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Philippines could be role model for gender equality in land ownership
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Some women plant rice saplings at a paddy field in Baksa, Assam, India on July 10, 2021. (Courtesy of/Shutterstock)
E
xperts have lauded the Philippines' commitment to guarantee men and women equal rights to land ownership with the issuance of the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) and the formation of an agrarian reform agency, among other measures, saying the country could be a role model for its Asian peers.
Enacted in 2009, the MCW is seen as a translation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that seeks to eliminate discrimination through the recognition and fulfillment of the rights of women, especially those belonging to marginalized communities. The law aims to guarantee women’s access to food by ensuring their inclusion in land titling.
In 1971, the Philippine government established the Department of Agrarian Reform, whose main duties include achieving equitable land distribution and ownership among citizens.
Speaking during the Asia Land Forum in Jakarta on Feb. 19, Amihilda Sangcopan of the department said it was the agency’s duty to ensure that land certificates could be issued under a woman’s name.
"This [MCW] law plays a crucial role in ensuring land distribution is carried out without discrimination. If it involves spouses, the land certificate must be under both names, guaranteeing that women also have land rights," Sangcopan said.
The department, she added, had established more than 800,000 agrarian reform beneficiary organizations, with 47 percent of the members being women, many of whom held leadership positions. These organizations sought to ensure that women could secure their land rights and contribute to the country's economic growth.
Read also: Calls grow for Prabowo to expedite land conflict resolution
