by INCREASE

Cagayan Province, where two INCREASE municipalities (Amulung and Cagayan) are located, have been heavily devastated by a series of typhoons—Category 3 Typhoon Molave, Category 5 Super Typhoon Goni, and Category 4 Typhoon Vamco in a span of three weeks. This has brought the worst flooding the province has recorded for the last 40 years. The lost lives, livelihood, and shelter exacerbated the already difficult situations of the communities whose mobility and sources of income have been limited because of the pandemic.

Before the disaster

Before the onslaught of the disasters, INCREASE field team has been deployed to conduct community risk assessments and community-based disaster risk reduction and management trainings in Amulung and Gattaran. In such activities, farmers and fishers, along with women, the elderly, youth, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable persons provided valuable insights on sector-specific hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities in their communities. The barangay captain from Brgy. Annabuculan, Amulung, Cagayan expressed his newfound appreciation for how preparedness measures should be conducted. He appreciated the Community Risk Assessment conducted by INCREASE in their barangay, saying “the information [we] learned were useful and helped us realize the importance of assessments and conducting early action in order to mitigate the disaster.” This has proven how important such activities in building the capacities of the communities in responding to disasters. In addition, information materials such as primers on hazards and evacuation measures were also distributed to community members to help them prepare for the typhoons. The team also coordinated with the barangay DRRM council and monitored and disseminated information from PAGASA so it can be shared with community members.

The team has also proceeded with household selection for resilient livelihood activities. During which, they have identified the evolving needs of the community. Because of the pandemic, community members are restricted to travel and need to secure food sources within their area. Together with the local government, the team will help them establish communal gardens which can help sustain the food needs of the community while also diversifying their source of income. Organic farming orientations promoting sustainable farming techniques were also implemented in the area. As farmers and community members are used to synthetic farming, the orientations helped them gain knowledge on natural farming practices that do not cause harm to the ecosystem.

Emergency Response

During the flooding disaster, the team has also been present on the ground. It helped in the facilitation of resource mobilization for emergency response and aid delivery, through conducting assessments in INCREASE areas and participating in the joint Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA). Its visibility increased the local government’s trust and support for the project.

The team has also seen this as an opportunity to lobby for the mainstreaming of integrated risk management in local development plans, since the disaster was caused by the inter-linkages of disasters, climate change impacts, and ecosystem degradation. It has also initiated landscape-wide early warning systems to be established.

INCREASE or Increasing the Resilience to Natural Hazards aims to increase the resilience of 45,000 women and men small-scale farmers and fishers, including 720 extreme poor female-headed households, to natural hazards and the effects of climate change. The project is supported by the SKala initiative. SKala is driven by the German entrepreneur Susanne Klatten in partnership with the think tank and non-profit consultancy PHINEO.

by INCREASE

Recognizing women’s collective power

Bayanihan—the Filipino trait of communal unity, work, and cooperation to achieve a particular goal—has been present in INCREASE Project areas, Mapanas and Palapag, Northern Samar. Charita, 40, a woman farmer of Mapanas, said, “Ang prinsipyo na dinadala ko dito sa brgy., nangunguna ako sa paglilinis sa simbahan, pati sa mga kalye lalo na kung maulan, nililinis naming yung kanal kasi bumabaha. Ginagamit ko ito sa mga nangangailangan na mga tao, lalo na sa pagtutulungan sa mga gawain sa barangay, yan yung ginagawa namin, nagbabayanihan kami dahil sa hirap dito. (I bring the principle of volunteering and leading especially in cleaning our [public spaces] church, streets, and canals when it’s raining because it causes flooding. I apply this principle to those in need and during the implementation of community activities. This is what we do—we enforce bayanihan [we help each other] because we’re poor.)” While bayanihan is innately incorporated in Filipino culture and evident in low-income communities such as Mapanas and Palapag, both communities don’t have an active women’s organization. According to CARE Philippines Rapid Gender Analysis on Power (RGA-POW) (2020), women in Mapanas only come together to organize the annual municipality-wide “Women’s Day”, while only one barangay in Palapag has a non-accredited livelihood association of women.

