TRANSFORMING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM INTO THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND REFORM

WHEREAS, one of the five reform packages of the Arroyo administration is Social Justice and Basic needs;

WHEREAS, one of the five anti-poverty measures for social justice is asset reform;

WHEREAS, asset reforms covers agrarian reform, urban land reform, and ancestral domain reform;

WHEREAS,
urban land reform is a concern of the Presidential Commission on the
Urban Poor (PCUP) and ancestral domain reform is a concern of the
National Commission on Indigenous People’s (NCIP);

WHEREAS, another of the five reform packages of the Arroyo administration is Anti-Corruption and Good Government;

WHEREAS,
one of the Good Government reforms of the Arroyo administration is
rationalizing the bureaucracy by consolidating related functions into
one department;

WHEREAS, under law and jurisprudence, the
President of the Philippines has broad powers to reorganize the offices
under her supervision and control;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA
MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, by the powers vested in me as President of the
Republic of the Philippines, do hereby order:

SECTION 1.
The Department of Agrarian Reform is hereby transformed into the
Department of Land Reform.  It shall be responsible for all land reform
in the country, including agrarian reform, urban land reform, and
ancestral domain reform.

SECTION 2. The PCUP is hereby
placed under the supervision and control of the Department of Land
Reform.  The Chairman of the PCUP shall be ex-officio Undersecretary of
the Department of Land Reform for Urban Land Reform.

SECTION 3.
The NCIP is hereby placed under the supervision and control of the
Department of Land Reform.  The Chairman of the NCIP shall be ex-officio
Undersecretary of the Department of Land Reform for Ancestral Domain
Reform.

SECTION 4. The PCUP and the NCIP shall have access
to the services provided by the Department’s Finance, Management and
Administrative Office; Policy, Planning and Legal Affairs Office, Field
Operations and Support Services Office, and all other offices of the
Department of Land Reform.

SECTION 5. All previous issuances that conflict with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 6. This Executive Order takes effect immediately.

Manila, 27 September 2004

By the President:

(SGD.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary