FARM LABOR IN THE PHILIPPINES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 43
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 7, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 1, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

25X1C10b
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0 25X6F
25X1A8a
Next 1 Page(s) In Document Exempt
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
W
FARM LABOR IN THE PHILIPPINES
An analysis of social and economic
conditions and organizations
25X1A8a
Prepared for:. : 25X1A8a
Prepared by
Case number . 25X1A2g
Date completed; 18 June 1954
25X1A9a
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001'-O
 25X1C10b
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
25X6F
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
FARM LABOR IN THE PHILIPPINES
SUMMAR Y
Farm laborers in the Philippine Islands are depressed finan-
cially, socially and psychologically. Living conditions and farming
methods are primitive. Few farmers own the land they work and
those who do own too little to provide _a decent living, Lacking the
essentials for more than subsistence living, the farmers, and par--
ticularly tenant farmers, have been easy prey for Communist Huk
terrorists. Unemployment and underemployment chronically. plague
the Filipino farm workers. Farming is concentrated in a few areas,
while other. extensive fertile regions lie fallow. The Land Reform Pro-
gram is designed to open up additional areas, but frequently the far -
m.ers. refuse to move from their crowded native.barrios.
Laws governing minimum wages, tenancy and other problems of
farm workers have been passed by the Philippine legislature, but
they are not enforced and,' in general, the farmer., is ignorant of the
existence of such laws. He continues to suffer from inadequate wages,
substandard living conditions, unsurious interest rates and other evils
of a still-feudal agricultural system.
Most of the national labor confederations have tried, with vary-
ing degrees of success, to organize the farm workers, but the pro-
gram is still in its initial stage and there are large numbers of
workers who have never been reached by labor organizers. Lawyers
have frequently founded unions, hoping or promising to accomplish
benefits by bringing about enforcement of the existing laws.. Many of
them, however, have had insufficient background in labor organization
to build strong unions and for this reason failed in their purpose. In
other cases where the motive of the founder was more that of per-
sonal gain than of helping the farmers, the unions have degenerated
into a source of income for the lawyer-founder.
The Magsaysay government recently expressed an interest in
organizing farm workers, but apparently has taken no action. Inde-
pendent of the government, the new Federation of Free Farmers,
organized in. 1953 by an attorney and a Jesuit priest as a cooperative
for small farmers and a labor union, for tenants, appears to be
prospering according to late reports.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
FARM LABOR IN THE PHILIPPINES
CONTENTS
A. Economic Conditions
B. Organizations:
1. Farm Workers Organizations
. a. Federation of Free Farmers (FFF)
. Kabalsalan Rubber Project Workers Union
National Confederations with Farm Affiliates
a. Federation of Free Workers (FFW),
National. Labor Union. (NLU)
United Labor Organization (ULO)
C.
Appendices
1.
Summary of Labor Conditions aiid Land Reform in
Philippine Agriculture
2.
Biographic Information on. Selected Philippine
Labor Leaders
36
3.
Source References:
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
FARM LABOR IN THE PHILIPPINES
A. Economic Conditions
Farm laborers in the Philippine Islands are depressed financially,
socially, and psychologically. Living conditions and farming methods
are. primitive. Opportunities for financial or social improvement are
almost nonexistent. After years of exploitation by the large land-
holders and moneylenders the Filipino farmer has little spirit or in-
centive left.
In some farming areas of the. Philippines 60% of the farmers. are
tenants; that is., they do not own the land they work. I/ The average
size of the farms that are owned by small landholders is 2. 5 hectares
(a hectare is 2. 47 acres). Tenant farmers are at the mercy of their
landlords and small landholders do not own enough ground from
which to raise crops of sufficient value for their needs.
Because they lack the essentials for more than subsistence living,
the farm population of the Philippines, and particularly the tenant
farmers, have been easy prey for the Communist Huk terrorists.
These guerrillas sweep down from the hills to steal farm products
from the fields, but they also attempt to convert the farmers to their
cause. Those farm workers who have nothing turn to the Huk move-
ment in hopes of bettering their lot. Those who own a little land sup-
port the movement in sheer terror that by opposing it they will lose
what little they have. They are frightened and intimidated, principally
because of their extreme needs
The basic problem of the Filipino farmer appears to be his own
ignorance, both of modern farming methods and of his legal rights.
In 1951 a minimum wage law was passed, with specific sections re-
lating to farm wages. Tenancy contracts are also stipulated by law.
(Details of these laws may be found in Appendix 1..) But ruthless
landlords are able to ignore these laws because the farmers do not
know of their existence or are unable to understand them. With in-
sufficient funds for enforcement, and a large stake in landholding
on the part of some of its ministers and congressmen, the govern-
ment has appeared unconcerned even to inform the farmers of the
laws. 2/
Unemployment and underemployment chronically plague the
Filipino farm worker. The inequitable distribution of land is partly
responsible for this. Although the Islands abound in arable land,
farming is concentrated in a few areas which are mostly overworked,
while extensive fertile regions lie fallow. The Land Reform Program
is designed to open up some of the unused land for agriculture, but it
has not been practically implemented as yet. However, efforts to
resettle farmers into areas where there is a shortage of labor have
often met with resistance. The Filipino farmer is strongly attached
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
to his barrio, the settlement in which he was born and where all his
family is, and frequently refuses to be moved, even to a nearby or
adjacent area. 3/
In another effort to put surplus farm labor to work, the new
Minister of Labor, Col. Eleuterio ADEVOSO, has recently written
to the United States Department of State, proposing that regulations
for temporary immigration be waived or amended for Filipinos, so
that they could remain in the United States for 18 months instead of
the present 6 months allowed, to work in West Coast farm areas
where they are needed. He explained that because of the distance
involved, the average Filipino could not earn enough in six months
even to cover his passage, much less any profit. 4/ However, the
inertia of the farmers might mean that such a program would meet
with small response.
Another basic problem of Philippine agriculture lies in low pro-
ductivity. Crop yields are small by Far East standards, 5/ and it
is this very low productivity which helps to keep the Filipino farmer
constantly in debt. The over-use of land and under-use of fertilizer
contribute to this low productivity. Another factor is the failure to
employ technological and scientific methods. Most Filipino farmers
cling to the hand methods of agriculture which they learned from their
forebears. Few have the interest to experiment with farm machinery
and soil enrichers; those who have the interest all too frequently lack
the cash. Always in debt, the Filipino farmer seldom has an opportunity
to borrow from official credit facilities, since the banks usually do not
have sufficient branches in the rural areas. Usually the only sources
of credit for these farmers are the landlords or almost any middle-
man (mostly Chinese) with ready cash. Both exploit the farmer to
the limit.
Even the energies at hand are not used to the optimum extent.
A farmer with two caraboes can work 4 to 5 hectares, but the aver
age Filipino farmer has only 2. 5 hectares to work at present,,+ 6/
And the inertia of centuries of depression prevents him from using
his excess energies to plant a secondary crop, or engage in handiwork
or other profitable endeavors.
This combination of inertia, outmoded methods of agriculture,
ignorance of their legal rights, and lack of adequate leadership and
ability to organize among themselves to better their conditions have
resulted in a continuation of inadequate wages, substandard living con-
ditions, unsurious interest rates and other evils of a still-feudal agri-
cultural system.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
B. Organizations
Organizations for farm workers fall into two categories: (1) co-
operatives, for the small landholders, and (2) labor unions, for the
tenant farmers. Neither type of organization has met with much
success in the Philippines. Several small agrarian groups have been
formed with the promise to improve the farmers.' way of living, but
these have tended to be Communist-dominated. 7/ Those which have
not fallen prey to Communists have more often than not been the vic-
tims of racketeers who have used them for their personal gain..
In 1951, the US Agricultural Attache and the ECA Agricultural
Consultant met with a small group of Filipino farmers, technical
agriculturalists, and home economics experts to organize a society
patterned after the Grange in the United States.. Previous efforts to
establish such an organization failed when control of the group fell
into the hands of politicians who. recognized the political potential
of the group. 8/ No later reports which might indicate the fate of
the 1951.. effort have been located.
