In the Oxfam policy paper “Back in the Game: Winning Strategies for Private Sector Investments on Small Producers in the Philippines”, we argued that there are quite a number of macroeconomic choices that could be implicated in the malaise that afflict the agricultural small producers – the falling public investments on agriculture, the skewed trade and investment policies, lack of access to credit, among many others.

However, there are two compelling reasons why it is the best interest of the public and private sectors to team up with the small producers. First is the demographic shift. In the last two decades the share of urban population has almost doubled– from roughly 37 percent to about 67 percent in 2010. Second, which is inextricably linked with the first, is the rise of supermarkets to cater to the changing lifestyles of the urban population. From 1994 to 2007 alone, the supermarkets in the Philippines have increased by tenfold—from about 500 to 5,000—with the value of sales of over 100bn pesos in 2007, accounting for over half of retail food sales.

These twin phenomena – the demographic shift and the rise of supermarket – explains how the agribusiness is winning by sourcing its high value products from mostly abroad while our local agriculture small producers lose against highly-subsidized, cheaper imports. In the paper we said that the stakes are simply too high and the price of such an onerous relationship too steep to ignore. These include domestic food and income security, poverty in the countryside and its attendant social issues. The fact is that agribusiness sector, and for that matter the manufacturing and service industry, can only grow to certain extent unless the rural economy develops the capacity to spend.

Poverty and the need for the “real” MVP

There were two interesting developments that played in the background as Oxfam was about to launch its “Back in the Game” paper in late April.

First, the National Census and Statistics Board (NCSB) has just come out with its newest statistics on poverty and concluded that poverty was practically unchanged at roughly about 30% between 2006 and 2012. Within that period income inequality remained persistent with the richest 20% having a share of 50% of the national income while the poorest 20% partake of 6%. Then as now, poverty is most persistent in Mindanao where 5 of the 6 poorest regions are found (i.e. ARMM, SOCSKSARGEN Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga). Interestingly, these poorest regions are predominantly agricultural which means that the correlation between agriculture and poverty that we pointed out in the paper was spot on. And so I thought that our analysis that the poor being largely concentrated in the agriculture sector, in Mindanao in particular, will continue to be poor unless drastic interventions are made, was validated.

Second, two days after the publication of the NCSB poverty statistics, the Philippine Daily Inquirer carried the comments of business tycoon Manny V Pangilinan on income inequality. For MVP, “The imperative is inclusive, not exclusionary, growth.” http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/397053/mv-pangilinan-allow-private-sector-to-actively-help-end-poverty.

He went on to urge the government and the private sector work together to spur employment and income growth in sectors like agriculture. When I stumbled upon, I thought, wow, MVP is so brilliant that he said in one sentence what we wanted to say in so many pages. But I also thought that the small producer has just found a real Most Valuable Player that could lift its spirit up and get them back in the game.

Hardly have my personal euphoria died down when it became clear that what MVP really meant was corporate investments on large scale monocrop plantation. This was evidenced by the plan of his business conglomerate to embark in a 30,000 palm oil plantation in Davao Oriental. http://www.rappler.com/business/industries/247-agriculture/29685-mvp-group-eyes-davao-for-palm-oil-production

My excitement turned to gloom because the road that MVP is suggesting is the same road that led to the eternal perdition of the rural economy.

Women farmers in Brgy Tarlac, Municipality of Esperanza, Province of Sultan Kudarat. (Dante Dalabajan)

Large scale plantation business model has largely been responsible for impoverishing many rural communities. With very few exceptions, agribusiness companies have either circumvented agrarian reform or otherwise rolled back the gains of giving back the land to the tillers through land reconsolidation. As a result, the rural poor have been left with little options aside from selling or leasing back their land, and/or seek employment as farm hands in industrial plantations.

We also know from recent experiences that industrial farming, by its very nature, is vulnerable to episodic shocks such as natural disasters and economic and political perturbations. Late last year, as Mindanao was reeling from an un-declared ban of the entry of Philippine bananas to China—a US$720 million trade, with 90 percent of exports coming from Mindanao—as a result of the turf issues in the West Philippine Seas. Hardly has the 35,000 banana growers recovered from the ban, Typhoon Pablo (international code name Bopha) dealt a decisive blow to the already ailing industry. This is something not atypical of any industrial monocrop—you simply know by force of logic what could happen when you put all your eggs in one basket.

