is so because unless a person has established his status as a de jure tenant,
he is not entitled to security of tenure nor is he covered by the Land Reform Program of the
Government under existing tenancy laws." (Caballes v. DAR, 168 SCRA 254 [1988])
In the case of Teodoro vs. Macaraeg, 27 SCRA 7 (1969), the Court found all the elements of an
agricultural leasehold relation contained in the contract of lease executed by the parties.
Castillo vs. CA
205 SCRA 529 (1992)
Facts:
Alberto Ignacio filed a complaint for injunction against Castillo alleging that he is the
agricultural tenant of the latter. He claims that Castillo allowed him to construct a rest house
in the property and that, thereafter, Castillo started cutting fruit-bearing trees on the land
and filled with adobe stones the area intended for vegetables. On the other hand, Castillo
denied that Ignacio was his tenant but that the latter was only a "magsisiga" of the
landholding and that he did not ask permission from Ignacio when he constructed his rest
house. The trial court found no tenancy relationship between the parties but this was
reversed by the Court of Appeals.
Held:
The element of personal cultivation is absent in this case. The alleged tenant "is a
businessman by occupation and this is his principal source of income. He manufactures
hollow blocks. He also has a piggery and poultry farm as well as a hardware store on the land
adjoining the subject land. To add to that, the respondent farms the riceland of one Dr. Luis
Santos. It is thus evident that the working hours of the respondent as a businessman and his
other activities do not permit him to undertake the work and obligations of a real tenant.
This is further supported by the undisputed fact that the respondent cannot even personally
perform the work of a smudger because on 22 October 1986, the respondent hired some 20
people who are not members of his family to cut and burn the grass in the premises of the
subject land." (at 535-536).
An owner tilling his own agricultural land is not a tenant within the contemplation of the
law (Baranda vs. Baguio, 189 SCRA 194 (1990).
In Oarde vs. CA, et al., 280 SCRA 235 (1997), certifications of tenancy/non-tenancy issued
by DAR are not conclusive.
"The certifications issued by administrative agencies or officers that a certain person is a
tenant are merely provisional and not conclusive on courts, as ruled by this Court in Cuaño vs.
Court of Appeals, citing Puertollano vs. IAC. Secondly, it is well-settled that the "findings of or
certifications issued by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, or his authorized representative, in
a given locality concerning the presence or absence of a tenancy relationship between the
contending parties is merely preliminary or provisional and is not binding upon the courts."
(at 246)
Landholder-lessor
A landholder-lessor is defined as "any person, natural or juridical, either as owner, lessee,
usufructuary or legal possessor of agricultural land, who lets, leases or rents to another said
property for purposes of agricultural production and for a price certain or ascertainable either
in an amount of money or produce." (Rep. Act No. 1199 [1954], sec. 42). Thus, consent need
not be necessarily given personally by the registered owner as long as the person giving the
consent is the lawful landholder as defined by law.
Consent by landholder
As discussed earlier, consent must be given by the true and lawful landholder of the
property. In Hilario vs. IAC, 148 SCRA 573 (1987), the Supreme Court held that tenancy
relation does not exist where a usurper cultivates the land.
Facts:
Primero owns a tenanted riceland in Cavite. Because of his desire to let the property to one
Porfirio Potente, he notified his tenant advising the latter to vacate the land. The tenant
refused. Primero filed a case with CAR which subsequently dismissed the same. On appeal,
Primero assailed the constitutionality of Sec. 9 and 50 of RA 1199 claiming that said
provisions are limitations on freedom of contract, a denial of equal protection of law, and an
impairment of, or limitation on, property rights.
Held:
The provisions of law assailed as unconstitutional do not impair the right of the landowner to
dispose or alienate his property nor prohibit him to make such transfer or alienation; they
only provide that in case of transfer or in case of lease, as in the instant case, the tenancy
relationship between the landowner and his tenant should be preserved in order to insure
the well-being of the tenant or protect him from being unjustly dispossessed by the
transferee or purchaser of the land; in other words, the purpose of the law in question is to
maintain the tenants in the peaceful possession and cultivation of the land or afford them
protection against unjustified dismissal from their landholdings. Republic Act 1199 is
unquestionably a remedial legislation promulgated pursuant to the social justice precepts of
the Constitution and in the exercise of the police power of the state to promote the
commonwealth. It is a statute relating to public subjects within the domain of the general
legislative powers of the State and involving the public rights and public welfare of the entire
community affected by it. Republic Act 1199, like the previous tenancy laws enacted by our
lawmaking body, was passed by congress in compliance with the constitutional mandates
that "the promotion of social justice to insure the well-being and economic security of all the
people should be the concern of the State" (Art II, sec. 5) and that "the state shall regulate
the relations between landlord and tenant in agriculture" (Art. XIV, sec. 6). (at 680).
In Pineda vs. de Guzman, 21 SCRA 1450 (1967), the Supreme Court also held:
Section 49 of the Agricultural Tenancy Act, Republic Act 1199, as amended, enunciates the
principle of security of tenure of the tenants, such that it prescribes that the relationship of
landholder and tenant can only be terminated for causes provided by law. The principle is
epitomized by the axiom on land tenure that once a tenant, always a tenant. Attacks on the
constitutionality of this guarantee have centered on the contention that it is a limitation on
freedom of contract, a denial of the equal protection of the law, and an impairment of or a
limitation on property rights. The assault is without reason. The law simply provides that the
tenancy relationship between the landholder and his tenant should be preserved in order to
insure the well-being of the tenant and protect him from being unjustly dispossessed of the
land. Its termination can take place only for causes and reasons provided in the law. It was
established pursuant to the social justice precept of the State to promote the common
weal. (Primero vs. Court of Industrial Relations, G.R. No. L-10594, May 29, 1957) (at 1456).
Rights and Responsibilities of the Parties
Rights and responsibilities of lessee
The lessee shall have the following rights:
a) To have possession and peaceful enjoyment of the land;
b) To manage and work on the land in a manner and method of cultivation and harvest
which conform to the proven farm practices;
c) To mechanize all or any phase of his farm work;
d) To deal with millers and processors and attend to the issuance of quedans and
warehouse receipts of the produce due him/her;
e) To continue in the exclusive possession and enjoyment of any homelot the lessee may
have occupied upon the effectivity of RA 3844;
f) To be indemnified for the costs and expenses incurred in the cultivation and for other
expenses incidental to the improvement of the crop in case the lessee surrenders, abandons
or is ejected from the landholding;
g) To have the right of pre-emption and redemption; and
h) To be paid disturbance compensation in case the conversion of the farmholding has
been approved (Rep. Act No. 3844 [1963], sec. 23, 24, 25, 11, 12, 36)
On the other hand, the lessee shall have the following responsibilities under Sec. 26 of RA
3844:
a) Cultivate and take care of the farm, growing crops, and other improvements on the
land and perform all the work therein in accordance with proven farm practices;
b) Inform the lessor within a reasonable time of any trespass committed by third persons
on the farm, without prejudice to his/her direct action against the trespasser;
c) Take reasonable care of the work animals and farm implements delivered to him/her
by the lessor and see to it that they are not used for purposes other than those intended, or
used by another without the knowledge and consent of the lessor;
d) Keep the farm and growing crops attended to during the work season; and
e) To pay the lease rental to the lessor when it falls due.
One of the rights of a lessee is to be entitled to a homelot. But only the tenant-lessee has this
right and that members of the immediate family of the tenants are not entitled to a homelot.
After the lapse of the first three (3) normal harvests, the final rental shall be based on the
average normal harvest during these three (3) preceding agricultural years.