Many organizers have, for a variety of motives, founded unions
in attempts to improve the condition of Filipino workers. Most of
these efforts have resulted in company unions controlled by servants
of the company; Communist-dominated unions; unions dominated by
politicians or would-be politicians who hope to use the workers for
political gains, and unions dominated by racketeers wko hope to pro-
fit financially by exploiting the workers. Some unions have also
been established by individuals who are genuinely interested in or-
ganizing workers for their own good and the good of the Philippines. 9/
The union organizer frequently has been the attorney. This is
not by accident. Trained in Philippine legal codes and traditions,
professionally connected with judges and congressmen, Philippine
attorneys have been in an advantageous position to combat the greatest
detriment to the Philippine labor movement: the workers', ignorance
of the laws designed to protect them. Lawyers have been able to
rally workers about them because they manifestly could do something
for the workers: it wasn't necessary to fight for new legislation and
they knew how to demand enforcement of the existing laws. However,
all too often the motives of these attorneys lay more in self-interest
than in the interests of the workers. Labor lawyers have been able
to make their entire livelihood from the fees collected for arguing
their unions' cases in court, and in one instance at least, a union's
founder and legal counsel opposed improvements in the labor litiga-
tion procedure which would have cut down his case fees. 10/ Even
when they have been highly-motivated these lawyers have frequently
lacked any background and training in labor organization. Thus they
have been unable to pull together an efficient, loyal membership of
any size.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
A _1951 report states that sugar workers on the haciendas have
not been unionized, largely because of the "paquio" or piece-work
system by which they work. Each worker is given a certain area to
plant and cultivate, in most cases with the aid of mechanized equip-
ment owned by the central or the hacendbro. 11/
The. Magsaysay government has apparently also developed an
intexest in. organizing the farm workers. A front-page feature in
the Philippines Herald on February 26, 1954 quoted reliable sources
to the effect that President Magsaysay is considering the "feasibility
of organizing farmers' unions in Central Luzon to break the influence
of Communist front groups, such as the outlawed PKM, among tenant
farmers in that troubled zone. " A discussion on this subject between
-Col. Adevoso and the US Labor Attache brought out three major prob-
lems to such a program: (1) to guarantee that such organizations if
encouraged would not fall into the hands of E-Iuk infiltrationists; (2) to
recognize the problem of political attacks stemming from landlords;
and (3) to avoid laying the Administration open to the charge of
Government domination of trade unions. Col. Adevoso was inclined
to regard the first problem as the most serious. 12/
During.mid-June 1954, Dr. Emilio CORTEZ., Nacionalista party
congressman from the second district in Pampanga, and who has
known past connections with the PKPJHMB movement, reportedly
was making efforts to organize the peasant labor groups in Pampanga
province. He was said to, be working through his.'own. contacts in Pam -
panga labor and peasant circles., 'and also to' be attempting to attract sup-
port for his efforts from among the Federation of Free Farmers affili-
ates, or from any moribund peasant labor organizations in Pampanga. 13/
1. Farm Worker Organizations
By terms of the Industrial Peace Act of 1951, all labor unions
are required to register with the government. A list containing about
70%0 of the 1953 registrations showed only one union for agricultural
workers. 14/ Other unions have been identified from other sources.
The only known farm labor organizations are listed below. However,
they are mostly local in nature, and some are company-dominated.
a. Federation of Free Farmers (FFF)
Address: centered in Central Luzon (Pam-
panga and Tarlac Provinces)
Affiliation:
Membership:
Officers: 15/
President: Jeremias U. MONTMAYOR (founder)
Head, Legal Dept.: Federico B. MORENO
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
This organization, founded in 1953 on a shoestring and an idea,
is essentially an effort to improve economic conditions of both small
land-owners and tenant farmers by introducing technological and
scientific methods which will enable them to produce better and larger
crops. It is to function as a cooperative for small landholders and as
a labor union for tenant farmers. 16/
As a beginning, MONTMAYOR, an attorney, got ten farmers,
who between them owned about 50 hectares of land, to invest their
savings in. the FFF. The Philippine Government Office of Soil Con-
servation made a land contour study free, and furnished a team to do
soil analysis at nominal cost, which, according to one report, was
borne by Fro HOGAN, leader of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW
see below). Machinery and properly mixed fertilizers were bought
for use of the members. 17/
While MONTMAYOR had to borrow the greater part of the funds
necessary to start the program, he estimated that the new methods
introduced would produce sufficient surplus crops to repay the loans
within two years. His idea spread, and even before the federation
really began operations other farmers asked to join it. However,
MONTMAYOR preferred first to prove the soundness of the project,
believing that then growth would be natural and rapid. 18./
The FFF was organized under the guidance of MONTMAYOR and
the Rev. Fr. Pacifico OR TIZ, a Jesuit priest. A late report 'indicates
that the federation has propsered, and now has several branches. The
national organization is not registered as a trade union, but its affili-
ates in Pampanga and Tarlac, and possibly in Cagayan and Bulacan,
are reported to be registered. The organization is reportedly not a
branch of the FFW but represents a similar church-sponsored effort
among rural groups. 19/
MONTMAYOR is a young attorney, highly respected by the far -
mers with whom he is working. He apparently receives no salary
from the federation, and was forced to apply for a teaching position
in order to support his family. 20/
Tarlac Farmers Association 21/
c/o Jose Tanglas, Capaz, Tarlac
FFF
Member ship:
Officers:
President: Igmidio V. MANAGUNE
Vice-president: Rufino LACSON
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
Secretary: Elias MALLAR E
Treasurer: Apolonio MALLARE
Registered: 1 September 1953
Recently, the Concepcion Chapter, in Tarlac, negotiated
a contract with a council of landlords which covers con-
ditions of tenancy and disposition of crops, and involves
some 150 landlords and about 3, 000 tenants of the Con-
cepcion area. 22/
b. Kabalsalan Rubber Project Workers Union
Address:
Affiliation:
Membership:
Officers:
Action:
Mindanao
Inter -Island Labor Organization
Approx. 175
Plantation workers of this union have
been on strike since 12 January 1954.
Only a few members responded to the
initial strike call, but the radical
minority resorted to beating the ones
who continued to work, and molesting
their families, until all joined the
strike. 23/ Reportedly, a "sinister
character" named (fnu) ESPINAS,
formerly closely identified with the
FOF, southern counterpart of the
Communist-dominated CLO, has in-
serted himself into the dispute and
gained considerable influence over
the workers involved.
2. National Confederations with Farm Affiliates
Several of the national labor confederations have affiliates among
farm workers. Those known are:
a. Federation of Free Workers (FFW)
Address:
Affiliation:
Membership: 5, 000 - 8, 000
w
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
Officers:
President:
Vice-presidents:
Edmundo NOLASCO
Ignacio LACSINA
Alejandrino. MANALAC
Organized: 1950, by TAN and Fr. Walter B.
HOGAN, Jesuit
The FFW is reported to have penetrated the HUK area of Pam -
panga. Province by' organizing drives among sugar workers anrl
farm tenants. Strong employer opposition has been met,
but about 800 designations have been received. 24/ The
FFW is the. only major labor group which declined to join
the Philippine Trade Union Unity Council, a move to estab-
lish a national federation of trade unions.
b. National Labor Union (NLU)
Address:
Affiliation: IC FT U (thin is the only IC FT U
affiliate in the Philippines)
Membership: 20, 000
Officers:
President and
Legal Counsel: Attorney Eulogio LER UM
This union functions almost exclusively through cases which
are under consideration in the Court of Industrial Relations.
The union is the source of LERUM's"financep, and he is
mainly interested in making a_ living from its operation.
However, he has. achieved benefits for the workers, includ-
ing payment of back pay for overtime; some wage increases,
and fringe benefits such as vacation with pay. 25/
Farm Workers Or.gani-
zation:
The union, which is loosely organi-
zed, operates as a company union
on the Canlubang estate of Jose
Yulo. 26/
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
C. United Labor Organization (ULO)
Address:
Affiliation:
Member ship:
Officers:
Vicente RAFAEL
Vicente AR NIEGO
This union was founded within the past year as a splinter
of PAFLU (Philippines Association of Free Trade Unions),
when.. RAFAEL and ARNIEGO disagreed with the policies
of PAFLU leader Cipriano CID. The ULO was said to have
taken out of PAFLU several farm workers unions, but they
have not been identified.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
APPENDIX 1: SUMMAR Y OF LABOR CONDITIONS AND LAND
REFORM IN PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE
25X1C10b
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY OF LABOR CONDITIONS AND LAND
R EFORM IN PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE
CONTENTS
1.
Importance of Agricultural Workers
Page 1I
2.