With INCREASE Project taking in place, community members, especially women, have another chance to get together, while maintaining minimum health protocols, learn, and realize their capacities and vulnerabilities in facing natural hazards. Women’s participation in community risk assessments, disaster risk reduction and management, and contingency planning activities has increased their existing knowledge to make informed decisions in emergencies. This space has allowed them to use their voice and be heard by other community members. Maria Rose, 34, a barangay health worker in Mapanas, mentioned, “Importante ang pakikiisa ng mga babae sa mga gawain para maging lider ng komunidad kagaya ng pag-attend ng meetings. (It is important for women to participate in community activities so they can become community leaders, like attending meetings.)” Women, therefore, realized the importance of their participation in building their leadership skills and strengthening women’s voices.  Along with this, they have also identified knowledge gaps. On the RGA-POW, a woman leader from Palapag said, “Para madagdagan ang impluwensiya ng kababaihan ay kailangan din ng karagdagang edukasyon para sa kababaihan sa usapin ng [kanilang] karapatan. (To increase women’s influence, knowledge and capacity building activities and women’s right education are needed.)”

Incorporating another project, Women Lead in Emergencies, in INCREASE, has also allowed these women to work on a project to solve a community problem they have identified together. These efforts have provided women with a venue to see and harness their collective power. It has resulted in women actively expressing their desire to organize. In focused group discussions conducted for RGA-Pow (2020), “the women have expressed their confidence in lobbying for rights or providing feedback to power-holders when they are part of a collective.” In addition, they have also confirmed that they will be formalizing their organizations in the future.

Resilient livelihoods encourage women’s participation

In RGA-Pow (2020), it is stated that “women’s influence in public life and decision-making is closely associated with women’s economic power especially during emergencies. Critical to increasing women’s influence on formal decision-making spaces is helping them gain and have control over their own assets and income and to have equal say in decisions about household finances.” KIIs conducted with women community members of Palapag and Mapanas “highlight strong community perceptions that in public decision-making spaces, motions forwarded by economically empowered women are treated with respect and have better chances of being taken into consideration by the community or decision-makers. Such insight is not to discount persons with less influence; rather, enabling women to engage in sustainable livelihood activities increases their control of resources, which in turn enhances their influence and boosts their capacity to support members of the community during emergencies.”

During the last quarter of 2020, INCREASE provided livelihood trainings to selected female-headed households. Sustainability measures were also put in place to ensure that women in the community benefit in the longer term.

INCREASE or Increasing the Resilience to Natural Hazards aims to increase the resilience of 45,000 women and men small-scale farmers and fishers, including 720 extreme poor female-headed households, to natural hazards and the effects of climate change. The project is supported by the SKala initiative. SKala is driven by the German entrepreneur Susanne Klatten in partnership with the think tank and non-profit consultancy PHINEO.

by ACCORD, Inc.

When lockdown measures were implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19, even development projects were halted. Community-based trainings and workshops implemented by actors from outside the barangays were not allowed as they could be carriers of the virus. Local leaders play a critical role in a time when external support is limited and when the community’s safety is prioritized.

CARE local partner organization, ACCORD, Inc., ensures that potential leaders are recognized and gradually help them develop their capacities, self-confidence, and credibility. ACCORD shared, “Organizing and building capacities of local champions, community facilitators, and project steering committees at the barangay level was done as part of the project’s adaptive and sustainability measures. When staff’s mobility was restricted, valuable assistance was provided by the community champions – not only in the implementation of emergency responses on the ground but also in setting up regular project activities with our field teams. The project intends to engage and work with the same champions throughout the project, whose capacities for local leadership will remain, even after project closure.”

Among these local leaders is Josefina, 65, who serves as a Barangay Health Worker in Cullit, Gattaran in the province of Cagayan. Her daily duties include monitoring the health of children and elderly persons in their community. Since resources are scarce, she also helps out in medicine allocation, prioritizing the old and the sick. Now that there is a pandemic, she also helped out in the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) of the government, ensuring that the most vulnerable are included in the list. Josefina said that what she does in her barangay brings her happiness because she was able to provide help to her fellow senior citizens, especially now that the pandemic made serving her community more challenging. She recalled that her worst experience of a calamity was in 2012. She shared, “Our community and livestock had to be evacuated in higher grounds, and whatever was left behind were covered in thick mud after being submerged in the flood. Our family and neighbors had to clean the waist-deep mud in our houses, and had to sleep on the streets for about three weeks.” Because of this, she recognizes the importance of disaster preparedness, “the INCREASE project helped our community in planning and preparing for hazards and disasters.”

