As part of its initiatives towards participatory rural development, ANGOC and its partners from the National Engagement Strategy platform in the Philippines, conducted three policy dialogues tackling the plight of small farmers, indigenous peoples, and municipal fisherfolk last 18-20 July 2018, at the University Hotel.

Participants from local communities and civil society organizations, with representatives from national government agencies, actively discussed timely and relevant issues pertaining to the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, the Indigenous People’s Rights Act, and the Fisheries Code.

The three policy dialogues were attended by public officials from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Land Bank of the Philippines, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), DENR Land Management Bureau (LMB-DENR), DENR Forest Management Bureau (FMB-DENR), and Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

This series of discussions was conducted with the People’s Campaign for Agrarian Reform Network,. Inc. (AR Now!), Philippine Association for Intercultural Development (PAFID), NGOs for Fisheries Reform (NFR), and Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA). The events were supported by the International Land Coalition (ILC), the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) through the INSPIRED+ project, and We Effect.