Types of Farms
11
3.
Extent of Land Tenancy
12
4.
Labor Standards
a. Minimum Wage Legislation
b. Eight Hour Labor Law
c. Other Legislation
5. Agricultural Wage Rates
6. Land Tenancy Status
7. Issues Utilized by Communist or CommuAlst-Dominated
Groups
a. War-time Origin of Subversive Groups
Philosophy and Issues Used by Congress of Labor
Organizations (CLO)
c. Goals of the Philippine Communist Party (PKP)
Status of the Land Reform Program
f.. Developments in Land Reform to January 1953
(1) Land Tenure Reform Defined
a. Nature of the Problem
b. The Bell Mission Report
c. Land Title Registration
d. Bell Mission R ecommendatio
e. Other Reports
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
(2) Change in Land Reform Policy
Page 25
(3) Reasons for Government Delay
25
(4) Extent of Land Ownership by Farm Families
25
(5) Danger to Nation's Stability in Land Tenure System
26
(6) Land Settlement - The New Policy
26
(7) Problems Involved in New Policy
27
(8) Agencies Implementing "Land for Landlesd' Program
27
(9) Squatting and Homesteading
28
(10) Urgent Need of Title Registration Reform
29
(11) "Caingin" and Land Destruction
29
(12) Political. Repercussions of New Policy
30
(13) Industrialization Versus Land Tenure Reform
31
g. Prospects for Fulfillment of Land Tenure Reform
31
9.
Bibliography
35
Mme&
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
SUMMARY OF LABOR CONDITIONS AND LAND
REFORM IN PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE
1. Importance of Agricultural Workers
In 1953, according to the Philippine Bureau of Census and Statistics,
agricultural workers constituted 71.26 per cent of the labor force 10
years of age and over. The breakdown by occupation and sex is shown
in the following table.
Table 1: Projection of Labor Force 10 Years Old and Over, by;:
Industry Division and by Sex: 1952-1953 1/
(Number of Persons in Thousand)
1953
Per cent of total
Industry Division
4,865
3,Z56
8,121
100.0
100.,0
100.0
59.91
40.09
100.0
1. Agriculture, Forestry,
Fishing and Hunting
3, 336
2,453
5,789
68.57
75.33
71.26
Agriculture and
Livestock
3,049
2,443
5,492
62.67
75.04
67.59
Forestry
13
1
14
.28
.02
.17
Fishing
272
9
281
5.59
.27
3.48
Hunting
2
2
.03
.02
II. Non-Agricultural Under-
takings
1, 529
803
2, 332
31.43
24.67
28.74
It is interesting to note from the above table, that there are a higher
proportion of women than men in agricultural pursuits.
2. Types of Farms
A classification of types of farms on the basis of the principal pro-
ducts and the area in hectares is. shown in Table 2. This data is from
the 1948 Census of Agriculture.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
Table 2: Types of Farms, 1948.
Type of Product
Number of Farms
Area in Hectares
Palay Farms
783, 938
2, 423,
613.32
Corn Farms
254, 367
550,
899. 18
Abaca Farms
22,960
191,
843.21
Sugarcane Farms
12,522
124,
020.27
Coconut Farms
233, 086
1,082,
028.48
Fruit Farms
23, 944
25,
366. 25
Tobacco Farms
2, 048
6,227.51
Vegetable Farms
1,519
4,685.22
Root Crop Farms
47,875
101,
414.75
Livestock Farms
102
17,
277.15
Poultry Farms
126
277.54
Other Farms
256, 137
1, 198,
930.76
3. Extent of Land Tenancy
The prevailing form of farm labor is tenancy, under which the worker
contributes his labor in the production of the crop and is remunerated by
a definite portion of the produce. The extent of tenancy in the Philippines
is shown in the following table based on the 1948 Census of Agricultiure.
Table 3: Extent of Land Tenancy. 3/
Number of Farms
Area in Hectares
Owners
861,239
3,
519,
473.36
Part Owners
163, 132.
490,
887.89
Tenants:
Share Tenants
424, 732
1,
011,
753.07
Share-cash Tenants
5,411
19,
411.72
Cash Tenants
7,898
35,
111.65
Other Tenants
173, 930
487,
513.98
Farm Managers
2,282
162,
431.97
4. Labor Standards
Minimum Wage Legislation
The Philippine Minimum Wage Law, which became effective
August 4, 1951, provides with respect to' agricultural employers
in Section 3(b):
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
"Every employer who operates a farm enterprise compris-
ing more than 12 hectares shall pay to each of his employees,
who is engaged in agriculture, wages at the rate of not less
than - -
(1) On the effective date of this Act and for one year
thereafter, ]P1. 75 a day, and no allowances for
board and lodging shall reduce this wage below
P1. 50 in cash during that year;
(2)
(3)
One year after the effective date of this Act, P2
a day, and no allowances for board and lodging shall
reduce this wage below ,P1. 75 in cash; and
One year thereafter, P2. 50 a day and no allowances
for board and lodging shall reduce this wage below
P2.25 in cash." 4/
Farm laborers employed on farms of 30 acres or less are exempt
from coverage of the Act.
The law also provides for direct payment of wages to workers,
thus making illegal the prevalent practice of giving worker's wages to
foremen or labor bosses for distribution who retained as much for
themselves as the traffic would bear.
Though the passage of the law was greeted with considerable enthus-
iasm by the press and the general population, this was later followed by
a feeling of disillusionment as the result of failure to enforce the law,
especially in agricultural areas.
In a despatch from Manila dated November 9, 1953, the embassy
stated: 5/
"but on the whole, labor, to the extent it had optimistic
expectations is disillusioned about the minimum wage law,
for the guaranteed minimum is more often a myth than a
reality due to the difficulties of enforcement."
b. Eight Hour Labor Law
The eight-hour labor law is not applicable to agricultural
enterprises or farm laborers. However, provisions similar to
those provided by the law may be adopted, especially on large
well-established farms through collective bargaining agreements. 6/
C. Other Legislation
Act 104 of 1936 which enables the Secretary of Labor to set
safety standards makes no specific provisions for agricultural
workers and is intended primarily for the protection of workers
in mines, quarries, and industrial establishments. Similarly
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
?&0&L'__' r' -T
the Workmen's Compensation Act and the Women's and Children's
law appear to be intended primarily for the protection of non-
agricultural workers. Enforcement of these, as well as the
minimum wage law, is hindered by lack of funds for inspection
and enforcement.
5. Agricultural Wage Rates
There had been complaints by employers that the minimums set
by the Minimum Wage Law were too high and that they would result in
lay-offs and consequent lower total earnings by workers.
Though earnings data are more significant than wage rates in
measuring the welfare of workers, no such data are available and it
is therefore not possible to measure the effects of the minimum wage
law on the earnings of agricultural workers.
Table 4 shows the wage rates of agricultural laborers in various
regions of the Philippines both in terms of index numbers and in pesos.
Chart I shows the wage rate indices in graphic form that appear
in Table 4.
The chart brings out in a more striking way than the table that
agriculture wage rates were higher in 1947 prior to the passage of
minimum wage legislation than in 1952 in Central Luzon (including
Zambales) and Southern Luzon (including Marinduque, Mindoro, and
Bicol). As computed by the Bureau of the Census and Statistics, the
higher wage rate levels in these regions were sufficient to make the
average rates for the Philippines as a whole higher also in 1947 than
in 1952.
It was not possible to obtain on short notice any other explanation
for the existence of higher agricultural wage rates in 1947 than 1952
than that the statistical techniques were deficient.
The minimum wage for agricultural workers, which became ef-
fective August 4, 1951, was P1.75. This was raised to P2 a year
later. Thus for approximately 8 months of 1952, the first minimum
prevailed and for 4 months the second minimum prevailed. This
results in a 1952 weighted average of V1.83, disregarding for the
moment any allowable deductions for board and lodging. It is there-
fore interesting to note from the above table that the national average
shown for the year 19'52 was P1. 94. It should also be noted that the
increase in the national average from 1951 to 1952 approximated 13. 5
per cent. As in the case of many averages, the above national average
increase concealed considerable variation in the data. Thus the varia-
tion by regions, of the increase in the wage rate from 1951 to 1952,
ranged from 6. 7 per cent in Mindanao (including Sulu) to 47. 4 per
cent in Luzon (Cagayan Valley, including Batanes).