To also continue actively involving the communities despite the restrictions, INCREASE also responded to COVID-19. The timing of the pandemic coincided with lean season when farmers had to engage in alternative income-generating activities such as buying and selling vegetables. With lockdowns and restrictions in accessing goods, such activities are not allowed. For Josefina, “the rice packs helped my community, especially those whose livelihoods were affected because of the travel restrictions and

lockdown. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 information materials remind my community to follow health protocols and what to do to protect themselves from the virus.”

Involvement of local actors also includes inviting them in knowledge exchange sessions that are relevant in their current context. Made possible through the Resilience and Innovation Learning Hub (RILHUB), INCREASE partner LGU in Cagayan was able to attend relevant webinars on resilience and DRR – covering topics such as Contingency Planning during COVID-19, Setting Up Community Quarantine Facilities, and Camp Coordination and Camp Management Training. Such information exchange sessions were seen timely by local actors as these webinars coincided with their preparation timelines for updating municipal disaster risk reduction plans, comprehensive development plans, comprehensive land use plans, and local climate change action plans – undertakings defined as actual project outputs in INCREASE’s result framework, and areas in disaster governance INCREASE’s technical assistance seeks to enhance.

While activity implementation under INCREASE remains restricted, it is through these emergency responses and knowledge exchange sessions that ACCORD was able to check-in, and assess the evolving needs of INCREASE barangays in actual emergencies. Local leaders were also more involved in the project and appreciate its flexibility in delivering the appropriate emergency response given the urgent situation.

by CorDisRDS, Inc.

The Cordillera Disaster Response & Development Services Inc (CorDisRDS Inc.) is a non-government organization providing disaster response and community development services to the communities of Cordillera Provinces: Apayao, Kalinga, Abra, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, and Baguio City. Their main activities include facilitating assistance to disaster-affected communities and helping in the distribution of relief assistance, giving training and seminars to capacitate community and people’s organization leaders and their members.

Support given by CARE:

CorDis-RDS is the local partner of CARE Philippines in implementing INCREASE project in Mountain Province. INCREASE or Increasing the Resilience to Natural Hazards aims to increase the resilience of

45,000 women and men small-scale farmers and fishers, including 720 extreme poor female-headed households, to natural hazards and the effects of climate change.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, CARE Philippines and CorDis-RDS, has provided personal protective equipment to municipal local government units (MLGUs) and sacks of rice as a relief to communities in Barlig and Natonin, Mountain Province.

COVID-19 information materials were also distributed in the areas to promote preventive measures against the coronavirus

The Problem

What has been your experience since the COVID-19 pandemic started?

The CorDis-RDS team has experienced challenges in reaching the communities because of travel restrictions. Before community quarantine was implemented, the team would spend 2 weeks in INCREASE areas where they would visit 4 barangays in two municipalities. But because of the pandemic, they had to cut their field work short to one and a half week covering three barangays. Since then, they were not able to go back to these communities.

According to Liza Lomong-ey, CorDis-RDS Field Officer, “Since the declaration of enhanced community quarantine in March 2020, it has been so stressful because the team was not able to personally reach partner communities and local government units (LGUs) in this trying time and we have not implemented activities for almost 6 months and are confined within our homes and office due to the safety protocols being implemented.”

How have you adapted operations to reach your beneficiaries?

The pandemic has heightened the importance of network-building, especially on the ground, in implementing emergency response and development projects. While faced with travel restrictions, the team has worked on strengthening their relationship with people’s organizations and LGUs so they can understand the evolving needs of the communities.

Liza mentioned, “Communication between INCREASE team and partner LGUs was sustained through constant updating and coordination via phone calls and text messages. From constant updating with MLGUs and partner BLGUs, COVID responses in Natonin and Barlig namely the provision of PPES and rice assistance were implemented. This was made possible through building partnerships with LGUs and their willingness to implement such.”

It is also important to keep the response strategy adaptive to the changing situations in the communities. For example, Barlig and Natonin are in the same province but follow different process in implementing relief distribution.

Liza shared, “The distribution of PPEs and sacks of rice were implemented by the municipal disaster risk reduction officer. Particular for the PPEs in Barlig and Natonin, it was channeled to the PDRRM office which was later fetched personally by Barlig MDRRM officer together with the PPEs for Natonin. Likewise, the rice distribution in the municipality was implemented under the supervision of Barlig Mayor’s office and MDRRM officer. In Natonin, the distribution was implemented directly by partner BLGUs.”

Since face-to-face interaction was not possible for CorDis-RDS team, they have supplemented the efforts of the LGUs with localized communication materials. This way, the communities would have reference materials for long term preventive measures as a community against COVID-19.

