DAR VI Fortifies Commitment To Localize Magna Carta of Women

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Region VI affirms its commitment to localize the Magna Carta of Women as it ensures that substantive provisions of the law especially the Rights and Empowerment of the Marginalized Sectors are duly implemented by the agency.

DAR Region 6 Regional Director Alejandro Otacan in his memorandum to all Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officers dated September 16, 2013 emphasized as he reiterated Sec. 105 of DAR Administrative Order No. 7 Series of 2011 providing for the names of the beneficiaries in the issuance of titles. 

Under the Magna Carta of Women, the DAR must ensure that equal status shall be given to women and men, whether married or not, in the titling of the land. Further, the law states that the DAR shall issue Emancipation Patent (EP) and Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA), to all qualified beneficiaries regardless of sex, civil status or physical condition.

The Implementing Rules and Regulations of said law states that in order to protect the rights of legally married spouses where properties form part of the conjugal partnership of gains the names of both shall appear in the EP and CLOA preceded by the word “spouses”.  In unions where parties are not legally married, the names of both parties shall also appear in the titles with the conjunctive word “and” between their names.

The law further states that in no case shall a woman be excluded either in the titling of the land on account of sex, being married, or being in union without marriage to an agrarian reform beneficiary. Other entitlements to women agrarian reform beneficiaries are also spelled out in the law like Right to Livelihood, Credit, Capital and Technology. 

Since the enactment of the Magna Carta of Women, the DAR has consistently fulfilled its mandate in promoting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of women especially its agrarian reform beneficiaries. DAR management issued policies to ensure localization of the law and foremost of which is DAR Admin Order No. 01 Series of 2011 which is the “Guidelines Governing Gender Equality in the Implementation of Agrarian Reform Laws and Mainstreaming Gender and Development in DAR.” /MP