Introduction

In the Philippines, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), enacted through Republic Act No. 6657 (1988) and extended by Republic Act No. 9700 (2009), remains the cornerstone of agrarian reform. When agricultural land is placed under the coverage of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) through compulsory acquisition (CA) or voluntary offer to sell (VOS), the landowner loses ownership, but certain transitional and residual rights—particularly the right to continue cultivation—are granted to the landowner and, by extension, to his or her heirs.

The most important legal basis for these rights is Section 6 of DAR Administrative Order No. 05, Series of 2011 (as amended), which governs the retention rights, disturbance compensation, and the three-year cultivation privilege of the former landowner and heirs.

1. The Three-Year Cultivation Right of the Former Landowner and Heirs

Under DAR A.O. 05-11, Rule II, Sec. 6:

“The landowner and his/her spouse and children who are actually tilling the land or directly managing the farm as of the time of the filing of the Notice of Coverage (NOC) or execution of the Voluntary Offer to Sell (VOS) shall have the right to continue cultivation of the landholding for a maximum period of three (3) years from the date the land is transferred to the Republic of the Philippines.”

Key points about this right:

It is personal to the landowner, spouse, and children who were actually tilling or directly managing the land at the critical date (NOC issuance or VOS execution).
Heirs who were not actually tilling or managing the land at that time are excluded from this personal cultivation right.
The three-year period is non-extendible, except in cases of force majeure or when the DAR itself delays the installation of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).
During the three-year period, the former landowner/heirs pay lease rental to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) equivalent to 6 % of the just compensation value (this is not considered amortisation payment of the land).
Failure to cultivate without justifiable reason may result in forfeiture of the right and immediate turnover to the ARBs.

2. Rights of Heirs Who Were Not Actually Tilling the Land

Heirs who did not personally till or manage the land do not enjoy the three-year cultivation privilege under Sec. 6. However, they retain the following residual rights:

a) Right to proportionate share of just compensation
All compulsory heirs (legitimate, illegitimate, surviving spouse) are entitled to their legal share in the just compensation deposited by LBP, regardless of whether they were tilling the land.

b) Right of retention (if not yet exercised by the parent-landowner)
Under Sec. 6 of RA 6657, each child of the landowner has an independent right to retain up to five (5) hectares, provided the child was at least 15 years old as of 15 June 1988 and is actually tilling or directly managing the land. If the parent-landowner died before exercising retention, the heirs may still apply for retention in substitution, subject to DAR approval (DAR A.O. 04-19).

c) Right to disturbance compensation
If the heir is a plantation-based agricultural worker or regular farmworker on the land, he or she is entitled to disturbance compensation equivalent to five times the average annual gross value of the harvest on his/her homelot and/or the land actually cultivated (Sec. 28, RA 9700; DAR A.O. 02-12).

3. Succession and Substitution in the Three-Year Cultivation Right

Jurisprudence and DAR policy have clarified the following:

Upon the death of the landowner during the three-year period, the right to continue cultivation is transmitted to the heirs who were actually tilling or directly managing the land at the time of death (DAR Opinion No. 57, s. 2015; DAR Memorandum Circular No. 12, s. 2017).
If none of the heirs were actually tilling, the right is extinguished and the land must be immediately turned over to the ARBs.
The heirs who inherit the cultivation right must jointly or individually notify the DAR within 60 days from the landowner’s death; otherwise, the right is deemed waived.

4. Leaseback and Other Post-Takeover Arrangements Involving Heirs

After the three-year period expires, the former landowner or heirs may still return to the land under the following modalities:

a) Leasehold contract with the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs)
ARBs may lease the land back to the former landowner or heirs under Sec. 11 of DAR A.O. 04-07 (Rules on Leasehold). The lease rental cannot exceed 25 % of the average gross harvest (after deductions).

b) Agri-business venture agreements (AVAs)
The ARB cooperative or association may enter into joint venture, growership, or build-operate-transfer arrangements with the former landowner or heirs, provided DAR approval is secured.

c) Award of retention area to qualified children/heirs
If a child successfully exercises the 5-hectare retention right, that portion is completely excluded from CARP coverage and remains with the child-heir in full ownership.

5. Relevant Supreme Court Decisions

Heirs of Ignacio v. Hilario (G.R. No. 225426, 13 Dec 2017) – The Court upheld that the three-year cultivation right is strictly personal and cannot be automatically transferred to heirs who were not tilling the land.
DAR v. Heirs of Abucay (G.R. No. 206353, 22 Aug 2018) – Clarified that heirs who inherit the cultivation right must prove continuous actual cultivation; mere ownership is insufficient.
Roxas & Co. v. DAR (G.R. No. 167540, 8 Dec 2010, reiterated in later cases) – Retention rights of children are vested and may be exercised even after the parent’s death.

6. Practical Checklist for Heirs

Determine who among the heirs were actually tilling or directly managing the land as of NOC/VOS date.
File a manifestation/substitution with the DAR Municipal Agrarian Reform Office (MARO) within 60 days from the landowner’s death, if applicable.
Secure a Certification of Actual Tillage from the Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC) or Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer (MARO).
Pay the required 6 % annual lease rental to LBP during the three-year period.
If retention is desired, file a separate Application for Retention within the reglementary period (usually before finality of the Notice of Coverage).

Conclusion

While the State’s policy under CARP is to distribute land to landless farmers, the law and jurisprudence strike a balance by granting the former landowner and qualified heirs a limited transitional right to continue cultivation for three years, proportionate just compensation, and possible retention. Heirs who were not personally tilling the land at the critical date lose the cultivation privilege but retain inheritance rights over the monetary compensation and may avail of leaseback or joint-venture arrangements after the transition period.

Failure to assert these rights within the prescribed periods and to comply with cultivation requirements will result in permanent loss of physical possession in favor of the agrarian reform beneficiaries.