About & Contact
OUR MISSION
Welcome to Oxfam in the Philippines! Oxfam is an international non-governmental organization working with others to end poverty and suffering in close to 100 countries worldwide. If you want to hear great stories of poor women and men changing their lives for the better; or you want to lend a hand in our cool campaigns to tackle climate change, this is the site for you. Oxfam is all about, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “being that change.” Keep tabs on an exciting organization that believes change can happen. Now.
What we do
ADVOCACY: Lobbying for pro-poor and pro-women government policies and practices in the areas of climate change, trade and agriculture
ADVOCACY & CAMPAIGNS
Poverty isn’t just about a lack of resources. In a wealthy world, it’s about bad decisions made by powerful people. Oxfam campaigns hard, putting pressure for real lasting change.
One of our enduring campaigns is calling for more government investment in small-holder agriculture to ensure the country’s food security. This means importing less rice and strengthening the capacity of our farmers to produce rice.
Another is for world trade rules to be fair. Today, the rules are tipped in favor of rich countries: their products flow freely to the country at minimum or even zero taxes. Their products are cheap because part of production costs is subsidized by their governments. Meanwhile, local products cost more to produce because farmers and fishers receive very little support from the government.
Oxfam also joins the global call rich countries to sign a legally binding agreement that commits them to cut their carbon emissions (the main gases responsible for global warming and climate change), which they are the biggest emitters of. Oxfam also calls for these countries to finance efforts of poor countries to cope with the creeping and potential impacts of climate change.
DEVELOPMENT: Empowering poor women to become entrepreneurs and rise out of poverty
DEVELOPMENT
Our geographical focus is Mindanao, because it is home to the poorest Filipinos. In the next five to ten years, we will work with partners to achieve sustainable livelihoods and greater protection for the Lumad, Bangsamoro, small asset-holders and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in CARAGA, Central Mindanao, and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.
We focus on women because they account for the second largest number of the poor population, next to children. Yet, at the same time, poor women, when given equal opportunity, have the potential to rise above poverty.
Our Poor Women’s Economic Leadership (PWEL) program aims to to build women’s negotiating power in two inter-related aspects of their lives: in their own households and in economic markets which they engage to sell their produce and/or services.
RIGHTS IN CRISIS: Providing emergency relief to survivors of disasters and building the resilience of communities vulnerable to disasters
RIGHTS IN CRISIS
Our response to emergencies – clean water, food, shelter and sanitation – keeps people alive. Long-term, we fund poverty-reducing projects that enable people to rebuild their lives, livelihoods, and communities. We provided relief and humanitarian protection to communities displace by natural disasters Typhoon Reming and Frank, Tropical Storm Ketsana and Parma, and the long-standing armed conflict in Central Mindanao.
Our Disaster Risk Reduction program works hand in hand with local government and civil society to build the resilience of poor communities to disasters. In 2009, Oxfam piloted in the provinces of Saranggani, Sorsogon and Pampanga the Disaster Risk Management Office (DRMO), a permanent office in a local government unit that dramatically reduces the loss of lives and livelihoods and damages to properties brought on by disasters.
CONTACT US
To know more about Oxfam in the Philippines, leave a post or contact:
Joseph Edward Alegado
Media & Communications Officer: jalegado@oxfam.org.uk
Oxfam in the Philippines is managed by a team of dedicated development workers and activists who have years of experience behind them. Their commitment and wide-ranging expertise ensure that Oxfam delivers on its goals.
Snehal Soneji
Country Director: ssoneji@oxfam.org.uk
Kalayaan Pulido-Constantino
Advocacy, Campaigns and Communications Program Coordinator: kconstantino@oxfam.org.uk
Paul del Rosario
Rights in Crisis Program Coordinator: prosario@oxfam.org.uk
Felipe Ramiro, Jr.
Oxfam Mindanao Program Coordinator: framiro@oxfam.org.uk
Helen Grace Ortha-Conol
Program Business Manager: hconol@oxfam.org.uk
Maria Alexandra Pura
Gender Justice Coordinator: apura@oxfam.org.uk
Irene de Leon
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Coordinator: ideleon@oxfam.org.uk
Manila-based Regional and Global Advisers and Leads
Lan Mercado
Adviser, ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Response: lmercado@oxfam.org.uk
Jocelyn Villanueva
Regional Change Lead, Women’s Economic Leadership: jvillanueva@oxfam.org.uk
Norly Mercado
Regional Economic Justice Coordinator: nmercado@oxfam.org.uk