Sanitized - Approved For Release: CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release :
CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
Table )4: Wage Rates 1 and Wage Indexes of Agricultural . Laborers in the Philippines, by Region
1941; 1947-i952
Naze rate and pesos)
(19)41 = 104)
194x1
1947
X93
.949
1950
1951.
1952
Region
Wage
rate
Wage
rate
index
Wage
rate
Wage
'Wage
dage
rate
Philippine s
0.56
2,05
366.1
1.66
296.4
1.73
308.9
1.70
303.6
1.7(1
305.!
1.94
346.4
Luzon.; Ilocos$ including
i our twin region
O 53
2.06
388.7
1.40
26482
1.67
317.1
1.63
3O7e5
1.80
339#6
2.11
398.1
Luzon: Cagayan Valley.,
including Batanes
0.60
1.44
240.0
1.42
236.7
1.76
293.3
162
270.0
1.54
256.7
2.27
378.3
Cerr"tra1 Luzon: including
Zanihal es
0.67
3.00
447.8
2.35
350.7
2.04
304.5
2.10
313.4
1.95
291.0
2.13
317.9
S u kern Luzon: including
k rinduque & Mindoro
0.66
3.06
463.6
1,92
290.9
2.02
306,1
2.18
330.3
2.16
327.3
2.45
371.2
, Bicol
Southern Luzon
0.52
2.05
394.2
1.42
273.1
1.51
290,4
1.13
275.0
1.5i
29O..
i082
350,0
.
.East Visayan
0.37
1.49
402.7
1.25
337.8
1.27
343.2
1,41
3 .1
1.13
386.5
1.34
L97.3
`lest Visayan
0.47
1.36
29306
1.13
240.4
1.37
2915
1.27
270.2
1.31
278.7
1.70
361.7
.ndanao including Sulu
0,60
1.80
300.0
1.76
293.3
1.86
314.0
1.77
295.0
1.78
296.
1090
316.7
Source of Basic Data: Philippine
Bureau of the Cen .s and Statistics.
3evised Wage rates are averages of daily money wage rates. Aside from t.'-,Lis wage., agricultural laborers are furnished ireith two
free meals.
Sanitized - Approved For Release :
CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
CPYRGHT
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
6. Land_ Tenancy Status
An analysis of the legal status of farm tenancy was made by the
American Embassy in Manila in 1951. The pertinent sections are as
follows:
Rice tenancy and sugar tenancy are regulated by law. The
historic division in rice tenancy is one-third for human labor and
management, one-third for the supplier of animal labor, and one-
third for the owner of the land. Usually the landowner has the
responsibility for the payment of taxes and for furnishing the cash
for growing the crop. The work animal may be supplied by either
the. tenant or the landowner.
In 1933, to correct oppressive practices of landowners, which
had been associated from time immemorial with the system, and
which had brought about increasing unrest in rice-tenancy areas,
a law was. passed "to promote the well-being of tenants (aparceros)
in agricultural lands devoted to the production of rice. " (Act No.
4054.) This law has been amended several times, the latest of
which was on September 30, 1946, when Republic Act No. 34 was
approved.
This Act, as amended, gives to the landlord and the tenant
freedom to enter into any or all kinds of tenancy contract as long
as they are not contrary to existing laws, morals, and public
policy. The following stipulations are, however, declared to be
against public policy:
(a) If the tenant shall receive less than fifty-five per cent
of the net produce, in case he furnished the work animals
and the farm implements, and the expenses of planting and
cultivation are borne equally by said tenant and the landlord;
(b) If the rental stipulated to be paid by the tenant to the
landlord is higher than twenty-five per cent of the estimated
normal harvest, in case of a contract providing for a fixed
rental of the land; and
(c) If the landlord is the owner of the work animal, and
the tenant of the farm implements, and the expenses are
equally divided between the landlord and the tenant, for the
tenant to receive less than fifty per cent of the crop.
In the absence of any written agreement to the contrary and
when the tenant furnishes the necessary implements and the work
animals and defrays all the expenses for planting and cultivation
of the land, the crop shall be divided as follows:
The tenant shall receive seventy per cent of the net pro-
duce of the land and the landlord thirty per cent, for first-
class land, the normal production of which, based on the
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
average yield for the three preceding years, is more than
forty cavans of palay per cavan of seeds; seventy-five per
cent for the tenant and twenty-five for the landlord, in case
of land the average normal production of which is not more
than forty cavans of palay per one cavan of seeds. In case
the landlord furnishes the necessary work animals and
farm implements and, likewise, bears all the expenses
of planting and cultivation, the landlord shall receive seventy
per cent and the tenant thirty per cent of the crop; but if the
landlord furnishes the necessary work animals and farm
implements and bears equally with the tenant the expenses
of planting and. cultivation the crop shall be divided equally
between the parties. 7/
Additional information on farm tenancy in the Philippines is con-
tained in a press release of the CIO International Affairs Committee
of July 1953. In an attachment by Jose J. Hernandez entitled "Facts
about Sugar Workers in the Philippines," there is the following informa-
tion:
The records of the Philippine Bureau of Census and Statistics
shows that there are at present 289, 000 agricultural laborers in
the sugar industry. The record likewise shows that the total
sugar quota of the Philippines at present including export and
domestic sugar is 16,883,343 piculs.
Eighty (80) per cent of the whole Philippine sugar quota is
produced in the Islands of Negros, where the prevailing rate of
daily wage for farm laborers prior to the passage of the Minimum
Wage Law is 101. 00 and for mill laborers P3. 00. In the Island.
of Luzon, the prevailing wages before the approval of the Minimum
Wage Law is 102. 50 for farm laborers and PP3.30 for mill laborers.
With the recent passage and approval of the Minimum Wage
Law (Republic Act No. 602) last April 6, 1951, the prevailing
daily minimum wage for farm laborers at present is P2.50 and
V4. 00 for industrial laborers. (Note: One US Dollar is equivalent
to the (2) Philippine Pesos. )
At present, there are only two labor organizations in the
Philippines that have active members among sugar cane workers.
These are the Allied Workers Association of the Philippines which
is presently operating in the Island of Negros Occidental and the
National Labor ?:anion which has its central office in Manila. The
Allied Workers Association with chapters in twelve (12) sugar
centrals and fifteen (15) sugar cane plantations has 13, 000 active
members while the National Labor Union in Luzon has 6, 000
active members,
Eighty (80) per cent of the total quota of 16, 883, 343 piculs
is produced by planters who are owners of the plantations they
are working while twenty (20) per cent of the entire Philippine
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
sugar quota is produced by planters who are only leasing the sugar
cane plantations at the prevailing rental ranging from 15% to 20%
of the gross production.
One half of the total leasehold contracts are family contracts
or leases between fathers and sons or between close relatives.
Eighty (80) per cent of the entire quota is produced from plan-
tations with more than 10, 000 piculs quota. Ten (10) per cent of
the entire quota is produced by planters with more than 6, 000
piculs quota. Five (5) per cent is produced by planters with 3, 0003
piculs quota and another five (5) per cent is produced by planters
with less than 3, 000 piculs quota.
Planters producing from 6, 000 to 10, 000 piculs, even if
they are leases, provided the rental does not exceed 12 per cent,
and provided that the sharing contract between planters and
millers is 60-40, can afford to pay a minimum cash wage of x'2.00.
Planters producing over 10, 000 piculs quota can, whether
planters leases or planters-owners, afford to pay a minimum cash
wage of V2. 50 to their laborers.
Planters with less than 3, 000 piculs quota can afford to pay
a minimum cash wage of 1P2.00 provided they are planters-owners
and do not have to add to their cost of production the value of the
rental.
In the Philippines, the equitableness. of the 60-40 participation
between millers and planters has never been thoroughly investi-
gated by qualified investigators. This is partly due to the fact
that, while sugar mills are corporations whose books are open
to the inspection of government auditors, the books of the planters
have never been investigated by competent examiners. For this
reason, the actual cost of production of the planters has never
been accurately ascertained.