“We were also able to reach our partners through sending a localized IEC material on reminders for COVID 19 to 6 communities in Natonin and a minimal copy of COVID flyers (long term measures) to selected LGUs in the municipality,” said Liza.

What has been the ‘word on the ground’?

Community lockdowns were implemented by the government, limiting people’s movement and livelihood options. This has negatively affected their income as several businesses have closed either temporarily or permanently. A lot of people have lost their jobs, while farmers couldn’t reach market places to sell their produce because of the travel ban.

Liza said, “INCREASE areas in Mountain Province are affected by this COVID pandemic in terms of economic aspect. Their livelihood is affected due to protocols on public transportation and transport of goods.”

How do you think the typhoon season is going to affect operations?

Operating in disaster-prone areas, CorDis-RDS team is used to shifting to emergency response whenever it is needed. However, this means that the regular activities being implemented for INCREASE project will have to be re-strategized so it can be pushed through in an efficient manner.

Liza shared her worries about the typhoon season, “The implementation of planned activities in two partner municipalities will surely be affected this last quarter of the year if there will be typhoons that will hit Northern Luzon. Some planned activities will not be implemented, the main reason is accessibility/ road cuts given the location of Natonin and Barlig which is mountainous in nature which is also prone to landslides and erosion. In addition, Cordis will surely shift to emergency mode wherein all pending activities and office works will be set aside for the meantime.”

Do you think you can weather the storm?

“The team together with partner communities must weather the storm, not literally, but to adjust on whatever the plan and activities are and to strictly follow LGU protocols in this pandemic period,” said Liza.

CorDis-RDS team understands that increasing resilience to natural hazards is much more needed in a pandemic. Preventive actions to protect self and others should be observed while planning for or experiencing disasters. Being fully informed of these measures and strengthening the capacities of the local actors are their best way to weather the storm

by: Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDE)

Responding to the unique needs of women and girls

Food, water, and medicine are limited during and after a crisis. In a household where resources are limited, women are usually the ones to eat the least amount of food because they sacrifice their share for their husband and children. Women and girls, being more vulnerable during and after disasters, have needs that should be considered in designing and implementing multipurpose cash transfers (MPCT). Therefore, their involvement is important to ensure that the MPCT actually addresses their and those of their families and communities’ needs, challenges, and opportunities.

In the Typhoon Kammuri response led by CARE together with Leyte Center for Development Inc in the early months of 2020f, MPCT has involved women from the design phase of the distribution process. Each household was given the opportunity to decide which family member should be registered and receive cash transfers on behalf of the household. In these cases, women were as likely to receive the MPCT as men. Because of this, the usual tension on financial decision-making upon the receipt of the cash was reduced, as the registered names in the distribution list came from and owned by the household. Women will then have a voice on where to allocate the cash.

Prior to the distribution of the MPCT, the community, especially women, has also received complimentary training sessions on Build Back Safer and hygiene and sanitation. Build Back Safer which involves lessons on carpentry, usually gathers men as participants because carpentry is traditionally considered as men’s work. However, since women were encouraged to come, they have attended and realized that they can also do such work. This has also been useful for men participants to be aware that women can also do other roles. Women have also reported that they appreciate such sessions because they served as a safe space so they can share their experiences and learn from one another. It is also important for the women to have learned handwashing measures that they can share with their children at home. This has proven that complementing MPCT with learning sessions raise awareness on disrupting gender roles among men and women in the community.

Women supporting women

Most volunteers during the distribution of water kits and MPCT were women. Their initiative comes from the sense of responsibility they have towards their community.

In one barangay, a woman leader in an organization ensured that people in her community are informed if there is a disaster coming. Without her, people at-risk might have not been able to prepare or evacuate their area since information dissemination is a challenge in the area because of limited cellular signal. This leader has also expressed the need to revive the women’s organization to have more activities that could benefit the community and to access basic services collectively.

To save time, effort, and resources, women and men who collected the cash took the opportunity to buy their needs on the same day of the distribution, since the distribution sites are near market places. Due to lockdown measures by the government, pregnant women and the elderly were not allowed to go outside. Their women neighbors, then, offered to buy their needs for them. This sense of solidarity among women has been more evident in times of disaster and pandemic. Safety issues due to the distance from the distribution site and their communities were reduced when women self-organized to go together to protect one another.

