SC nullifies DLR ruling on agri land

The Supreme Court has declared null and void an administrative order of the Department of Land Reform that provides that private agricultural lands used for the raising of livestock, poultry and swine are included in the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

The high tribunal ruled that the DLR Administrative Order No. 9 issued on 1993 is null and void for being contrary to the 1987 Constitution.

In a 13-page decision penned by Justice Reynato Puno and was concurred with by all other Supreme Court justices, the SC ruled that the Department of Land Reform has no power to regulate livestock farms which have been exempted by the Constitution from the coverage of agrarian reform.

The assailed administrative order provides that only portions of private agricultural lands used for the raising of livestock, poultry, and swine as of June 15, 1988 shall be excluded from the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

The SC found out that the lands owned by the Sutton family in Aroroy, Masbate -that DLR wanted to be included in the coverage of CARP- have long been used in the business of breeding cattle.

The SC noted that the 1987 Constitution showed a clear intent to exclude all lands exclusively devoted to livestock, swine, and poultry-raising as it held in the 1990 case of Luz Farms v. Secretary of DAR that these activities were industrial activities, rather than agricultural due to the large amount of industrial fixed assets required to undertake them.

The Court ruled that lands devoted to livestock and poultry raising are not included in the definition of agricultural land. It declared as unconstitutional certain provisions of the CARL insofar as they included livestock farms in the coverage of agrarian reform.

But the DLR officials argued that the assailed administrative order was meant to counter the activities of some unscrupulous owners of agricultural lands who convert their agricultural land into livestock farms to avoid the CARP. - Rene U. Borromeo