Robust, resilient and progressive rural economy
What will lift the agriculture small producers from the poverty quicksand as we pointed out in our paper is a genuine commitment from the private sector to develop the former’s technological and managerial capacities, making it as a dependable business partner in growth. There are three (3) quick steps for the private sectors to do. One is investment on women producers which easily yields higher returns across the board. When you put income directly in the hands of women, it turns out that they invest on children’s education, family’s health, improvement of production capacity, and so on far more than men do. These investment priorities are highly critical to make individual farming families to stay competitive over the long haul. Two is investing on building skills and capacities of small producers—capacities from which the small producers can build on, and develop innovations from. Third is doing no harm to the environment. Experience have shown how the obsessive focus on cheap, fast, and scale as a business proposition could yield enormous social and environmental costs and untold damage to our natural capital. These are the three guideposts towards building a robust, resilient, and progressive rural economy.
More recently, the government proclaimed the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) at 7.8 percent in the first quarter of 2013. For the nth time, the agriculture sector, which comprises two-thirds of the work force, continues to be left behind with a measly .4 percent contribution to the growth rate. The crumbs that trickle down to 80 percent of the rural population in Mindanao come in the form Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) which could neither be enough to sustain overall growth nor to tilt the income inequality.

At no point when the agricultural small producers need a private sector Most Valuable Player than now. Will the real MVP step in, please?
_____
Dante Dalabajan is currently the manager of Oxfam’s Building Resilient and Adaptive Communities and Institutions in Mindanao (BINDS) project. He was a former policy and research officer of the economic justice program of Oxfam. He has 17 years of experience in public policy research and advocacy and campaigns.

(This blog is originally posted in Oxfam’s Policy and Practice Blog (http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/blog/2013/05/risk-fragility-and-resilience) and was re-published with permission.)

Dante Dalabajan BINDS Project Manager

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

  Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

First let me thank Egad and Kala’s teams for inviting me to provide the rationale for this event.  I would also like to thank Golda, Ted, and Miguel for picking up the draft research paper I have written and beating it into shape that you see now.

It greatly pleases me to see old friends.  Because of my current assignment, we do not see each other as often as we did.  But as I was telling Golda and Miguel, my fear going into this RTD is that we will just be preaching to the choir.  This is the reason why I am so elated to see new friends, friends from the private sector, who are willing to engage us in this conversation.

Our problematiqué when we were starting to look into the issues affecting the small producers was this: Why is it that our domestic demand for agricultural commodities is expanding; while the production levels and incomes of small producers are either stagnating or shrinking.

Perhaps nowhere is this question more profound than in Mindanao, where I now work.  Let me tell you about the woman I met in Surigao del Sur.  Her name is Felicitas Rodilla and she gets income through seaweeds farming.  She borrowed money to develop her own farm into a profitable scale.  She paid her dues diligently.  In December 2012, she lost her farm entirely during Typhoon Sendong.  So, she restructured her loan, and gradually, she began to recover her losses…until Typhoon Pablo ravaged it.  Two catastrophic losses in one year.

I also had the privilege of meeting Cerena Bogador a resident of Bagumbayan in Sultan Kudarat.  Last year, almost all the farmers where Cerena lives were encouraged to plant kalabasa, lots of kalabasa, believing that since it does not require much farm inputs, it will give her enough income to get by.  When harvest season came, they could not bring their kalabasa to the market for lack of money.  Traders went to her to buy her produce far less than the value she spent for production.  The kalabasa ended up as landfill.

For me, these recent experiences make the statistics that I used to analyze as a policy specialist come to life, and, begin to have human faces.  But at the same time, I also began to realize a squandered opportunity for the private sector to capitalize on the enormous possibilities that the rural sectors present.  I’ll tell you why.

You might probably still remember my namesake Kumander Dante, the legendary peasant rebel leader of the late 1960’s.  If you happen to see the movie that depicted his life, his strategy for capturing political power was to encircle the cities from the country-sides to capture hearts and minds and eventually political power.  Well it turned out that the road to the city was fraught with more surprises than Kumander Dante ever imagined, because, as we know now, his army never reached the city.  Quite perversely, the cities have grown with such audacity as to impertinently encircle Kumander Dante’s territory.  We can call this phenomenon as the Great Counter-Revolution.

Changing consumption patterns

What sparked this counter-revolution?  Is it necessarily bad for the rural poor who make up the agricultural small producers?  What can the private sector do?

First, the spark.  I can name two mutually reinforcing causes – the demographic shift and the explosion of malls, supermarkets and food retail outlets.  Within the last 2 decades, the share of urban population has almost doubled– from roughly 37 percent to about 67 percent in 2010.

