Secretary of Agrarian Reform

Secretary of Agrarian Reform
Kalihim ng Repormang Pansakahan
Incumbent Conrado Estrella III since June 30, 2022[1]
Style	The Honorable
Appointer	The president with the consent of the Commission on Appointments
Term length	No fixed term
Precursor	Governor of the Land Authority
Inaugural holder	Conrado F. Estrella
Formation	September 10, 1971
Website	http://www.dar.gov.ph

The secretary of agrarian reform (Filipino: Kalihim ng Repormang Pansakahan) in the Philippines is the head of the country's Department of Agrarian Reform and is a member of the president's Cabinet.

Powers and functions

According to the Administrative Code of 1987, the following are the powers and functions of a secretary:^[2]

• Advise the president on matters under a department's jurisdiction;
• Establish the policies and standards for a department's operation;
• Promulgate rules and regulations;
• Promulgate administrative issuances;
• Exercise disciplinary powers over officers and employees under a secretary;
• Appoint officers and employees in a department;
• Exercise jurisdiction over a department's bureaus, offices, agencies and corporations;
• Delegate authority to officers and employees;
• Perform other functions provided by law.

List

Secretary of Agrarian Reform (1971–1978)

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
	Conrado Estrella Sr. (1917–2011) [3]	September 10, 1971	June 2, 1978	Ferdinand Marcos

Minister of Agrarian Reform (1978–1987)

President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1397 on June 2, 1978, converting all departments into ministries headed by ministers.^[4]

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
	Conrado Estrella Sr. (1917–2011)	June 2, 1978	April 30, 1986	Ferdinand Marcos
				Corazon Aquino
	Heherson Alvarez (1939–2020)	May 1, 1986	February 11, 1987

Secretary of Agrarian Reform (1987–2004)

President Corazon Aquino issued Administrative Order No. 15 on February 11, 1987, converting all ministries into departments headed by secretaries.^[5]

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
	Heherson Alvarez (1939–2020)	February 11, 1987	March 7, 1987	Corazon Aquino
	Philip Juico	July 23, 1987	July 1, 1989
	Miriam Defensor Santiago (1945–2016)	July 20, 1989	January 4, 1990
	Florencio Abad (born 1954)	January 4, 1990	April 5, 1990
	Benjamin Leong	April 6, 1990	June 30, 1992
	Ernesto Garilao	June 30, 1992	June 30, 1998	Fidel V. Ramos
	Horacio Morales (1943–2012)	June 30, 1998	February 11, 2001	Joseph Estrada
				Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
	Hernani Braganza	February 12, 2001	January 15, 2003
	Roberto Pagdanganan (born 1946)	January 20, 2003	January 20, 2004
	Jose Mari Ponce Acting	February 20, 2004	August 24, 2004
	Rene Villa	August 26, 2004	September 27, 2004

Secretary of Land Reform (2004–2005)

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 364 on September 27, 2004, renaming the Department of Agrarian Reform into the Department of Land Reform.^[6]

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
	Rene Villa	September 27, 2004	July 9, 2005	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
	Nasser Pangandaman	July 9, 2005	August 23, 2005

Secretary of Agrarian Reform (from 2005)

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 456 on August 23, 2005, renaming the Department of Land Reform back to the Department of Agrarian Reform.^[7]

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
	Nasser Pangandaman	August 23, 2005	June 30, 2010	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
	Gil de los Reyes [8]	June 30, 2010	June 30, 2016	Benigno Aquino III
	Rafael V. Mariano (born 1956) Interim [9][10]	June 30, 2016	September 6, 2017	Rodrigo Duterte
	Rosalina Bistoyong Officer in Charge [11]	September 12, 2017	November 30, 2017
	John Castriciones[a] (born 1962) [12][13][14]	December 1, 2017	March 22, 2018
		March 22, 2018	October 14, 2021
	Bernie Cruz Acting [15]	October 28, 2021	June 22, 2022
	David Erro Officer in Charge [16]	June 22, 2022	June 30, 2022
	Conrado Estrella III (born 1960)	June 30, 2022	Incumbent	Bongbong Marcos

Notes

1. John Castriciones served in an acting capacity from December 1, 2017 until March 22, 2018.

References

1. Domingo, Katrina (June 8, 2022). "ABONO Party-list solon follows grandfather's footsteps as Marcos Jr's agrarian reform chief". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
2. "Executive Order No. 292 [BOOK IV/Chapter 2-Secretaries, Undersecretaries, and Assistant Secretaries]". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
3. Official Gazette Vol. 68, No. 21. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1972. pp. 4102–28.
4. "Presidential Decree No. 1397, s. 1978". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
5. "Administrative Order No. 15, s. 1987". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
6. "Executive Order No. 364, s. 2004". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
7. "Executive Order No. 456, s. 2005". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
8. "Appointments: June 30, 2010". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
9. Viray, Patricia Lourdes (June 30, 2016). "Duterte's Cabinet takes oath, holds first meeting". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016.
10. Geronimo, Jee Y. (September 6, 2017). "CA rejects Rafael Mariano as agrarian reform secretary". Rappler. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
11. Corrales, Nestor (September 11, 2017). "Duterte names DAR officer in charge". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022.
12. Ranada, Pia (December 1, 2017). "Duterte appoints John Castriciones acting DAR secretary". Rappler. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017.
13. Musico, Jelly (April 11, 2018). "PRRD names Castriciones as new DAR chief". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022.
14. Pedrajas, Joseph (October 14, 2021). "DAR Sec. Castriciones steps down for 2022 polls". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021.
15. Gita-Carlos, Ruth Abbey (October 30, 2021). "Bernie Cruz named DAR acting chief". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022.
16. Parrocha, Azer (June 23, 2022). "Duterte names new DAR, DENR OICs". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022.

External links

• DAR website