The principal problem of labor unions in the Philippines today
with respect to sugar cane workers is the difficulty they meet in
unionizing farm laborers. This is mainly due to two important
reasons: the fact that sugar cane plantations are numerous.
and are scattered in wide areas which makes it hard for organi-
zers to go from one plantation to another one, and the insistent
opposition of sugar cane planters against the unionizing of their
laborers. 8/
Additional light on the sugar, workers is given by the following
comment by the American Embassy in Manila:
"In Negros Occidental, the center of the sugar industry, where
a field trip was recently made by embassy officers for the pur-
pose of observing conditions and studying problems of the in-
dustry, it was stated on reliable authority that the majority
of the planters pay wages of only 1. 50 pesos a day. Even this
wage is often paid only on condition that the worker be assisted
by members of his family, who are paid nothing. The govern-
ment is making a half-hearted attempt to enforce the minimum
Sanitized - Approved For Release :A-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
wage in factories and offices, but on the farms it seems to lack
the will and the force to do so. The farm workers themselves
are generally subservient, passive, inarticulate. 9/
7. Issues Utilized by Communist or Communist-Dominated Groups
a, War-time. Origin of Subversive Groups
During the Japanese Occupation overt trade union activity
was suppressed and many trade union leaders joined the Hukbalahap
(anti-Japanese) movement. The Huk movement, which now calls
itself the People's Liberation Army, sprang up during World War
II in central Luzon where overpopulation, misrule and poverty
were causing widespread discontent. The wartime targets of the
Huk guerrillas were the Japanese and the landlords. The move-
ment was gradually taken over by the Communists, who extended
it to other parts of the country,and are now trying to overthrow
the elected government by armed revolution. 10/
b. Philosophy and Issues Used by Congress of Labor Organizations
(CLO)_
Following the end of World War II left wing trade union leaders
set up federations which engaged in organizational programs and
soon had a relatively large membership. By 1951 the subversive
nature of the leadership of the major federations had become evi-
dent, and the Secretary of Labor outlawed them. These organi-
zations were (1) the WFTU - affiliated Congress of Labor Organi-
zations (CLO), (2) the KKM, an offshoot of the CLO, and (3) the
Federal of Philippine Workers (FOF). I1/
The following excerpts from the first annual report of the
CLO in 1946 indicate some of the issues utilized by that group.
THE FIRST STEP TAKEN BY THE CLO IN INCREASING
WAGES
The sum of Pl. 25, which was the lowest daily wage al-
lowed by the army, during the first days of the CLO organi-
zation, was, exceedingly low considering the fact that the
cost of the first necessities of life had increased 1000%
compared with the pre-war costs. This sum is not even
enough to buy a half ganta of rice when, before the war,
P1.25 could buy four (4) gantas.
Continuous petitions were filed by our brother laborers
to army authorities. These petitions were not heard. At
that time, it was decided by the CLO to forget the use of
the right to strike, the most effective weapon in such cases,
as it considered more important the early destruction of
facism,
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
Because of the apparent disregard to the petitions by the
army authorities, it was thought proper, by the CLO to
take a decided action thereon and request the adherence of
the people. They held, a big labor meeting which was at-
tended by Secretary of Labor Adduru and by representatives
of the army. In that meeting a resolution of the laboring
class was handed to Secretary Adduru, signed by 10, 000
citizens, for presentation to President Camena and to the
high officials of the American Army. Not a week had
passed and the old rate of 01.25 was changed to 02,,40,
which was the minimum wage granted by the army, although
the amount requested by the CLO was 03.00.
THERE IS NO PLACE IN THE CLO FOR LABOR LEADERS
WHO WERE AGAINST, THE PEOPLE
Before the war, there were already many who claimed to
be leaders in labor movements,in the Philippines. The truth
is that these false leaders were either secretly or openly
agents of capital, of reactionists and of fascism. For the
small sums with which they,-were bribed by the capitalists
and the fascist elements, they worked with no other aim
but to hinder the progress of the labor movements and of
democratic citizens of the Philippines. They have been very
aggressive in starting strikes, in organizing company unions,
in canvassing strike breakers (esquirola), for factories under
strike, in convincing laborers to avoid progressive unions be-
cause they are reds, etc. They are executioners of the cause
of labor.
ASSOCIATIONS WHICH DECLARED STRIKES - THEIR SUCCESS
1. KAISAHAN NG MGA MANGINGISDA SA PILIPINAS:
Our brothers in Tondo, Manila, who are members of this
union make their living by fishing in the Manila.,Bay. Due
to the great number of ships of the American Navy, anchored
in the Bay, fishing in there was prohibited, which meant
that our brothers would have to face great miseries in their
existence. This urged them to organize a union and join
the CLO. Thru the management of the CLO our brothers
were againallowed to fish in the Manila Bay.
2.. RURAL TRANSIT WORKER'S UNION:
Because of the smallness of the salary paid to our brothers
in the Rural Transit, they planned to organize a union to be
joined to the CLO. Before they succeeded in organizing
they had to endure difficulties because of various obstacles
put by the capitalists. When they presented their petition,
the company readily acceded, so they did not have to resort
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
to a strike. This success was due to the closed union
among the employees themselves and to the fact that the
farmers' organization in the lands traversed by the busses
of the Rural Transit are ready to help their brother
laborers, especially those who are members of CLO.
Their union was recognized and all were given an increase
of Z. 50 a day.
It is not wrong to state, that the present opponent of
President Osmena is a right-hand man of Hitler. Hence,
even though the CLO admits that Osmena is slow, it
should resolve not to side with but work against a Hitler
in the person of Manuel Acuna Roxas, who is a pest and a
hangman of labor and democracy. 12/
The outlawed FOF included in its constitution that one of its
aims. was "to organize the peasants, tenants and small land-
owners and ... struggle against feudalistic practices of land-
lords and reactionary elements." 13/
c. Goals of the Philippine Communist Party (PKP)
Since the Philippine Communist Party was the mainspring and
source of the objectives and activities of its various front groups,
an examination of the Party's goals will, of course, provide the
clue to the activities of these groups.
A study by the State Department's Office of Intelligence Re-
search, indicates what these goals were in late 1952: 14/
The avowed aims of the PKP, which have changed very
little since the inauguration of the Party in 1930, are orthodox
Communist goals. The clearest public enunciation of these
goals were made in a statement by Mariano Balgos before
the Committee on Un-Filipino Activities of the Philippine
House of Representatives in December 1948. According to
the Balgos statement, the Party has both maximum and
minimum aims. The maximum aim is the establishment of
a Communist state and society in the Philippines. The mini-
mum aims include the founding of a "People's Democracy, "
which he defined as "a democratic coalition government in
which power is shared among the democratic classes and
groups such as the peasants, workers, middle-class ele-
ments including the working intelligentsia and the nationalist
bourgeoisie who are interested in the democratic industriali-
zation of our country." Other "minimum" Party aims com-
prise the following:
(a) Government confiscation of the large landed estates
and distribution of these among the peasants;
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
(b) additional agrarian reforms, such as establishment
of producers.' and marketing cooperatives, increase
of irrigation and. flood control facilities, distribution
of fertilizer and farm machinery, rural electrifica-
tion, and improvement of rural credit sources;
(c) removal of American troops and military bases from
the Philippines and termination of preferential treat-
ment accorded to Americans by the Philippine-
American Trade Agreement of 1946 and the so-called
"Parity Amendment";
(d) nationalization of basic and strategic industries;
(e) promulgation of a social-welfare program; including
minimum wages and maximum hours, insurance for
sickness, unemployment, and old age, workmen's
compensation, and free public schools, hospitals,
dispensaries, dental clinics, maternity centers,
nurseries, public libraries, and recreational facilities.
The Balgos statement was formulated largely for propaganda
purposes. However, its division of Party goals into maximum
and minimum aims reflected dominant Party theory. This
theory holds that the economic and social development of the
Philippines is not sufficiently advanced to support a "pro-
letarian-type" revolution which would establish a Socialist
society, and that the present armed conflict constitutes a
"bourgeois" revolution which in Marxian theory, must
necessarily precede a proletarian revolution, before the lat-
ter type of revolution can be achieved. To judge by the events
in Communist China and the "People's. Democracies" of eastern
Europe in recent years, the PKP, once in power, would not
be bound rigidly by the above list of "minimum aims. "
Moreover, very little information is available about auxiliary
and front groups of the Party in late 1952. The latest estimate
of membership in all Communist-dominated "mass organiza-
tions" is a US Army source of December 1951, citing a strength
figure of 43, 100.