I said that the population concentration is inextricably linked with the growth of the malls and supermarkets because the former has brought about a domino effect in the way commodities move along the value chain consequently reconfiguring the structure of the agriculture industry.

There is growing evidence that demonstrate the radical shift of consumer preference to high valued commodities over grains and starchy staple crops with an emerging middle class, largely concentrated in the cities, fuelling the demand. A study, for instance, noted that the families in urban areas consume food outside home almost twice as much as their counterparts in rural areas.

The shift of consumption patterns has, in turn, fuelled the explosion of supermarkets/hypermarkets and fast food chains which have become the dominant modality for transmitting high value commodities.    From 1994 to 2007 alone, the number of supermarkets and hypermarkets in the Philippines has increased by more than tenfold times—from a little less than 500 to 5,000—with value of sales of over 100bn pesos in 2007, accounting for over half of retail food sales.   By 2011, the retail sales of packaged food and non-alcoholic drinks sold at major grocery stores has reached close to 643 billion pesos.

In the financial crises that engulfed the global community in 2007 and 2008, food retail seemed to have been not only insulated, but in fact, has experienced growth because affluent consumers shifted from fine dining while lower income consumers continue to afford to eat out.

Now, is this something bad for the rural economy?  The more optimistic answer is that, all ships should rise with the tide, with the rural producers upstream being buoyed up by the competition for control over supplies in the downstream industries–like the supermarkets, hypermarkets and food retail outlets; and, of course, the consumer sector.

Yet, the realities in many parts of the country inspire a more cynical view.  There are simply too many difficult barriers for the small producers to overcome – the falling public investments on agriculture, the skewed trade and investment policies, the lack of access to credit, among many others.

I will not delve into these as they are tackled lengthily in our paper, except to say that, there are some indications that the political headwind is now more favourable to small producers.  The agriculture budget, for instance, has increased substantially in the last couple of years.  The primary credit portfolio of the DA, Agro-Industry Modernization Credit and Financing Program (AMCFP) grew by 151 percent to P1.12 billion in 2012.  One can say that considering the baseline where we are coming from, there are still much to be done.  We agree fully.

We are making the case that unlocking the great paradox of an expanding agribusiness sector and the shrinking rural economy lies not in the government alone.  Ever increasingly, the role of the private sector is becoming prominent.  Market liberalization, which is one of the reasons that brought the agribusiness to where it is now, is not just about weakened role for the government.  It suggests the transfer of power.

Liberalization is, at its core, freedom from government restrictions.  This means a transfer of power from government to the private sector.  I can say a lot of bad things about liberalization, but as I often say, the toothpaste is out of the tube.

We are making the case that the private sector needs to use this power better to uplift the rural economy.

We are making the case there is so much at stake for the private sector to continue to be sitting in the fence while the small agricultural producers get clobbered in the markets.

I know all of you who are here are doing something, and that is great, and I hope you do more and show others the way.

Precisely what the private sector could do is something that I would leave Victor, Bernie, Precious, Heidi and Arleth who will share their respective business models.  But let me focus on three things that make their business models tick.

“When you put income directly in the hands of women, it turns out that they invest on children’s education, family’s health, improvement of production capacity, and so on far more than men do.” (Veejay Villafranca for Oxfam)

Three key steps 

One is the investment on women producers.  In our paper, we have shown how and to what extent investing in women agricultural producers yield higher returns across the board.  When you put income directly in the hands of women, it turns out that they invest on children’s education, family’s health, improvement of production capacity, and so on far more than men do.  These investment priorities are highly critical to make individual farming families to stay competitive over the long haul.

Two is the investment on building skills and capacities of small producers.  Business cycles go boom and bust, but skills and capacities are always there, and something that the small producers can build on, and build innovations from.

Third, and my last point, is doing no harm to the environment.  Again, in the paper, we have shown how the obsessive focus on cheap, fast, and economies of scale as a business proposition could yield enormous social and environmental costs and untold damage to our natural capital.  One could only look at the mining sector to see how this is true.

In closing, we can see that, given the trends I have already mentioned, the market for agricultural commodities will increase significantly overtime, and the share of the supermarkets and hypermarkets increasing as well.  From all indications, it wouldn’t be an over-stretch to say that there will come a point where it will become the only game in town.  If it were so, the small producers need to get back in the game.  Fast.  This requires a political equivalent of a full court press—from the government, from the small producers, and very importantly, from the private sector.

And it is to the best interest of the private sector to make this happen.  Maraming, maraming salamat po.

