DAR honors women’s role in agrarian reform

QUEZON CITY — “Hindi nakatali ang karapatan ng kababaihan sa kalalakihan sa ilalim ng pagpapatupad ng repormang agraryo.” (Under the implementation of agrarian reform, women’s rights are not tied to men's).

This was the message of Agrarian Reform Undersecretary Luis Meinrado Pangulayan in yesterday’s opening of the agency’s activities in celebration of National Women’s Month.

According to Pangulayan, in the selection process of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), the woman stands alone equal to the man.

“In so far as program implementation is concerned, in providing support services and awarding lands and agrarian reform titles, the woman stands on equal footing with the man,” he said.

“Ang mandato ng DAR ay nakakabit sa social justice. At sa bawat aspeto sa pagpapatupad ng programang ito, sa field operations at support services, nandoon ang maliwanag na pagpapahalaga sa pagiging patas sa kababaihan at kalalakihan,” Pangulayan explained. (The mandate of the DAR is attached to social justice. And in every aspect of the implementation of this program, in field operations and support services, there is a clear appreciation of fairness and equal treatment to women and men.)

With the theme “Lipunang Patas sa Bagong Pilipinas: Kakayahan ng Kababaihan, Patutunayan!,” the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) joins the national government in celebrating National Women’s Month.

Undersecretary for Support Services Rowena Niña O. Taduran, who is also the Chairperson of the Gender and Development National Steering Committee of the DAR, said that this year’s celebration is a way of paying tribute to all women farmers and leaders who passionately lead and continue to advance women’s advocacies.

Senator Loren Legarda, in her inspirational message at the kick-off ceremony of the National Women's Month Celebration at DAR Compound in Quezon on Monday, Legarda underscored the need to ensure that women in agriculture have equal access to the tools and economic opportunities, as men do.

“We must recognize women’s unpaid and undervalued contributions in the agriculture and agrarian reform sectors. To thrive, they should have equal access to the tools and economic opportunities.