Since the suppression by the Government of the large "front"
labor federations in 1951--including the Congress of Labor
Organizations and the Kalipunang ER m2a Kaishang Mang agawa
(Federation of Trade Unions)--the largest mass organization
probably has been the National Peasants Union. Other note-
worthy groups were the National Women's League and the
National Youth League. Liaison between these organizations
and the PKP is affected through the National Organization
Department of the Party. 15/
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
8. Status of the Land Reform Program
Without doubt, the Department of Agriculture and the FOA have more
detailed information on the Philippine land reform program than is
available in the. Department of Labor. However, we shall provide the
information we have available, with the understanding that it is far
from exhaustive and that its major purpose is to provide a broad picture
and leads for further study.
a. Nature of the Problem
As in the case of many underdeveloped.countries, the. Philippines
has the problem of absentee landlords owning vast estates, tenant-
farmer or, sharecropper operation, and underpaid agricultural labor
living in substandard conditions and insecurity.
b. The Bell Mission Report
A good description of this situation is given in. the soy-called
Bell Mission report on page 55:
Land is the most important source of wealth in the Philippines
and its concentration or distribution is the primary factor that
affects the social and economic well-being of the people. Land
has been the safest investment, even under very unstable politi-
cal conditions. Large profits enjoyed at various times by the
landowner class have gone into the acquisition of more land.
The result has been that land ownership by farmers who work
the land has steadily declined. Land values have risen so much
that tenants have little or no chance whatever of acquiring
equities in the land they farm.
The strained relationship between the landlords and their
tenants and the low economic condition generally of the tillers
of the soil compose one of the main factors retarding the
recovery of agricultural production. While some laws have
been passed to relieve the tenant's plight they have not worked
out as expected. The land problem remains the same or
worse than four years ago and the dissident trouble has
spread to wider areas.
c. Land Title Registration
The most retarding and disorganizing factor in Philippine agri..
culture has to do with the registration of land titles and the effect
this has on the settlement of farmers on new lands. With the sole
exception of tenure problems, more rancor and discontent arise
out of title registration difficulties, particularly on the Island of
Mindanao, than from any other source. These difficulties are
hindering not only the orderly settlement of new lands, but they
invite squatting and cause many great injustices. More than
that, they are at least partially responsible for the continuation
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
of the old practice known as "caingin" which consists of burning
out a patch of forest, raising one crop of corn, and then moving
on to some new site to do the same thing. This is a threat to
the conservation of large tracts of valuable forest.
Although the destruction of records during the war is an
important mitigating circumstance in some provinces, neverthe-
less one gets the impression that title difficulties are countenanced
by design, for they favor the rich and influential, and defeat the
efforts of small farmers. They give rise to injustice and breed
discontent. The whole morass of land title registration cannot be
overcome except through a major effort devoted to the completion
of cadastral surveys and adjudication of claims in special courts
set_ up for this sole purpose. 16/
d. Bell.. Mission Recommendations 17/
The Commission made the following recommendations concern-
ing the above. problems:
Laws providing for the division of crops between the tenant
and landlord should be amended and enforced to see that the
tenant receives an equitable share of the crop for his labors.
At the same time, the landlord should receive sufficient return
to see that he is interested in improving his land. A broad
program should be inaugurated of acquiring large estates at
fair value for resale in small holdings to tillers of the soil.
New lands should be opened for settlement by homesteaders
and their titles promptly cleared. The administration of pub-
lic lands and the procedures for land-title registration should
be thoroughly overhauled. Cadastral surveys should be com-
pleted and courts of claim set up to handle land cases exclu-
sively.
Rural banks should be established to provide credit for
agricultural production. Loans should be available both to
small land owners and to responsible to iants. The rate of
interest should be moderate, approximately the same as com-
mercial banks charge for larger loans to agricultural pro-
ducers in a strong financial position.. A farm management
service should be operated in connection with Rural Banks
to provide farmers with advice on financial problems.
e. Other Reports
In attempting to implement the Bell Commission recomm.en.
dations the Philippine Office of Economic Coordination on
February 28, 1951 created a committee to investigate the prob-
lems involved in purchasing large estates. In April 1951, this
committee issued a report entitled "Report and Recommendations
of the Advisory Committee of Large Estates Problems. " 18/
This report is not available in our files and pressure of time
makes it impossible to locate before the requested deadline for
the present paper.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
A report on land tenure. reform was also issued in 1952 by
the land tenure specialist of the Special Technical and Economic
Mission (STEM) MSA to the Philippines, Robert S. Hardie. 19/
This report was controversial and caused strained relations with
the then President Quirino who felt the report unfairly blamed
his administration for conditions which had prevailed for cen-
turies.
Another report which met with a somewhat similar reaction
from President Quirino was the Rivera-McMillan Report of
August 1952 on conditions in the Philippine barrios. 20/ Neither
of these. reports were available for summary.
f. Developments in Land Reform to January 1953
The Quarterly Economic and Financial Review of the Ameri-
can Embassy in Manila, dated January 12, 1953 includes the fol-
lowing. basic discussion of land tenure reform.: 21/
Recent developments concerning land reform in the
Philippines are considered of such importance for the future
and direction of the country?s economic development that they
have been made the major part of this quarterly report.
Events are covered up to about January 5. Developments
after January 5 and up to the time this report is written do
not seem to have changed the main issues and the implications
for American policy that are involved.
The central problem of economic development in the
Philippines is not that of raising national income by increas-
ing effective demand. It is rather that of breaking the bottle-
necks' and eliminating the rigidities in the economy that im-
pede a better allocation and utilization of resources, greater
investment and production. Of the bottlenecks and rigidities,
the most important and certainly the most difficult to over-
come, are those which are institutional. Of the institutional
bottlenecks and rigidities in the Philippine economy, the out-
standing one is that of land tenure reform.
(1),.Land Tenure Reform Defined 22/
Land tenure reform is defined to include: (a) the breaking
up of large estates to enable the maximum practicable num-
ber of tenants to become owner-operators of family-size
farms, (b) the establishment of leasehold tenancy to replace
the Kasama system of tenure which is a lord and serf relation-
ship, (c) the payment of adequate wages to hired farm workers,
(d) change of inheritance law to increase security of tenure
and to prevent the atomization of farm holdings. Land re-
form as a more general term includes not only land tenure
reform; but also such items as agricultural credit, producer
marketing, land rents, taxation of agricultural land or in-
come from land.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
(2) Change in Land Reform Policy 23/
President Quirino has declared that the Philippine
Government will not continue its policy of purchasing large
estates for resale to tenants and those who actually occupy
the land. Instead of such land tenure reform, he stated,
the -settler ent of public lands is the Gover=entts policy.
(3) Reasons for Government Delay 24/
This statement and the Quirino Administration's vehe-
ment reaction against the STEM/MSA report on land tenure
reform, which has been published for the first time, empha-
size what is probably the major obstacle to land tenure re-
form in the Philippines: the unwillingness, and perhaps
even inability, of a Government that derives its principle
support from a wealthy landholding minority to take action
that might be detrimental to those whose established position
the Government is dedicated to maintain. Neither the Liberals
nor the Nacionalistas have in the past evinced enthusiasm
for effective land tenure reform. It remains to be seen
whether a Nacionalista Administration would be more'recep-
ti,ve to reform than are the Liberals.
(4) Extent of Land Ownership by Farm Families 25/
The main issue involved in the Presidents declaration of
a "new policy" for dealing with the problem of land reform and
the furor caused by the publication of the Hardie Report is that
of redistributing large estates--that is, correcting to the
greatest extent practicable the extremely unequal distribution
of land by making it possible for those who till the soil to
become owners and by creating the'maximum practicabll num-
ber of owner-operated family-size farms. As noted above,
the redistribution of estates is only part of the general prob-
lem of land reform- And some progress has been and is
being made toward certain types of land reform. There is
legislation providing for the establishment of rural credit
facilities, and, as we shall see later, a beginning is now
being made toward implementing these laws. Legislation
exists for governing the division of rice and sugar crops
between landowners and tenants, but these laws are based
in large part on feudal concepts, are ambiguous, and their
enforcement leaves much to be desired. Measures which
are supplementary to land reform are also being taken.