By: Gelo Vanguardia, iCSC

Our office is located in Cubao Expo, formerly known as the Marikina Shoe Expo near the Cubao Bus Terminal Station and Araneta Center. I took the effort to to St. Mary, Cubao in order to seriously lessen my travel time.

Each morning, I traverse the way from home to office by walking. The routine has allowed me to see plenty of things, from the fancy film posters of Alta Cinema to the high-rise buildings of Manhattan Parkview, the latest in new medium and high-end urban dwelling developments in the area.

One of the things that really catches my attention during my brief walks is the massive number of ads I see stuck on posts. It’s not just politicians’ faces vying for the public’s vote. Most fetching to me are the TUBERO ads promoting or selling a range of plumbing services.

Whenever I see them, I find myself wondering why there seems to be a great deal of plumbers in the area. I wonder quietly if there are really that many homes in constant need of plumbing.

The questions resonate in my head most times when I reach the office and get to sit down at my table to dive into climate finance.

If you ask me, I think the ads are appropriate imagery for the work I do. I think we need more plumbers simply because we are in dire need not only of more funds for climate adaptation, but of more efficient and effective ways to direct financial flows, so that resources reach people who need it the most. So that money does not leak, to use the plumbing imagery; so that it doesn’t stream into the pockets of the corrupt or spill out unnecessarily. When it comes to tracking climate adaptation finance, more plumber-like thinking is needed to avoid wastage of scarce resources, and to ensure that the right pipes are laid out and connected, so that funds get to flow, unimpeded, to communities that genuinely and urgently require support.

I don’t think the government can do all of this on its own. Collaborative efforts will be critical in order to make sure our adaptation finance “plumbing system” is truly effective. I’d say that the plumbing system and the pipe-laying plans will require what is called by technocrats and good governance advocates as greater accountability and transparency, whether we are dealing with domestic adaptation-related funds or financing contributions from other countries.

The country needs the able services of Andi, Ramon, Sonya, Bruno, and other wittily named plumbers — in other words, citizens like you and me — to ensure that funding can be easily tracked, so that more efficient deployment of money and more effective use of funds can be carried out.

To jumpstart the “plumbing” discussions, the World Resources Institute (WRI), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Oxfam and Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (iCSC) have decided to work together under the banner of the Adaptation Finance Accountability Initiative (AFAI). The initiative will create mechanisms and tools that, among other things, can generate greater accountability and transparency in the flow of adaptation funding coming in-to or already sloshing within the Philippines.

It’s a daunting task, but it feels worthwhile. AFAI folks like myself have been sifting through tons of data covering adaptation funding flows coming from different sources such as Germany and Australia, and the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), among others.

Creating a more representative map of adaptation finance flows in the Philippines — covering international pipes up to local and community faucets — this effort will certainly give us a better idea about where the problems and opportunities are. It will also provide many opportunities for government and civil society to fix problems together.

Tubero ads are posted in almost every corner, side, and open space of the city, and sometimes it can be too much and unpleasant to the eyes. Yet somehow, I find comfort in the thought that these ‘tuberos’ are just a phone call away. I hope I can say the same for the Philippines someday.

Gelo Vanguardia heads the Adaptation Finance Accountability Initiative of iCSC. Part of his work is analyzing the data on adaptation funding coming from various international sources. You can contact him at gelo@ejeepney.org.

Alamada, North Cotobato, Philippines — It was Tuesday, a rainy morning in Poblacion Alamada (North Cotabato). Various farm products were brought to the public market for selling and people would come to buy- locally, they call this occasion as ‘Tabo’. Temporary tents were installed and tables were full of varied farm products.  Alongside, a white tent mounted in a green coloured GI pipes and steel bar posts were seen erected, and tables set up full of select vegetables (green leafy, okra, eggplant, squash, sayote, potato, etc), fruits, root crops and tubers from some of the women’s farm gardens.  This tent appeared nicer than the rest.

‘Tiangge ni Manay’ provides space for women to earn from their vegetable produce. (Photo: Keith Bacongco)

The rain stopped mid-morning. Mayor Bartolome Lataza, Jr. assisted by Ms. Teresa C. Magabo, President of the Municipal Rural Improvement Club, (MRIC) cut the ribbon to signify the launching of ‘Tiangge ni Manay’.  Excitement and joy exude in the faces of ninety women member representatives and presidents of the RICs who participated and witnessed the event. Also present were the barangay captains, kagawads (village patrols) from other barangays and representative of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Manay Teresa acknowledged the RIC representatives from the seven barangays (villages) of the municipality of Alamada.  Five of those barangays are covered by the project, Building Resilient Communities and Institutions in Mindanao (BINDS), a partnership program of Oxfam and Australian Aid implemented by the SIMCARRD.

