Article 132Labor and Agrarian Laws and Social Legislation, p. 132

LABOR LAWS AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION SPECIAL LAWS AND IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

Executive Judge, subject to Civil Service law, rules and

regulations.

No person shall be eligible for appointment as Clerk of

Court unless he is duly authorized to practice law in the

Philippines.

Before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his

office, he shall file a bond in the amount of ten thousand

pesos in the same manner and form as required of the

Clerk of the Supreme Court, such bond to be approved

by, and filed with, the Treasurer of the Philippines and

shall be subject to inspection by interested parties. The

Clerk

of

Court

shall

require

his

deputy to give an

adequate bond as security against loss by reason of his

wrong-doing or gross negligence.

The

Clerks

of

Court

shall

each

receive

an

annual

compensation of not less than seven thousand two

hundred pesos. They shall exercise the same powers and

perform the same duties on all matters within the

jurisdiction of the Courts as those exercised by the Clerks

of Court of the Courts of First Instance. (Amendment to

R.A. No. 3844 (Agricultural Land Reform Code), Republic

Act No. 4366, [June 19, 1965])

Clerks of Courts and other subordinate employees of the

Courts

of Agrarian Relations shall, for administrative

purposes, belong to the Department of Justice; but in the

performance of their duties, they shall be subject to the

supervision of the judges of the Court to which they

respectively pertain.

The Commissioners, otherwise known as Hearing Officers

of the Court of Agrarian Relations, as well as the Clerks of

Court at the time of the approval of this Code, shall

continue as such without the need of new appointment

by the President of the Philippines and new confirmation

by the Commission on Appointments.

Section 159. Appropriation - There is hereby appropriated

the sum of three million five hundred thousand pesos, or

so

much

thereof

as

may be necessary, out of the

unappropriated

funds

in

the Philippine Treasury for

expenses for courtrooms and court offices, including

equipment for the Courts and their personnel, for salaries,

and for other necessary expenses that may be incurred in

carrying out the provisions of this Chapter. The amount

appropriated

shall

be

carried

in

succeeding

appropriations for the Courts of Agrarian Relations.

CHAPTER X OFFICE OF AGRARIAN COUNSEL

Section 160. Creation of Office of Agrarian Counsel - To

strengthen the legal assistance to agricultural lessees and

agricultural owner-cultivators referred to in this Code, the

Tenancy Mediation Commission is hereby expanded and

shall hereafter be known as the Office of the Agrarian

Counsel. The head of the Office shall hereafter be known

as

Agrarian

Counsel

and

shall

have

the

rank,

qualifications

and

salary

of

First

Assistant

Solicitor

General. He shall be assisted by a Deputy Agrarian

Counsel, who shall have the rank, qualifications and

salary of Assistant Solicitor General. The Agrarian Counsel

and Deputy Agrarian Counsel shall be appointed by the

President

with

the

consent

of

the

Commission

on

Appointments of Congress and shall be under the direct

supervision of the Secretary of Justice.

Section 161. Special Attorneys - There is hereby created in

the Office of the Agrarian Counsel eighty additional

positions of Special Attorneys, who shall be appointed by

the President upon recommendation of the Secretary of

Justice and with the consent of the Commission on

Appointments. They shall have the rank, qualifications

and salary provided by law for a solicitor in the Office of

the Solicitor General with the lowest rank.

Section 162. Appointment of Subordinate Officials - The

Agrarian Counsel shall appoint the subordinate officials

and employees of the Office of the Agrarian Counsel,

subject to Civil Service rules and regulations, fix their

compensation

and

prescribe

their

duties.

The

compensation of special attorneys transferred to the

Office of Agrarian Counsel shall be fixed on salary scales

corresponding to solicitors of the Office of the Solicitor

General and the compensation of subordinate officials

and employees shall be based on equivalent positions in

the office of the Courts of Agrarian Relations: Provided,

finally,

That

the

compensation

of employees whose

positions do not have equivalence in the office of the

Courts of Agrarian Relations shall be increased by thirty

per cent of their salaries. (Amending Section 162 of R.A.

No. 3844 (Agricultural Land Reform Code), Republic Act

No. 5984, [August 4, 1969])

The Agrarian Counsel shall have the power to organize

such divisions and sections as will insure maximum

efficiency of the Office.

Section 163. Functions of the Office of Agrarian Counsel -

It shall be the responsibility of the Office of the Agrarian

Counsel upon proper notification by the party concerned

or by the association or organization to which he belongs,

to represent tenants, agricultural lessees, agricultural

farm workers and agricultural owner-cultivators or the

members of their immediate farm household referred to

in

this

Code

who

cannot

engage

the

services

of

competent private counsel in cases before the Court of

Agrarian

Relations.

This

responsibility

shall

include

representation before courts, including appellate, in cases

civil or criminal, instituted by or against said tenant,

agricultural lessees, farm workers or owners-cultivator or

the members of their immediate farm household, where

the cases arise from or are connected with, or results or

effects of an agrarian dispute. The decision of the Office

of the Agrarian Counsel to provide legal assistance shall

be

final.

(Amending

Section

163

of

R.A.

No.

3844

(Agricultural Land Reform Code), Republic Act No. 4886,

[June 17, 1967], further amended by Republic Act No.

6389, [September 10, 1971])

Section

164.

Authority

to

Administer

Oath

and

Acknowledgment - The Agrarian Counsel, the Deputy

Agrarian Counsel and the Special Attorneys of the Office

of

the

Agrarian

Counsel

are

hereby

authorized

to

administer oaths and acknowledgment free of charge.

(Amendments to RA No. 3844 (Agricultural Land Reform

Code), Republic Act No. 6389, [September 10, 1971])

Section

165.

Appropriations

-

There

is

hereby

appropriated, in addition to the appropriation of the

Tenancy Mediation Commission for Fiscal Year 1964, the

sum of three million pesos, or so much thereof as may be

necessary,

out

of

the

unappropriated

funds

in

the

National Treasury, for salaries, wages, purchase of motor

vehicles,

supplies,

equipment,

and

other

sundry

expenses.

The

amount

appropriated herein shall be

carried in the appropriations for the Office of the Agrarian

Counsel

in

the

General

Appropriations

Acts

for

succeeding fiscal years.

CHAPTER XI GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 166. Definition of Terms - As used in Chapter I of

this Code:

(1) "Agricultural Land" means land devoted to any growth,

including but not limited to crop lands, salt beds, fish

ponds, idle land and abandoned land as defined in

paragraphs 18 and 19 of this Section, respectively.

(2) "Agricultural lessee" means a person who, by himself

and with the aid available from within his immediate

farm household, cultivates the land belonging to, or

possessed

by,

another

with

the

latter's

consent for

purposes of production, for a price certain in money or in

produce or both. It is distinguished from civil lessee as

understood in the Civil Code of the Philippines.

(3)

"Agricultural

lessor"

means

a

person,

natural

or

juridical,

who,

either

as

owner,

civil

law

lessee,

usufructuary, or legal possessor, lets or grants to another

the cultivation and use of his land for a price certain.

(4) "Agricultural year" means the period of time required

for raising a particular agricultural product, including the

preparation of the land, sowing, planting and harvesting

of crops and, whenever applicable, threshing of said

crops: Provided, however, That in case of crops yielding

© Compiled By RGL

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