The settlement of public lands, provided it is properly
carried out, can help alleviate agrarian unrest, but it is
not land reform, and its ability to eradicate any of the
causes of -unrest is doubtful. Measures to increase agri-
cultural productivity- -such as the provision of fertilizers,
irrigation, better seeds, better techniques, extension
services--may likewise make a contribution toward over-
coming some of the many handicaps to rural stability
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
and productivity, but they, too, are hot land reform, and
.unless there are institutional reforms, the benefits of such
measures are all too likely to go to large landowners rather
than, to those who till the soil. Granted the importance of
such measures supplementary to land reform and of such
institutional reforms as have been started, the most funda-
mental aspect of land reform is who owns the land. And a
solution to this question involves air assault on the estab-
lished position of the large landowners, the ruling minority.
(5) Danger to Nation's Stability in Land Tenure System 26/
It is apparently true that some 50 per cent of the work-
ing farm families own all the land they cultivate and that an
additional 15 per cent own part of the land they work. Hence,
it may seem that undue importance is given to the problems
of 35 per cent of farm families when it is said that the
redistribution of large estates is the most important part
of land reform. But the established trend is for the average
size of farms to decrease and for the tenure system to
spread, taking instability and dissidence with it. Even in
public lands that are being settled, particularly in Mindanao,
there is strong evidence that the land tenure system of cen-
tral Luzon and its attendant Huk activities are being trans-
planted. As long as the system remains an established insti-
tution in the Philippines, it will constitute a danger to the
political, social and economic well being of the country,
The pernicious land tenure system, even though it is concen-
trated in Central Luzon, makes its malicious influence felt
throughout the country. It is probably the primary source
of political, social and economic instability, which mani-
fests itself most acutely in Communist-led armed rebellion.
It is a major, perhaps the major, institutional obstacle to
economic development.
(6) Land Settlement - The New Policy 27/
In a speech at Tanay, Rizal Province, on December 7,
1952 and also in a fireside chat broadcast on December 15,
1952 the President announced that the Government had adopted
a "new policy" of "land for the landless. " The "new policy,
said the President, is to be concentration on the opening of
idle public lands for sale at nominal prices to the landless
and abandonment of the past policy of purchasing large estates
for resale at cost to tenants. The reason, given for no longer
purchasing estates for redistribution is a lack of funds.
The "new policy" represents a break with the past. The
Constitution of the Philippines authorizes the Government to
acquire private land for subdivision and sale at cost to in-
dividuals. And during the middle 1930's the Legislature
began the enactment of a series of laws authorizing expropria-
tion of large estates for the purpose of establishing tenants.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
as owners of the soil they till. In recent years, however,
the Government has not been buying estates for redistribu-
tion, and the record regarding the -sale of the 30-odd
estates which had previously been purchased for this
purpose is not a good one. The President's a.nouncement
is a public admission of what already existed in fact. In
this, sense the policy is not "new" at all.
It is to be emphasized that the settlement of public
lands which are suitable for cultivation is a highly desir-
able supplement to land reform but that settlement is neither
land reform, as. the President calls it, nor a substitute for
land reform.
(7) Problems Involved in New Policy 28/
Available statistics do not warrant the Government's
optimism regarding the capacity of public lands to absorb
the vast number of families seeking to establish themselves:
as owner-cultivators. In all the Philippines there are an
estimated 7. 6 million hectares of public lands capable of
settlement for agricultural development, and this estimate
is generally regarded as grossly optimistic. In rural areas
alone there would appear to be some 1. 6 million families
requiring land. To divide the available public land by this
number would mean an average allotment of only 4.7 hectares
per family, which is an amount slightly above the existing
average farm size. Furthermore, in order to neutralize
the annual population growth in rural areas alone accommoda-
tions would have to be found for an estimated 5.2, 400 families
per year.
There are two kinds of settlement: (a) organized settle-
ment carried out by the Government's Land Settlement and
Development Corporation (LASEDECO) and Economic De-
velopment Corporation (EDCOR ); and (b) unorganized settle-
ment which has been going on for years through squatting
and homesteading' on public lands without assistance from
the Government. Unorganized settlement is far more im-
portant than organized settlement so far as -numbers of
settlers are concerned, and the major problem involved
in the settlement of public lands is that of title registration.
(8) Agencies. Implementing "Land for Landless" Program 29/
In announcing his "new policy" the President declared. that
the LASEDECO and EDCOR, especially LASEDECO, are
primarily responsible for carrying out the "land for the land-
less" program. EDCOR has the special purpose of settling
and rehabilitating ex-Huks. In recent months each alloca-
tion of public land to LASEDECO and EDCOR has received
much publicity as evidence that the President is. implementing
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
the settlement program. The amounts of land that an indi-
vidual may settle in LASEDECO and EDCOR projects vary
from six to ten hectares. The two organizations are de-
signed to provide a variety of services to settlers. The
settlers pay nominal sums for the land and certain services
receive.. The objectives of LASEDECO and EDCOR are
commendable, but LASEDECO and EDCOR are of minor
importance with regard to the number of families settled.
A STEM/MSA estimate generously places at not over 11, 000
the number of families actually settled in projects operated
by LASEDECO and the organizations it replaced when it was
created in 1950. Not over 200 ex-Huk families have been
settled by EDCOR, according to estimates by STEM/MSA
and by Major Jose M. Crisol, Chief, Civilian Affairs Of-
fice, Department of National Defense.
LASEDECO has been a somewhat moribund organiza-
tion, at least until recently, and its efficiency and effective-
ness have beenquestioned. In the last session of Congress
the Senate failed to pass the LASEDECO appropriation bill
for 5 million pesos, and the corporation has been kept in
operation by an advance of 2 million pesos from the Central
Bank's economic development fund. LASEDECO has also
been promised aid from MSA counterpart funds for the sur-
vey of certain of its settled lands and for related title issu-
ance. Last November the House Agriculture Committee ten-
tatively approved the fusion of LASEDECO and EDCOR under
a new office of the Department of Agriculture and Natural
Resources for purposes of greater efficiency and economy.
In support of this proposal Representative Manuel Zosa
(Liberal) was reported to have "deplored that millions of
pesos are thrown away for LASEDECO and EDCOR agri-
cultural settlement work without benefitting settlers or
giving financial returns to the Government. " And Acting
Secretary of Agriculture Camus was quoted as saying,
"just let us prepare the lands by having them surveyed,
parcelled out, and classified according to agricultural fit-
ness, and the settlers will come in without much encourage-
ment from the Government. "
(9) S uatting and Homesteading 30/
Squatting and homesteading on public lands have pro-
ceeded far more rapidly than settlement in Government pro-
jects. One estimate frequently heard in Manila is that some
30, 000 families per year squat and homestead. Further
evidence is found in the comparatively rapid population
growth of the undeveloped areas. For example, the popula-
tion of Mindanao between 1939 and 1948 increased from 1.8
million to 2.7 million, which is approximately 2. 9 times
the rate of growth in other parts of the Philippines.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
(10) Urgent Need of Title Registration Reform 31/
For the settlement of public lands, much more significant
than anything LASEDECO and EDCOR have done, or -probably
could do, is the urgent need for greatly increasing the speed,
efficiency, and possibly honesty with which titles are regis-
tered. Title registration difficulties are a prime source
of instability, discontent, and injustice in newly settled areas.
'One gets the impression that title difficulties are countenanced
by design, for they favor the rich and influential, and defeat
the efforts of small farmers.
The process through which public lands pass to become
available for legitimate settlement is found in the operations
of the Bureau of Forestry and the Bureau of Lands.
The Bureau of Forestry has responsibility for classifying
land in the public domain according to whether the land is to
-reniairt in forest, part of the public domain, and under the
Bureau of Forestry, or whether the land is suitable for agri-
cultural purposes. If the latter is- the case, the land is re-
leased to the Bureau of Lands for subdivision and eventual
disposition to homesteaders. It is, incidentally, from such
lands passed to the Bureau of Lands that the President allots
tracts for LASEDECO and EDCOR projects.
(11) "Caingin'' and Land
estruction 32/
More rapid and better classification of public lands by
the Bureau of Forestry would enhance the Government's
ability to administer public lands. At the present time there
are some 1. 9 million hectares of public lands which are oc-
cupied by squatters and which have not yet been,,classified.
It is important to have these lands classified so'. that those
who have settled on tillable lands may qualify as homesteaders
and secure titles. Classification is also important as a means
of controlling squatting on non-agricultural lands, which re-
sults in a waste of resources. Squatters on lands not fit for
cultivation destroy a patch of forest, plant a crop, and move
on, leaving the soil to erode--a process called caingin
which, if continued on the present scale, constitutes a serious
threat to forest reserves. The Bureau of Forestry has under
way a six year land classification program, which is being
supported by PTEM/MSA technical assistance and equipment.