SIMCARRD works closely with the LGU-Alamada, WRIC, and the Department of Agriculture. Manay Thelma, the Municipal RIC Coordinator proudly shared that RIC exists in every barangays in Alamada. SIMCARRD coordinates with the existing WRIC structure in the conceptualization, planning and implementation of ‘Tiangge ni Manay’.  It was launched not just to celebrate the Women’s Month but also to encourage confidence of women to be involved in the market. In his speech, Mayor Lataza pointed out the valuable partnerships that the municipality has built with the CSO’s and NGOs, particularly with SIMCARRD and Oxfam. The project like BINDS complements the meager resources of the municipality.

“Sa kadugay nako nga presidente sa RIC, karon lang gyud nakita ug nahatagan atensyon ang mga babaye. Nakahatag ni og inspirasyon kanako. (I have been a president of the RIC for a long time. It is only now that the women are being noticed and given attention. I am inspired.)”, said Manay Lilia, 70 year old RIC president of Brgy Rangayen.  Manay Anabel and Cecilia who represented other members of the RIC expressed gratitude that ‘Tiangge ni Manay’ offers them an alternative for a permanent space in the market.  Now, they will no longer be afraid of other entrepreneurs who at times limit their opportunities for selling their produce in the market.

The women are also inspired by the DTI of Midsayap’s offer to help in their journey to becoming entrepreneurs. Along with it are the challenges for [1] WRIC to decide for its juridical personality, either with the Department of Labor and Employment and Securities Exchange Commission to be able to negotiate and enter into business transactions, [2] to look at and reflect on unique products of Alamada that can be sold to other markets.

It was not only a celebration for women but a day of selling as well. Aside from variety of vegetables and root crops, ‘Tiangge ni Manay’ exhibited some of the women’s craft work, i.e. beaded slippers and key chains. The famous ‘halo-halo’ was also made available.

‘Tiangge ni Manay’ creates opportunities for women to sell and earn money from their produce. It also provides a space for women’s creative thinking and discussion on how they will be able to maximize, manage and sustain the available resources. Some of the women have already informally talked about making their produce available to daily and not just during ‘tabo’.  ‘Tiangge ni Manay’ begins and brings hope to bring out more confident ‘Manays’ in Alamada.

Ana Caspe works for Oxfam in the Philippines’ Building Resilient Communities and Institutions in Mindanao (BINDS). She was born in Northern Mindanao, Philippines and is exposed to working with communities from humanitarian to rural development work in the southern Mindanao. She finds interest in community-managed disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation involving women’s work.

Davao City, Philippines (March 6, 2013) —”My crops were all destroyed. It will take six years for the coconut plantations to be recovered,” said 80-year-old Epifanio Apsay Sr., a farmer and native of New Bataan, Compostella Valley which was one of the worst hit areas by Typhoon Pablo December of last year.

His daughter-in-law Vivian, agrees: “Our main concern is livelihoods and how we are going to feed ourselves. I’m also very worried about how my children will be able to continue their education, as we have no money now.”

The family of Epifanio is just one of the thousands of victims still trying to rebuild their lives after the onslaught of Typhoon Pablo in December last year. The government has placed the total amount of agricultural damages brought about by the typhoon to Php 30 billion pesos. Typhoon Pablo devastated the local economy of the affected provinces, which mainly relied on single-long term crops namely banana for Compostela Valley and coconut for Davao Oriental.

Epifanio Apsay, Jr, a native of New Bataan, Compostella Valley, continues to feel the effects of the devastation of Typhoon Pablo last December. (Photo: Oxfam)

Municipality of Laak Mayor Reynaldo Navarro called the devastation the worst-ever crisis to hit the municipality and said it could take three to four months before families were able to produce any crops. His advice was for farmers to plant new crops, temporarily leave the area and to seek part-time employment elsewhere.

“We’re very worried about the future. The support we are getting now won’t last long”, Epifanio appeals. “It will take us years to recover; we don’t have anything. We need support from anyone who can support us, especially to find work,” he continues.