Women protecting other women has also been true in Brgy. Magsaysay. Josefina, 68, is a farmer whose income has also been affected by the pandemic. Because some of her farm produce were not sold due to travel ban, she shared them to her neighbors since she knows that a lot of families in her community are suffering from hunger. She has also visited houses of women to talk to them to make sure that they are safe. This has given these women psychosocial support. In times of extreme experiences brought by a disaster and pandemic, it is likely that people feel fearful and anxious. Mental health and psychosocial support is a clearly-identified need, and therefore, doubly crucial.

Story by: Agri-Aqua Development Coalition

Jovelyn Malinao, 49 years old, has been Brgy. Gamut’s Chairperson since 2013, after serving as a Barangay Councilor for 9 years. But unlike other public servants with aspirations of public service, Jovelyn never imagined that she can lead a barangay. “Before, I was shy as I was a mere housewife. I don’t usually talk to people. I prefer to stay at home, take care of my children, do our chores like washing our clothes, and take care of my husband,” said Jovelyn. It was only after her friends and other individuals in the barangay have encouraged her that the thought came to her mind. She finally decided to run for public office when her husband also told her, “Go and try it.”

Jovelyn understands the barriers that women have to go through to become leaders. “Before, leadership is only for men,” said Jovelyn. Women face challenges and could not easily participate in community activities. “First, women are hindered from participating in community activities when there’s no support coming from the family, especially when the husband doesn’t give consent. Secondly, women always think of the family’s livelihood first. When they don’t have enough income to support the family, they prioritize the family’s needs and they can’t participate in community activities. Thirdly, women want to focus more on their children and their needs.”

Jovelyn may relate to the challenges to women’s community participation but strongly feels the need to serve their barangay. She knows that a woman leader and women, in general, can do more. “I believe that both sexes have the same concern for constituents. But, I think it is best that we give women a chance to become leaders because women can easily encourage participation from the community. It can be compared to a home when children would run to their mothers when they have problems because mothers are empathetic and understanding,” she shared.

To overcome these challenges, women leaders must step up and encourage the participation of other women in community activities. Jovelyn focused her efforts on information education campaigns and communal learning activities such as trainings, seminars, and workshops. She personally went to the women in her barangay to motivate them to join in these activities. For her, everyone should know that women have equal rights as men in accessing opportunities. “It is important to make women understand that they have rights to lift up themselves and for the men to know that they should not hinder what the women want to achieve,” said Jovelyn. Because of Jovelyn’s efforts, along with the support of her barangay council, more women in Brgy. Gamut participate in community activities and also take leadership roles.

Brgy. Gamut, in Barobo, Surigao del Sur, is one of the barangays supported by Philippines: Increasing the Resilience to Natural Hazards (INCREASE). INCREASE aims to increase the resilience of 45,000 women and men small-scale farmers and fishers, including 720 extreme poor female-headed households, to natural hazards and the effects of climate change. This project is implemented by CARE Philippines, together with Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development, Inc (ACCORD), Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services (CORDIS), Leyte Center for Development, Inc (LCDE), and Agri-Aqua Development Coalition – Mindanao (AADC), through the support of SKala Initiatives of Germany.

by Leigh Fuentes, CARE Philippines

Although the COVID-19 Pandemic has exerted multiple shocks all over the globe and on all types of communities, certain populations remain the most vulnerable. 

Nanay Guillerma, 56, is a mother of five children. She works as a cook at a small, local canteen. Luckily, her employers were quite considerate to workers like her, even extending some supplies to help underscored needs amidst a struggling economy, especially when limited by the pandemic measures and guidelines in the country. However, this does not mean that Nanay Guillerma is confident enough to say she can make ends meet for her and her family. 

With all five of her kids at home sue to school closures and age, age limitations on people allowed outside of their home, and the implementation of online learning, it is indubitable that her load of unpaid care and domestic work has significantly increased, not to mention, she is a single mother. Forced to undergo distance learning to continue school, her children are not only dealing with the transition to learning lessons at home and online but have also seemingly reached a cul-de-sac. Out of five siblings, four of Nanay Guillerma’s children need to attend school through online or digital mediums, but Nanay Guillerma’s family only has two cell phones available. They have no other gadgets that may be used for academics purposes. 

“Kapag natatanong  [ng guro]  yung bunso ko kung bakit hindi siya nakakapasok, ang nasasagot na lang niya ay ‘cell phone, Ma’am. Wala.’”

