Republic Act No. 9700 amending Republic Act No. 6657 on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law 1988.

This Act amends Republic Act No. 6657 on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law 1988.It amends: section 2 regarding the declaration of principles and policies of the agrarian reform; definitions in section 3; the scope of the comprehensive agrarian reform in section 4; section 7 on priorities of the Department of Agrarian Reform; the title of section 16 to read “Procedure for acquisition and Distribution of Private Lands”; section 17 on the determination of just compensation; sections 24-27 on provisions regarding land distribution; sections 36, 37 and 38, on support services; section 41 on the composition of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council; section 50 on administrative adjudication; section 55 on judicial reviews; section 63 on financing matters; sections 65, 68, 73 and 74 on prohibited acts, penalties, etc. The Act provides for the protection of smallholders and family farms.It also inserts new sections as follows: sections 6A and 6B on exception to retention limits and on review of limits of land size, respectively; section 22A on orders of priority; section 37A on equal support services for rural women; section 50A on exclusive jurisdiction on agrarian disputes.The Act further provides for the establishment of a Congressional Oversight Committee on Agrarian Reform to oversee and monitor the implementation of this Act, and it defines the composition of the Committee and its powers and functions.

Amends: Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (Republic Act No. 6657). (1987-07-27)
Amends: Agricultural Land Reform Code (Republic Act No. 3844). (1963-08-08)