Livelihoods recovery needed; food security also a critical issue 

Call for livelihoods recovery and support for Typhoon Pablo affected areas was echoed by humanitarian organizations and local NGOs and CSOs in a roundtable discussion held at the Ateneo de Davao University last week. Initiated by the Humanitarian Response Consortium or HARC, international humanitarian organization Oxfam, Ateneo de Davao University and Ateneo Tropical Institute for Climate Studies (Ateneo TropICS), the  event entitled “Challenges and Opportunities for Building Back Better and Resilient Post Pablo Economy and Communities in Eastern Mindanao”, gathered government agencies, local government officials from Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley, humanitarian actors, private sector and civil society groups.

The HRC- emergency response team found out that in Compostela Valley, large packing monopolies are taking advantage of the situation and are renegotiating contract growing agreements that are unfair to local banana farmers, further increasing the poverty gap in the region.

Big banana plantations were destroyed by Typhoon Pablo. Agriculture department pegs the amount of the damages to 30 billion pesos. (Photo: Oxfam)

“Now is an opportunity for government to implement an equitable development plan. By strengthening the local economy communities will be able to cope better with future extreme weather events and global economic fluctuations. Fr example, it is crucial to put in place policies that would ensure fair contracts that benefits both  farmers and banana growers, as well as the packing industry,” says Kevin Lee of A Single Drop of Water (ASDW) who leads the HRC in its Typhoon Pablo response.  Diversifying the agricultural economy, creating industries to add value to primary products, providing small entrepreneurs, farmers and fisherfolk access to fair capital markets and implementing support mechanisms are

the key recommendations of humanitarian organizations for post-Pablo economic recovery.

Three months after the devastation, access to food is also a critical issue in the affected areas. Public markets and bridges have been destroyed so even if people were given cash grants and temporary  jobs through cash-for-work programs by various humanitarian organizations, they would have to travel far just to buy food. The costs of transportation have significantly increased in the aftermath of the typhoon.

Department of Agriculture Assistant Secretary Dante Delima who graced the roundtable discussion and workshop says that the agriculture department remains committed in ensuring food security and livelihoods recovery for the people of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental.  He admits though that the department needs to develop more partnerships and engagement with civil society organizations and other humanitarian actors.

Incorporating climate change adaptation on local development plans

Both the local government units of Compostella Valley and Davao Oriental who presented their plains during the workshop have committed to ensure that climate change adaptation plans and disaster risk reduction and management plans will be incorporated into their respective comprehensive development plans. Both LGUs also earmarked funds for resettlement of people displaced by the typhoon.

For Oxfam’s Humanitarian Programme Coordinator Paul del Rosario, local government units must practice inclusive and participatory governance in determining the rehabilitation of basic social services to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in the community. “Local government units must incorporate disaster risk reduction elements in recovery planning and ensure that residents are provided options for resettlement in areas of low risk. Resettlement areas must also have provisions for access to basic and essential services as well as livelihoods” del Rosario adds.

With the standoff on Sabah and the forthcoming elections on May hogging nationwide public attention,   the response of the national government to this looming crisis remains to be seen.

Manila, Philippines (February 12, 2013) — The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) – the outline peace settlement that the Philippines government and Muslim insurgents of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed last October – provides international agencies and local partners with a rare opportunity to help shape and develop a new political, social and economic entity.

The Bangsamoro (land of the Moro) will replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), an administrative structure imposed by Manila in the 1980s that became a byword for inefficiency and corruption. Crucially, the creation of the ARMM failed to stop a war that is estimated to have claimed 120,000 lives over 40 years.

The enthusiasm with which the FAB (and the accompanying ceasefire) has been greeted by most interested parties and by the international community has helped convince both government and MILF negotiators that a final agreement, leading to an elected government ruling a semi-autonomous Muslim Mindanao by 2016, is both desirable and attainable.

But many obstacles to securing a lasting peace remain. Current optimism faces an early test, for example, in the form of the May 2013 national congressional elections, which may provide a focus for opposition. Similarly, the future health of the peace process rests to a large degree on the continuing personal popularity of its most ardent advocate, President Benigno Aquino, and political popularity is the most fickle of beasts.

Explaining the Bangsamoro concept to the people who will live in the proposed state within a state is a key task. The Bangsamoro will only come into formal existence after a series of plebiscites. Not only Muslims but also non-Muslim indigenous tribes, known collectively as the Lumad, and the Christian settler population of central and western Mindanao will have a vote on whether to join. An informed debate is thus deemed essential.

Moro women like Anabay Buisan, 47, from Barangay Macasampen in Guindulungan, Maguindao, hope that their rights must be recognized in the Bangsamoro basic law that will be drafted by the transition commission as prescribed by the FAB.

