natural resources such as land, water, forests, pasture, and fish ponds. It should also be highlighted that the right of rural women to decent work as well as their right to social protection are equally crucial in the fulfillment of their human rights, especially in light of their RTFN and therefore must be guaranteed. These rights are emphasized in General Recommendation 34 (for ex. paragraphs 50 and 52 (d, e, f, h)), which call on state parties to fully incorporate the right to decent working conditions, to guarantee equal pay for equal work, to protect occupational health and safety of rural women, and to provide social security to women as well as child care. 3.3.1. Legal framework Several acts and laws guarantee equal rights of women and men in land ownership, land transactions, equal rights to legally married and common law spouses, and gender-sensitive alternative dispute resolution mechanism. These are the Constitution37, the MCW38 and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law/Program (CARL/CARP of 1988) and CARP Extension with Reforms (CARPER of 2009).39 CARP promotes equal opportunities for women and men to become agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) and guarantee equal right to ownership of land, and equal share of the farm’s produce to all qualified women members of the agricultural labor force. 40 In addition, for married and common law spouses, Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) and Emancipation Patent (EP) are placed in the names of both spouses.41 Also, gender bias that discriminated woman in land rights was virtually removed by the enactment of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order 2002-13, ending the previous law which allowed women to apply for a homestead patent only if her husband passed away, or has suffered from disease or mental illness, or was imprisoned. The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA) – although not fully elaborated – also specifically mentions women’s land rights. CEDAW’s General Recommendation 34 on the Rights of Rural Women explicitly recognizes “rural women’s rights to land, natural resources, including water, seeds, forestry, as well as fisheries, as fundamental human rights” (paragraph 56) and calls on State parties to ensure that “disadvantaged and marginalized groups of rural women (…) are protected from intersecting forms of discrimination and have access to education, employment, water and sanitation, health care, etc. (…)” (paragraph 15). Similarly, paragraph 59 also calls on state parties to protect rural women’s rights to natural resources under customary institutions and more explicitly, to ensure indigenous women’s equal access. 3.3.2. Access to natural resources Notwithstanding these statues, rural women are still discriminated against and denied access to natural resources essential for guaranteeing their RTFN. The national agrarian reform program (CARP – later CARPER) has been male-biased42, making men the primary owners of land. In fact, many argue that the CARP itself disadvantaged women as they are mostly seasonal farm workers and are hence ranked third in the prioritization for land distribution.43 Statistics on agrarian reform implementation show that rural women in the Philippines own less land in their own name than men. Figures from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in 2012 show that out of a total 2.3 million agrarian 37 The Philippine Constitution recognizes fundamental equality before the law of women and men. Furthermore, it does not explicitly recognize the right to food but may be inferred from Section 9, Article II in relation to Section 1, Article XII, which mandates policies focused on improving the quality of life for all: see the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, http://www.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/ [Accessed: 11.05.2016]. 38 The MCW promotes equal status of women and men, whether married or not, in land titling and their equal rights to use and manage land, water and other natural resources, in particular in Chapter V, Section 20: See Republic Act No. 9710. An Act Providing for the Magna Carta of Women, http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2009/ra_9710_2009.html [Accessed: 15.05.2016]. 39 Key related provisions include: RA 6657, Chapter X, Section 40; RA 9700, Section 1, amending Section 2 of RA 6657; RA 9700, Section 2 amending Section 3 of RA 6657; RA 9700, SEC. 37-A; RA 9700 Section 17, amending Section 41 of RA 6657: See Republic Act No. 6657, http://www.dar.gov.ph/ra-6657-what-is-carp-comprehensiveagrarian-reform-program [Accessed: 16.05.2016]; see Republic Act No. 9700, http://www.dar.gov.ph/ra-9700-carper-comprehensive-agrarian-reform-program-extension [Accessed: 16.05.2016]. 40 See Republic Act No. 6657, http://www.dar.gov.ph/ra-6657-what-is-carp-comprehensive-agrarian-reform-program [Accessed: 16.05.2016] 41 DAO 01, Series of 2011: See ADB (2013): RETA 6143: Technical Assistance for Promoting Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, Consultant’s Report, 18-19, http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-document/153354/37402-012-tacr-24.pdf [Accessed: 13.05.2016]. 42 CEDAW (2016): General recommendation No. 34 on the rights of rural women, 20, http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CEDAW/Shared%20Documents/1_Global/INT_CEDAW_GEC_7933_E.pdf [Accessed: 17.05.2016]. 43 USAID (2011): USAID Country Profile. Property Rights and Resource Governance. Philippines, 7, http://www.usaidlandtenure.net/sites/default/files/countryprofiles/full-reports/USAID_Land_Tenure_Philippines_Profile.pdf [Accessed: 17.05.2016]. -7-