DAR opens its main gates after 2 decades

After almost two decades of having its gates shut, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Monday opened its doors to farmers and protesters alike.

In the past 18 years, the gates of the DAR office along Elliptical Road in Diliman, Quezon City, had been barricaded shut to prevent protesters from storming inside the government agency's offices.

A report on Unang Balita on Tuesday said that for newly-seated DAR Secretary Rafael Mariano, the opening of the gates symbolizes his intention to blur the lines between the agency and the people it ought to serve, the farmers.

One group that frequently stages protest rallies outside the DAR office is the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).

Mariano, one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s left-leaning Cabinet members, is a founding member and former chairman of the KMP.

He was also a member of the Anakpawis party-list and chairperson of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan—two groups which are staunch critics of past administrations.

Mariano said the DAR office will always be open to protesters and farmers who want to voice out their complaints.

The department's gates were shut in 1992 during the administration of former President Joseph Estrada.

It was during the term of former President Benigno Aquino III when metal grills were welded onto the glass doors and windows of the DAR office. —report from Kiersnerr Gerwin Tacadena/KG, GMA News