[“There are times when my youngest gets asked [by teachers] why there are times that he is unable to attend online classes. All he can say is ‘Ma’am, we don’t have a cellphone.’”

With her income barely covering rent and other daily needs like food and supplies, Nanay Guillerma also constantly worries about her kids’ progress in school. She says that although her two older daughters are mature enough to adjust and cope, she regularly gets stressed out by the additional help her younger children need with school work. As an adaptive measure to a lack of gadgets, her kids’ teachers have encouraged her to at least assure that they can study and accomplish learning modules at home. However, Nanay Guillerma also worries about her capability to assist in academics especially when lessons in the curriculum begin to get more advanced, “hanggang first year high school lang naman ako,” she says. [“I also went to school only until my first year in high school.”] Moreover, she also has bad eyes and constantly finds it difficult to read and write without glasses, an item she does not even have on her person. This is one of the reasons she was accompanied by her daughter during the Together for Her Multipurpose Cash Assistance in Caloocan City. 

According to an estimate from UNESCO, as of March 2020, 89% of the world’s student population (children and youth) are out of school due to COVID-19 closures, including 743 million who are girls. Students have been forced to shift online despite large parts of the said population in low-tech or no-internet areas. With over 1.5 billion students at home due to the pandemic, there is an increased demand for unpaid childcare and domestic work at home, which in turn, impairs their time and capability to accept and carry out paid work, most especially with jobs that cannot be carried out remotely or from home. 

With all these worries constantly running through Nanay Guillerma’s mind, she says that it gives her recurring headaches and even sometimes makes her forget to add certain ingredients to recipes when she is cooking at the canteen, resulting in a scolding at work. She worries that in the long run, it might cost her her job.

“Ano na ang kakainin namin kapag nangyari iyon? Ano na ang pangsuporta namin sa buwan-buwang pangangailangan namin?”

[“What will happen to my family then, if I lose my job? How are we supposed to get support for our monthly needs?”]

*Nanay is a Filipino term that directly translates to mother. 

by Leigh Fuentes, CARE Philippines

Amidst a crowd of people, mostly women in their thirties and forties, *Nanay Lolita stood out with silver hair despite a slightly slumped posture. Regardless of the great number of multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) receivers, there were only two of us staff members assigned to this money transfer facility. We were awkwardly and barely perched behind a crooked table on the sidewalk of a narrow road where motorcycles and jeepneys flowed nonstop. My partner for this station caught my attention as I finished handing out our pamphlets on gender-based violence in the time of COVID-19. He had told me that it might be a good idea to have a chat with Nanay Lolita to provide the rest of our team with better insight and for me to better understand the current situation of many women in the Philippines.

Nanay Lolita was sitting beside our little table, our pamphlet and her MPCA claim form in one hand, and a big blue plastic bag in the other that had, at the time, unknown items inside that rattled whenever she would shift her position. She sported a worn-out yellow shirt, a piece of promotional material usually given out for free to promote a candidate during election season. My implementation partner gave her a spare surgical mask; she was walking outdoors without one.

“Kumusta po kayo, Nanay?” [How are you?] I asked her. “Ito ho, mabuti naman,” [Doing okay.] she replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders.   She told me that she likes to spend her days walking and that she used to walk far greater distances when she was a little younger. “Hindi ko na rin gaano nagagawa dahil bumibigay na rin ang katawan ko,” [I don’t really get to do this as much anymore because my body has started to give out,] she says. Nanay Lolita walking thinks it helps keep her legs and muscles functioning well. She does not only use walking to exercise and think but to also collect scrap and recyclable plastic littered on the streets or in sourced trash cans. I look down at the plastic bag in her hand and suddenly make out the shapes of two or three plastic drink bottles. She has been scavenging through garbage for around two years now, and at the age of 72, this means that she has been out and about 20 years beyond the declared senior citizen age in the Philippines. Residing in a country having the longest recorded lockdowns in the world, Nanay Lolita recounted how this affected her simple routine. She was forbidden from going outdoors during the lockdowns and partners from the local government even shared how the authorities deployed to assure quarantine and lockdown measures were being followed came to be familiar with Nanay Lolita’s face due to her persistence to go outdoors.