The international aid agency, Oxfam, is supporting a range of collaborative projects designed to explain, support and promote the FAB in ways that most benefit local people. The Oxfam Mindanao Programme (OMP) prioritises women’s economic leadership, sustainable livelihoods, local advocacy and disaster risk reduction. It is currently working with organisations such as ARMM Watch, which promotes grassroots’ ownership of reform and governance in the Muslim areas, and UNYPhil-Women, which advances the rights of Muslim women in the context of the transitional and normalisation processes.

Working on a parallel track in one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, Oxfam is also heavily engaged in disaster relief (WASH), relocation and rehabilitation, mitigation and prevention, again in collaboration with local partners such as the Humanitarian Response Consortium.

“There is an immediate and urgent need to increase public awareness on the FAB and the process that will follow,” Oxfam’s Response Strategy states. “The FAB should be seen as an initial step, with not only the corresponding positives but also the possibility of further threats to the rights of women, small-scale food producers and indigenous peoples… The threats to the poor need to be discussed and articulated in the near future. These include: state and non-state investments in farmlands and its impact on land rights; mining activities and its impact on agriculture, IP and women’s rights and the environment; direction of agricultural development.”

To help counter these threats, Oxfam has developed some novel approaches, including the production and distribution of translations of the FAB, primers and other material deemed accessible to the general population, and advocacy aimed at ensuring that the mooted transition authority fairly reflects the interests of all three ethnic and religious groups – Muslims, Christians and Lumad.

The extension of sharia law in the Bangsamoro, as promised by the MILF, also needs close watching, particularly in terms of the region’s new Basic Law, Oxfam warns. Current legislation contains “a number of discriminatory provisions”, it says. The strategy paper points to the experience in Aceh, Indonesia, after it gained autonomous status in 2001. The state became more conservative and coercive and violent methods have been used against women.

Liguasan marsh: The Liguasan Marsh which cuts across the provinces of North Cotobado and Maguindanao is believed to be a rich source of natural gases and is crucial to the economic development of the soon-to-be-established Bangsamoro entity.

Another important area of concern centres on the future exploitation of the vast Liguasan Marsh area of Mindanao, which is thought to conceal huge underground oil and gas reserves. The major western oil companies, plus Petronas of Malaysia, are thought to be interested in opening up an area hitherto closed to business because of the war. Moro leaders are also acutely aware of these potential riches, both on land and offshore – hence the ongoing negotiations over wealth-sharing and maritime limits.

Taken overall, the level of new funding for social and economic development may hold the key to whether the Bangsamoro ultimately flourishes. Poverty and war have moved hand in hand through this region for decades. Poverty rates in the ARMM are almost double the national average. Infrastructure is inadequate, educational and work opportunities are limited, and health care provision is often rudimentary.

The Philippines government has already allocated $210m as a stimulus fund for the ARMM areas, as part of the transition plan. It also runs a programme known as Panama – the national programme for peace and development in conflict areas. But much more is needed, and next week [Feb 11] will see the unveiling of a major new initiative by Aquino and his presidential adviser on the peace process, Teresita Quintos Deles.

In a recent speech in Davao City, Deles set out the government’s plans: “We all know that the areas of the ARMM remain the most underdeveloped communities in the country.  Almost all MDG indicators, from health to education to maternal and infant mortality and women’s participation, are lowest in ARMM.  With the signing and implementation of the FAB, there are high expectations that the peace that the FAB promises will bring accelerated development in the area.

“The government is committed to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of conflict-affected areas and to fast-track socio-economic development in the region. This will be accomplished in a large part by empowering the Bangsamoro themselves through their participation in transforming their own communities,” Deles said. Two new institutions proposed by the MILF would be created  – the Bangsamoro Development Agency and the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute.

“Already, there is a list of projects on health, education, and livelihood that has been drawn up and agreed upon by the government and the MILF for implementation in the next twelve months. Tentatively called Sajahatra Bangsamoro (the welfare or state of happiness of the Bangsamoro), the programme is part of the continuing confidence-building efforts between the two parties ,as well as assuring the communities that they do not need to wait until 2016 to experience the benefits of the FAB,” Deles said.

From these and other government statements, it is clear that the will and the imagination exists to turn the FAB into a lasting peace for Mindanao. So far, at least, the MILF leadership has shown a similar level of commitment. But anybody can make plans. Delivery and implementation, as always, will be the acid test of this vision of a future free from conflict and poverty. It is in this critical space, between aspiration and reality, that the ongoing involvement of Oxfam, its partners and likeminded actors could prove decisive. #

Simon Tisdall is The Guardian UK’s Associate Editor and is one of its top notch foreign affairs columnists. He has just recently visited the Philippines for the stories he is writing about humanitarian response and disaster risk reduction practices in the country and the peace process in Mindanao.  

