Landownership problem and control of resources remains as a political development issue in the Philippines. Agrarian reform is a necessary condition for agricultural modernization and rural industrialization and the fundamental mooring for global competition. Agrarian reform has contributed to improvement of the socio-economic conditions of landless farmers and political development of the Philippines in terms of engaging the landless in the process of policy making and distribution of large private landholdings to the landless. Modalities giving peasants a stake in society such as decisive role in agrarian legislations, engaging them in dialogue to resolve agrarian cases, presenting manifesto pinpointing their criticisms and recommendations on implementing rules and guidelines, identification of farmer beneficiaries and lands to be covered, negotiation on the mode of land acquisition and distribution and computation of land values, have significantly influence the process of democratization and establishment of participatory institutions at the local and national levels. It was after World War II that many newly independent countries initiated development programs to reduce widespread poverty among landless peasants brought about by extreme income disparities between the landed and landless in the rural sector. A redistributive land reform was considered a panacea to address this social cancer.
Land reform was initiated in the Philippines in 1934 under the Commonwealth Government of President Quezon. Government adopted it as a strategy to promote social justice and to build the foundation of broad-based growth and sustainable development.
For about sixty-five years, the problem of landownership and control of resources continue to be a political development issue in the Philippines. The fact that the country is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and participant in the General Agreements on Tariff and Trade
References: * Agrarian Reform Book (Agrarian Reform in the Philippines p.37-p.52) * http://www.academia.edu/1181074/AGRARIAN_REFORM_AND_PHILIPPINE_POLITICAL_DEVELOPMENT