MIMAROPA is one of the regions in the Philippines that possesses a trove of natural beauty, cultural richness, and flaunts a stretch of emerald islands and islets, hence the name “Treasure Trove of Southern Luzon”.
Aside from its picturesque archipelago, the region also prides itself on its more than three million extraordinary women and men from 71 municipalities.
Among these gems are two remarkable individuals who are not only reshaping the future of agriculture and fisheries in the region, but also inspire others to use their voice to create opportunities and direct stronger attention to women’s issues in the industry.
Meet Quezon, Palawan Municipal Agricultural and Fishery Council (MAFC) Chairperson Mardy Montaño and Regional Agricultural and Fishery Council (RAFC) Sectoral Representative for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Liza Lacap.
The two gems of MIMAROPA have been actively promoting women’s participation in decision making through meaningful engagement as part of MAFC in Quezon, Palawan and in Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro.
Through their brilliance in encouraging their fellow farmers and fishers in their municipalities, particularly women-leaders, Mardy and Liza shared their own approaches to promoting gender empowerment, advocating for innovation that influences agricultural policies, practice, and roles.
Here are four things about Mardy and Liza, and their beaming trail of experiences as women-leaders, mother, daughter, and as partners of the agriculture sector.
Name: Mardy M. Montaño
Address: Isugod, Quezon, Palawan
- Tireless advocate and a visionary women-leader
Aside from being the MAFC Chairperson of Quezon, Mardy holds leadership roles in various community organizations.
She is the Palawan Sectoral Representative on Fisheries and Aquaculture and also chairs the Cherish Fisherfolks Fishermen Cooperative (CFFC). As a barangay officer, she dedicates her hours attending to Brgy. Isugat’s Violence Against Women and their Children desk.
She also serves as the vice president of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils and was the president of Rural Improvement Club Federation- Quezon starting in 2018.
2. Panginoon. Pamilya. Komunidad
Inspired by former Municipal Agricultural Officer Pacita Bravo, who is now the province’s Provincial Agriculturist, Mardy saw the importance of private-sector engagement by joining MAFC Quezon in 2018 in community development. She was able to raise issues and suggest policy recommendations for the policy- and decision-makers in their municipality and in the entire Palawan.
She also envisioned encouraging more women and youth to venture into agriculture, especially in seaweed farming. Mardy mentioned that she wanted people to see how agriculture could be both profitable and rewarding at the same time.
On the other hand, like any other parent, Mardy envisioned being a good example to her family, especially to her children, Jaira Faith, Jireh Kevin, and Jezryl. Because of her dedication and accolades in her work, her children were inspired to take agriculture-related courses and hopefully follow in her footsteps in promoting community participation in agriculture.
Jaira is now an agricultural engineer, Jireh is taking up agribusiness, while Jezryl is taking up education and helping their mother in their seaweed farming.
“Sa lahat ng mga napagtagumpayan ko at mga darating pang challenges, nais kong ibigay ang papuri sa ating Panginoon. Ang pagiging volunteer at kasapi ng iba’t-ibang councils dito sa aming lugar, lalo na sa MAFC Quezon, ay magandang halimbawa sa aking mga anak,” Mardy shared.
3. Seaweed Siren: A blessing to others
Through her parents-in-law, Mardy was introduced to seaweed farming, not by chance but by choice. When she and her husband, Francisco, decided to settle in Quezon in the early 90s, they needed to face the reality that one of the main sources of income in the municipality is seaweed farming. At that time, the farm gate seaweed price was around PhP10.00 to PhP15.00 per kilogram.
With the help of her husband, Mardy diligently turned seaweed farming into something that transformed the lives of families in their community. By around 1996 to the early 2000s, a sharp increase in the price of seaweed was observed, climbing to PhP25.00 to PhP30.00 per kilo.
“Dahil isa sa mga pangunahing hanapbuhay dito sa Quezon ay ang seaweed farming, nais kong magkaroon ang bawat farmer, lalo na ang mga kababaihan, ng pagkakataon na umunlad sa pamamagitan nito, sa tulong ng MAFC at ng Local Government Unit ng Quezon dito sa Palawan,” said Mardy.