Among the principal functions of the Bureau of Lands
are subdividing and surveying public lands received from the
Bureau of Forestry and issuing titles to homesteaders. The
Bureau of Lands has a ten year program for subdividing 4
million hectares of alienable and disposable lands.. This pro-
gram complements the Bureau of Forestry's land classifica-
tion program, and it too is supported by STEM/MSA technical
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
assistance and equipment. At present'the verification and
approval of completed surveys is some six to eight years
behind.
The issuance of titles is fantastically out of gear to
keep up with demand. Before the war the maximum number
of titles issued in any one year was about 10, 000. At present
the Bureau of Lands is endeavoring to issue some 7, 000 an-
nually. But applications for titles in 1952 numbered an esti-
mated 25, 000. And due to the growing migration to public
lands it is believed that there will be perhaps 40, 000 applicants
in 1953 and 50, 000 in 1954. It is anticipated that there will be
approximately 700, 000 additional applications for titles when
the current land surveys are completed. In order to speed
up the work of the Bureau of Lands STEM/MSA has under con-
sideration a project for modernizing the processes and techni-
ques of the Bureau and training its personnel.
(12) Political Repercussions of New Policy 33/
When the President announced his "new policy, " he un-
doubtedly had in mind the 1953 elections. In the December 15
radio address he stressed his "constant obsession" to improve
the lot of "the people whom the Lord exalted--the poor." For
them, he said, the Government was determined, under the
slogan "land for the landless, " to open for them "new lands ...
virgin fertile lands in a new atmosphere away from the old
scene and source of their old anxieties and sufferings, away
from the depressing conditions in which they found them-
selves virtual serfs in a long standing feudalistic system."
(We shall see in a moment that a few days later the President
was denying the existence of such conditions in the Philippines.)
He also spoke of the "minimum wage for all" and of low cost
housing projects. It was a speech directed at the working man.
It seems very doubtful, however, that the "land for the
landless" policy as conceived by the President will have the
desired public appeal. The Manila Daily Bulletin wrote in
an editorial that abandoning the redistribution of large estates
is "non-fulfillment of a promise to the people." A comment
in the Philippines Herald was: "Like a thunderbolt from a
clear sky, the new agrarian policy of President Quirino to
abandon the purchase of landed estates and their sale to
tenants is felt by the tenant farmers in central Luzon. They
are more than disappointed while the Huks and the Communists
may feel happy .... Let us not make the agrarian problem a
political football in spite of the coming elections. "
Perhaps the announcement of the "new policy" was in-
tended as a public answer to Embassy and STEM/MSA urging
that the Philippine Government take steps to bring about
genuine land tenure reform.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
(13) Industrialization V er sua Land Tenure Reform 341
In contrast to its antipathy for land tenure reform the
Government is very enthusiastic about industrialization as a
major means of increasing employment opportunities and
promoting economic development. The view that land tenure
reform is a "minor factor"' in the country's economic develop-
ment is held not only by politicians but also by some influential
economists in the Government. Of principal importance in
increasing agricultural productivity, they say, is the establiah:-
ment of industries which use agricultural products, such as the
manufacture of sacks, wallboards, and wines. An industrializa-
tion program is needed to stimulate demand for agricultural
products, to raise farm prices and output, and to increase in-
comes in the agricultural sector. Tenant farmers would share
in the benefits accruing to agriculture, and for both tenants
and landowners this approach would be more fruitful than land
tenure reform. Land tenure reform is desirable, but it would
be "useless" if not accompanied by a vigorous industrializa-
tion program.
No doubt the establishment of sound industries, particularly
those using locally produced raw materials, is a highly desir-
able part of economic development in the Philippines. Ideally
a sound industrialization program should be carried on simul-
taneously with land reform and other measures to promote a
stability and productivity in rural areas. But it is difficult to
see how industrialization can possibly be considered either
more essential than land tenure reform or a prerequisite to
land tenure reform. The argument that tenants, as well as
landlords, would benefit from industrialization is doubtful in
the extreme as long as present agrarian institutions prevail.
The existence of feudal institutions in the agricultural sector
constitute perhaps the most serious single impediment to
economic, political, and social progress in the Philippines?
an impediment which should be removed not only for the
development of agriculture but for the growth of the entire
economy, including industrialization.
Prospects for Fulfillment of Land Tenu
Unquestionably the prospects for genuine land tenure reform
improved considerably with the election of President Magsaysay.
In his State of the Nation Message 35/ he covers his plans for
land reform after a brief but related. statement on national
security. Since the President is considered to be genuinely con-
vinced of the necessity for land reform, it is reasonable to be-
lieve he will back this. program to the fullest extent. His re-
marks are as follows:
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker
Members of Congress:
The Constitution makes us equal partners in the patriotic
task of serving our people. I am here today to start the job
with you.
What do our people want?
When our people cast their ballots in the recent election,
they voted primarily for a great, sweeping change. They
voted to throw out dishonesty, inefficiency, and waste. And
they voted for a government that would act boldly and effec-
tively, to banish insecurity and fear, poverty and want.
We promised all those things. The people voted for them.
Now we must keep faith.
Our first step must be to take an inventory of the nation,
to define our problems, and to set our goals.
National Security
Let us turn first to the security of the nation, which
must be our prime concern.
I must warn against complacency. Communist imperialism
still threatens us from without and from within.
We must, therefore, move to strengthen our defenses.
It is clearly in the national interest that we meet with the
representatives of the United States Government to settle
.pending legal questions so that the bases we have granted to
that country can be immediately developed and fully activated.
Internally, the absence of major armed conflicts in dissi-
dent areas does not necessarily mean that the Huks have
ceased to be a threat. They are still trying to undermine the
government, not with as much open defiance as before, but
slyly and secretly.
Against this conspiracy we will continue our policy of
'all-out friendship and all-out force.' I say again that I have
said many times before: we will give every dissident who
surrenders new opportunities for decent livelihood, but we
will smash those who would overthrow our independent demo-
cracy in order to hand it over to an alien. dictatorship.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
The Land Problem
At the. same time we will employ the manpower and re-
sources of our Armed Forces to combat not only dissidence,
but also the causes which breed dissidence. Troops and
trainees of the Armed Forces will be mobilized. for the con-
struction of public works and economic development projects,
as far as this may be compatible with their primary mission
and with economy of operation. This. will achieve a double
purpose: to give these citizens training in useful and technical.
pursuits, and to help in the material progress of the nation.
The existing civilian agency charged with resettlement
work, the. Land Settlement Development Company QLASEDECO),
is in such. a state of disorganization and disorder that it may
be more convenient to liquidate and replace it than to reorganize
it. I am afraid, however, that it will take some. time before
we can set up a new and effective agency, and I would suggest
that the Engineer Develop-rent Corps (EDCOR) be expanded
and utilized to help not only surrendered Huks but also those
landless Filipinos who have remained loyal.
As much as the finance of the goverunent will permit, we
should also buy large estates for resale to small farmers on
liberal terms.
In order to encourage agricultural production and elimi-
nate absentee-landlordism, I propose that Congress study
the advisability of imposing special taxes on lands left uncul-
tivated for an unreasonably long period and without justifiable
caus e.
Our laws on land registration and the disposition of public
lands should be revised. We should make it easier for our
people to get land of their own, free from any nagging technical
doubts.
The government should extend greater protection to tenants
who, because of ignorance of illiteracy, are often badly in need
of advice with rLapect to their rights, especially in the liquida-
tion of their harvests with the landlords. I urge Congress to
strengthen. the legal staff entrusted with the specific task of
rendering this kind of assistance.
Existing legislation on tenancy relations. is confusing.
There are too many laws in too many books. We need a single,
concise and easily understood farm tenancy code.
Our small farmers and producers should find it easier
to borrow money when they need it to increase production.
This means: more rural banks and more ample working capital
for the Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Financing Ad-
ministration (ACCFA), Producers' cooperatives should also
be properly organized and financed.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
Our ultimate goal is to reshape the land tenure system in
our country in such a way as to build a strong nation of small,
independent and contented farm owners, free from want, pro-
tected from injustice, and eager to contribute their share to
the welfare and progress of the nation.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0
 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R00030019000126X1 C10b
25X6F
Next 11 Page(s) In Document Exempt
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP62-00865R000300190001-0