“Pakiramdam ko malulumpo ako kapag hindi ako nakaklakad tapos hindi pa ako nakapangangalakal.” [I feel like my legs would atrophy if I just stop walking and that means I would also no longer be able to scavenge for scrap plastic to sell for money]. The plastic materials she would have been able to collect would be up for selling to junk shops and other places of the like for a minimal amount of cash. “Kahit papaano, may kaunting nakukuha,” says Nanay Lolita. When the need would arise, she would beg for change from passers-by, public transportation drivers, and commuters. She shared with smiling eyes how sometimes people would randomly hand her a small amount of money and she would automatically think that they were paying her to do a small favor for them or that it was just for her to hand to someone else. When she would clarify, “akala ko may pinapakisuyo kasi minsan ganun, pero pang merienda ko daw.” On the flipside, her eyes changed and seemed sullen and hurt when she also recounted how there were also times when people would look her head to toe and say negative or hurtful things toward her.

Nanay Lolita is only one of thousands upon thousands of women who are experiencing the impact of the pandemic at a greater and more difficult to address degree. The United Nations has stated that the era of the Coronavirus has become a “defining moment for an inclusive and targeted response” for the sector of the community that is among the most physically and economically vulnerable population –  the elderly. During a time when intense pressure and instability are placed on the average individual and even more so on frontliners, society is now put on the spot to address deep-set inequalities in terms of access to social services like health care, as well as the presence of age discrimination and the lack of community participation in planning and decision-making.

Moreover and on a global scale, the COVID-19 pandemic has punctuated the degree to which societies rely on women while simultaneously bringing to light the inequalities sewn into our daily routines, touching on health and other social services, the economy, independence, or involvement in decision-making. According to UN Women, violence against women has intensified since the pandemic with exacerbating factors such as security, health, and financial worries, cramped living  conditions, isolation with abusers, movement restrictions, and deserted public spaces.

Referring to UN Women data from April 2020, a number of countries have recorded a surge of 25 percent in domestic violence reports and emergency calls since social distancing measures were implemented. Women and girls are hit harder by economic shocks. Generally earning less, women are able to save less despite comprising a majority of single-parent households. The pandemic has significantly increased the unpaid care and domestic work of women at home, thus disabling them from taking on or balancing paid work. According to a report from the International Labour Force in Geneva (2018), although not all informal workers are poor, there is definitely a positive relationship between informal employment and poverty; 91% of women in South Asia are informally employed (compared to 87% observed in men across the region).

Nanay Lolita may have come alone for a minimum amount of assistance on the day we were in Barangay Tangos South, Navotas City, but many women across the globe may not even have had this opportunity. CARE, together with its local partners in the Philippines, does not only plan to sustain its humanitarian operations in times of crises, but also to continue to work toward promoting lasting change and innovative solutions in order to support the strengthening of essential service delivery, community resilience, and empowering the most vulnerable, particularly women and girls.

*Nanay is a Filipino term that directly translates to mother. 

October 1, 2012

By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star)

This report was first published in print in issue on The Philippine Star on 30 September 2012.

Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte, Philippines – The Philippines is ahead of its Southeast Asian neighbors in disaster preparedness, according to European Union. 

Ambassador Guy Ledoux, of the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, witnessed the country’s progress in disaster risk reduction program here and has commended the collaborative efforts of the local government units, non-government organizations and communities to help save lives and lessen damage in times of disaster. 

“There is now global recognition and importance of disaster risk reduction.”

Ledoux cited the country’s disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation practices. 

The National Conference for Effective Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Practices was held here Friday with Ledoux as guest speaker.

According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Asia remains the worst affected continent and nine out of 10 countries with the highest number of disaster-related deaths were in Asia. 

“It has been demonstrated in many cases that a highly effective way of reducing the need for humanitarian aid is to invest in disaster risk reduction measures, including ensuring greater preparedness of people at risk. There is now global recognition and importance of disaster risk reduction,” Ledoux said in his speech. 

The conference gathered more than 100 disaster risk reduction practitioners from high-risk communities from Regions II, V, XII, CAR and Caraga targeted by the EU disaster preparedness program. 

(Photo credit to Gregorio Dantes Jr.)

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October 1, 2012

By Tarra Quismundo, Philippine Daily Inquirer

This report was first published in print in issue in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on 30 September 2012

St. Bernard, Southern Leyte – When a 7.6-magnitude quake hit the Visayas and triggered a tsunami warning in the Pacific coast a month ago, some 7,000 residents from coastal barangays here evacuated to higher ground within 12 minutes. 

In the fast and orderly retreat to safer ground, everyone was spared from harm. 