In a male-dominated sector like fishing and seaweed farming, Mardy founded in 2017 Cherish Fisherfolk Association with 80 seaweed farmers as members. It later expanded to 120 members and became known as the CFFC.
On December 23, 2023, through MAFC Quezon, the Municipal Council of Quezon passed a resolution authorizing Hon. Joselito Ayala, Municipal Mayor of Quezon, Palawan to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the CFFC for the implementation of the seaweeds-based enterprises development project in the municipality of Quezon, Palawan.
Aside from this, in April 2024, Mayor Ayala, with the help of former Municipal Agriculturist Romeo Segay, the seaweed farmers of Quezon were granted a PhP800,000-alternative livelihood project, providing them with fishing gears and fishing nets.
4. Crushing the ice-ice disease
The need for alternative livelihood emanated from the resolution of MAFC Quezon requesting to help the seaweed farmers confronted by the ice-ice disease.
The disease occurs when seaweeds get stressed out by sudden changes in the sea, such as increase in saltiness, temperature, and sunlight. The stress induces the algae to produce a “moist organic substance” that attracts bacteria in water. These bacteria cause the seaweed to turn white and harden, hence its name.
MAFC Quezon and the seaweed farmers from CFFC noticed that although ice-ice is a common disease for tropical red algae during the dry season, it eventually disappears as the rainy season approaches in May until December.
However, since 2023, Mardy has observed that the ice-ice disease has been unusually affecting seaweeds even with the arrival of the rainy season. This has had a negative impact on the barangays of Berong, Aramaywan, and Isugod in Quezon, Palawan. According to the PA, climate change is one of the main reasons why the seaweed farmers in the three barangays have been experiencing the disease.
Name: Liza M. Lacap
Address: Sta. Teresa, Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro
1.The accidental farmer
Back in 2017, Liza was riding a public utility vehicle when she struck up a conversation with her seatmate, a grandmother. They exchanged ideas on starting a farm, which eventually led them to begin farming in the upland areas of Brgy. Caguray, Occidental Mindoro.
Today, Liza owns 0.7 hectares of land dedicated solely to high-value crops, including chili peppers, Baguio beans, okra, bitter gourd, bell peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes.
2. Founding member of a farmers’ association
Through her commitment to owning a farm lot, she encouraged her neighbors and all other concerned people in her community to join a “samahan” that led to the formation of Highland Group of Vegetable Farmers and Livestock Raiser Association (Highland).
Highland was registered on February 23, 2017 with 23 initial members. As of the moment, the samahan has increased to 46 active members. Doubling the membership after six years benefited the association as they were able to connect with government agencies and became the beneficiary of available programs and projects for farmers.
3. Rising to the occasion as part of the AFC
Due to the ruling imposed by the Magsaysay LGU of automatic membership upon registration of farmers and fisher organizations in the area, Liza represented her samahan in the MAFC. By 2021, she was elected as MAFC Secretary.
From then, she represented MAFC Magsaysay in PAFC meetings of Occidental Mindoro and was elected as PAFC Sectoral Representative for Indigenous People in 2022. After a year, she was elected as PAFC Treasurer. She was also the Occidental Mindoro PAFC Sectoral Representative for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI).
In August 2023, Liza was elected as the MIMAROPA Regional Sectoral Representative for GESI and represented the region in all GESI-related cluster-wide and nationwide activities.
4. Embodies the AFC role as the “voice” and the “bridge”
With her experience in dealing with her fellow AFC officials and members, Liza is confident that she can be the voice of the farmers and fishers in her locality. As a farmer representative, she serves as the spokesperson of the organization where the basic problems and issues of their members are being raised to the concerned entity or authority.
As a representative of her organization and the AFC, Liza has the opportunity to attend various meetings, consultations, project monitoring, and evaluations, among other activities. Through these experiences, she gains valuable knowledge and learns the essential details of different government interventions available to support farmers and fishers. | Jezebel Campaniel and Junry Danila Photos by Christian Jay Torralba, Juan Miguel Rentosa, Joy Camille Luza, Junry Danila, and Jezebel Campaniel