The response continues in the midst of Christmas parties and revelries in most parts of the country.  From December 26 to 29,  home return kits will be distributed to the Municipalities of Compostella and New Bataan. Water quality monitoring training for residents will also be simultaneously conducted in these areas. More photos in Oxfam sa Pilipinas Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oxfam-sa-Pilipinas/132670216757762?ref=hl

Residents of Cateel in Davao Oriental receive water and hygiene kits as “gifts” on Christmas Day.

Photos: Rodilyn Bolo and Ipe Ramiro, Jr., Oxfam in the Philippines Mindanao Programme Coordinator

Compostela Valley, Philippines (December 17, 2012) — Susan Unuangay,  51 years old and a resident of Brgy. Kidawa in Laak, Compostela Valley looks pensively at the land before her – the muddy, now-unproductive rice fields and the barren mountains beyond.  She shares, “Karon pa mi kita na ana diay ang porma anang mga bukida. Sa una, ga-green-green ra na siya, puno ug punuan.  Mao bugnaw kini among lugar.  Karon, musakit imong ulo, sa kasuga sa adlaw.” (It is only now that we know that the mountains are shaped that way.  Before, we see nothing but green because of the trees.  We also used to enjoy cooler days now, our heads would ache because of the glaring heat of the sun.)

Susan Unuangay looks upon the land which was abundant before it was destroyed by Typhoon Pablo.

Typhoon Pablo left the mountains bare.  Big trees are rendered “skeletal,” devoid of leaves while the smaller ones are either reduced to a stump or were completely uprooted.  “Naa mi uma na lima ka-ektrarya, gitanuman namo ug saging, rubber, cacao ug lubi.  Wala gyud nabilin.  Among rubber na tag-as na unta, nahurot gyud (We have a 5-hectare farm planted with banana, rubber, cacao and coconut.  Now, nothing is left.  Our rubber trees, already tall (and almost productive), were not spared as well),” Susan recalls further.

Pointing at the closest hill she continues, “Diha, anang gamay na bungtod, diha mi nagpaingon tanan.  Nitaas naman ang tubig mao naningkamot mi makasaka sa bungtod.  Arang kakusog sa hangin, ipalid gayod ang tawo.  Mutikang mi kaisa, muatras ug ikaduha.  Dili puydi mubarog kay madala gayod sa hangin.  Naningkamot na lang gyud mi.  Kaluoy sa Diyos, wala’y namatay diri sa among lugar.” (In that small hill before us, that’s where we went.  The water had started to rise that is why we tried our best to go to a higher ground. The wind was very strong that a person could be swept away.  We would take one step but then driven back two steps. We really just tried our best.  Thank God, everyone was spared and none of us died.)

HRC and Oxfam team went as far as the municipality of Laak, considered as the worst destructed area of Typhoon Pablo.

HRC and Oxfam went to Brgy. Kidawa in Laak Compostela Valley to distribute hygiene and water kits to the residents here.  Cash grants, in the amount of one thousand five hundred pesos each, were given as well.  From Tagum City, it took us two hours to get to the poblacion proper of Laak.  Another two hours, to get to Brgy. Kidawa which was the most badly hit.  Twice, we had to cross a river owing to fallen and broken bridges.  The sights were unbelievable. One could see fallen trees, and countless tree stumps standing like upright toothpicks as far as the eyes can see. They served as a reminder to Pablo’s magnitude.  We knew we have arrived when we saw the makeshift tents lining the road on both sides.

Before the actual distribution, Abie Ayao, Oxfam’s Public Health Promotion Officer, gave an orientation about the HRC and a demonstration on how to use hyposol.

A resident of Barangay Kidawa receives the cash grant given the the HRC and Oxfam.

                The cash grants were given first, with the residents divided per area.  They queued up, holding closely the claim stubs given to them.  These were then verified before they received the money.  After which, they were directed to proceed to the trucks outside to claim their hygiene and water kits.

Hygiene kits being repacked in a warehouse in Tagum City.

                The distribution went smoothly.  When asked where they would spend the money, most replied they would use it to rebuild the houses they lost.

Rodilyn “Tata” Bolo is Oxfam in the Philippines Project Manager for its Mindanao Programme.