Scarred by a deadly landslide six years ago, this fourth class town of 27,000 residents has emerged as a “flagship” example in disaster preparedness, response and mitigation, its early warning system and community-based readiness program now a model for other vulnerable towns to emulate. 

“Where we fall, we rise.”

“Where we fall, we rise.”, said town Mayor Rico Rentuza in opening the national disaster risk reduction and climate change conference here on Friday. 

“We are not a rich town, but we are rich in hazards. Name all the hazards, we have them.. We want to build a culture of preparedness. With all the things we implemented in St. Bernard, we are already experiencing the impact of more efficient emergency response and coordination,” Rentuza said before an audience of fellow government officials and civil society groups that gathered to learn about his town’s experience. 

Once rendered “helpless” by a landslide that killed more than 1,000 residents in 2006, this town of survivors has integrated disaster risk reduction into their daily lives. 

Early Warning Systems

Barangays on the town’s Pacific coast man state-of-the-art early warning systems round-the-clock, ready to immediately dispatch alerts through loudspeakers installed in hazard-prone villages. All around town are disaster preparedness posters and signs. Evacuation routes are marked.

Volunteers plant mangroves along the coastline to build a natural shield from flooding. Young people regularly go to disaster-preparedness camps. And the town government, supported by both local and international agencies, is in a constant state of readiness – that is, ready to sustain the program even when left to stand in their own feet. 

“As a first-time visitor in Southern Leyte, it is rewarding to see how St. Bernard has been fully involved in community based disaster risk reduction project since the results of its investment are manifested in the successful outcomes of drills and actual evacuation,” said European Union Manila head of delegation Guy Ledoux, addressing the forum.

“I would say that regarding disaster preparedness, St. Bernard is certainly flagship. It is the most successful project and we are now [looking] to share the success in disaster preparedness of St. Bernard,” an impressed Ledoux later said in an interview. 

He also noted how the Philippines has come a long way in disaster risk reduction efforts compared to its neighbors in the region. 

“We are proud to recognize that the Philippines is ahead of its Southeast Asian neighbors as it has adopted a policy framework on disaster preparedness and local government units have been trained in implementing this framework,” Ledoux said. 

International Assistance

Through a modest P10-million assistance over five years, the European Union and other partner agencies, including CARE Netherlands and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), have helped build the town’s capacity for disaster risk reduction. 

International funding helped the town create its local disaster risk reduction office, which maintains a sophisticated, Filipino-made early warning system in eight high-risk barangays. 

Designed and operated by Filippino scientist Reginald Juan Mercado, devices that detect multiple hazards such as flood, earthquake, landslide and tsunami, among others, are hooked to barangay stations that could readily issue warnings through loudspeakers whenever necessary. 

While monitored by a nerve-center based at the town hall, this decentralized system makes for factor dispatch of information, Rentuza said. “They don’t have to wait for me to issue the warning,” he said. 

“We have a long way to go. This should be a lifelong process and practice.”

Colorful Houses

The town has also designated evacuation sites in every sector. This way, residents already know where to run when emergency comes. 

Incidentally, one such site is the uphill resettlement site for survivors of the Guinsagon landslide. Permanently relocated after the 2006 landslide, some 268 families (1,023 people) now reside in the new village, living in colorful concrete homes built by the Red Cross, Gawad Kalinga and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. 

“I am proud to say that from tragedy, we are now host to evacuees from Barangay Tambis Uno,” said New Guinsagon village chief Beauty Omela Cabacungan, referring to one of the town’s vulnerable barangays. 

“Our secret to still surviving is our faith in God and the prayer that whatever problem happens, we offer it to God, for we all know that God will provide,” said Cabacungan in welcoming Ledoux and other visiting officials to her village on Friday. 

Lifelong Process

“The St. Bernard experience is a good example of how local communities with the support of civil society and organizations and collaboration with local government authorities can spearhead collective action along disaster risk reduction,” Ledoux said. 

Much needs to be done, conceded Rentuza, as he gave assurance that the local government will not waver in disaster risk reduction efforts. 

“There is still much to be done. And it requires commitment, focus, time… We have a long way to go. This should be a lifelong process and practice,” Rentuza said. 

The European Union has been a steady humanitarian partner of the Philippines as part of its global effort to provide financial and technical aid to disaster-prone countries. Between this year and 2013, the EU has allocated P130 million for disaster-preparedness initiatives across the Philippines.

(Photo credit to Gregorio Dantes Jr.)

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