The Moving Urban Poor Communities in Mindanao towards Resilience Project (MOVE UP-Mindanao) is an urban resilience project aimed at contributing to the resilience building of urban poor populations to withstand and manage the impact of disasters. It seeks to strengthen the urban disaster preparedness, response, and management capacity of the national, sub-national, and local government units (LGUs) and other stakeholders through the adaption and replication of tested urban resilience strategies.
In partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Local Government Academy (DILG-LGA), the project intends to share its lessons learned, good practices, and innovations gathered and tested from its experience working with urban poor communities, municipalities, and provinces to contribute to the large-scale resilience-building effort.
MOVE UP Mindanao is implemented by a consortium of international non-government organizations which includes Plan International Philippines, Action Against Hunger, and CARE Philippines with its local partner ACCORD Inc. Funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the project is currently being implemented in nine (9) local government units (LGUs) in Mindanao.
The Resilience Knowledge Exchange Series (RKES) Session covering this topic was held on May 27, 2021 which aimed to :
- Share the experience of CARE and ACCORD regarding their IRM mainstreaming work;
- Provide guidance on how to implement mainstreaming using the recently-published Mainstreaming Integrated Risk Management: An Accompanying Guide to Planning; and
- Serve as an introductory session and a preparation for more detailed, comprehensive IRM mainstreaming sessions in the future.
This presentation on introducing the MOVE UP Project was created and presented by Mr. Roger Cabiles, MOVE UP Consortium Coordinator, Action Against Hunger.
To access a soft copy of this material, please click here.
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Despite the wealth of data about disasters in Metro Manila, no dedicated study has holistically examined the risks associated with the Malabon-Navotas-Tullahan-Tinajeros river system (MANATUTI), especially in an urban landscape perspective. A pilot risk assessment of the river system was conducted using the integrated risk management, landscape, and urban resilience 190 approaches. Document analyses, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and field visits were done to identify and analyze the hazards that pose threats to the communities along MANATUTI, especially the urban poor, and how vulnerabilities aggravate and capacities mitigate these risks, especially in the socio-economic, environmental, infrastructural, institutional, and governance aspects of the river system. Communities in the river system face severe risk to compound hazards such as flooding exacerbated by ground subsidence, sea-level rise, and storm surge, fire and liquefaction resulting from earthquake, and public health outbreaks made favorable by increasing temperature, environmental pollution, and congestion, among others. These are worsened by extreme poverty and the powerlessness of the greater population and the highly fragmented urban planning and risk management efforts in the landscape. Nevertheless, the inclination of the communities toward collaboration and transformation, alongside expansive rooms for improved governance, are important capacities that may enhance their resilience to disaster. A formal, well-supported, landscape-wide, inter-community governing institution that practices equitable distribution of responsibilities and resources is deemed essential to realize a comprehensive and effective disaster risk reduction and management in the river system in the face of rapidly changing climate and environment.
To view and download the full document, please click here.
The 2020 Alternative Temporary Shelter (ATS) Manual is an initiative of the Moving Urban Poor Communities in the Philippines toward Resilience (MOVE UP) Project. This manual is intended for new and experienced users with zero to advanced ATS System and shelter response knowledge. This manual aims to describe the importance and practical applications of ATS and offer step-by-step guidance on properly adopting and implementing select ATS solutions as a form of shelter response and early action during emergencies. This manual provides guidance to local government units, civil society organizations, community members, and other stakeholders on addressing the immediate shelter needs of internally displaced populations (IDPs) within a 24- hour to 36-hour period after a disaster and even for long-term displacements while conforming with universally accepted humanitarian principles and standards. This manual is a working document and shall be updated from time to time.
Target Users
This manual is principally intended for local government units (LGUs) and communities to augment their shelter response and early action capacities during emergencies. The manual also targets the private sector, civil society organizations (CSOs), humanitarian organizations, and other actors working closely with communities to build their resilience.
Zoom in, zoom out: Scalar politics, master planning, and environmental justice concerns
A case study connecting the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Masterplan to the small-scale fisherfolk and urban poor living along the coastline of Manila Bay
Thesis Report by: Lieke Brackel
ABSTRACT
Inhabitants of Metro Manila are confronted with challenges such as the overall congestion of the fast-growing city, ecological degradation, and aggravated exposure to natural hazards due to climate change. Stakeholders present in- and around Manila Bay have different interests and perspectives on how the coastline should develop, resulting in fierce competition.
This research focusses on two groups of stakeholders in particular: the urban poor and small-scale fisherfolk living along the waterways in Navotas. They express environmental justice concerns about decreased access to the bay and space for social housing (distribution), persistence of negative stigma and disregard for resource-based livelihoods (recognition), lacking representation, consultation, and information provision (participation), and the overall degradation of the Manila Bay ecosystem (ecological integrity). Most importantly, they experience distress as they are uncertain how their livelihoods and homes are influenced by development projects requiring land reclamations, construction of the dyke, and/or relocations.
The Manila Bay Sustainable Development Masterplan (MBSDMP) is initiated- and partly funded by the Dutch government. This consultancy project aims to advise decision-makers within the Philippine government to steer the development of Manila Bay into a more ‘sustainable’ and‘inclusive’ direction. The expectation has been raised, that the MBSDMP would be conducted in a ‘participatory’ manner, referring to the Dutch Delta Approach. Explicitly also including the small-scale fisherfolk and urban poor. And for that local view, you have to zoom in.
However, choosing to plan for the scale of ‘Manila Bay’ can (unintentionally) influence the rules of the game and/or be used as an active instrument to win that game. In line with political ecology, this thesis uses the theoretical frame of scalar politics to explore what the MBSDMP case-study could reveal about the main research question: ‘How does high-level, ecological delineated, and long-term planning relate to locally expressed environmental justice concerns?’
This qualitative explorative research project attempted to connect the local barangay level in Navotas with the high-level MBDSMP planning process: zooming in and out. Findings are based on a three-month fieldwork period in the Philippines including ethnographic observations of key events, document analysis, and 37 interviews. By literally jumping between these layers of governance, tensions and diverging expectations were encountered about the role of participation in- and the objectives and scope of the MBSDMP.
Moreover, this thesis describes how strategic master planning risks aggravating- instead of addressing environmental justice concerns as expressed by small-scale fisherfolk and urban poor. Issues most important to these groups can become sidelined by the choice for the bay-wide scale of governance. On the other hand, actors can try to use the created invited spaces of participation in the MBSDMP to bring back the human-perspective in strategic master planning. This is especially relevant considering the centralizing and militaristic trends in the Philippine planning context. Still, the high-level, ecologically delineated, and long-term orientation of the planning exercise does pose challenges for the practical organization of participation. Hence, it depends on the theory of change assumptions of actors involved whether (and if so, how) they believe the MBSDMP could be a useful instrument to address environmental injustices. This thesis does not draw final conclusions about the particular case of the MBSDMP, as the planning process was highly dynamic and still evolving when the fieldwork period ended. Yet, the dilemma’s described can inform and support general reflection by scientists and practitioners on the politics of choosing ecological boundaries as scale of governance, also in other strategic master planning processes. This thesis emphasizes the need to not only zoom out, but also zoom in.
View, read, and download the full thesis here.
Ni Josephine Badilla
Kasalukuyang Presidente ng Plaridel Livelihood Entrepreneur’s Association (PLEA) isang organisasyon ng maliliit na magsasaka sa Barangay Plaridel, Dagami, Leyte
Nobyembre 25, 2015
Dalawang istruktura nalang ang nakatayo sa barangay, lahat ay nakadapa na at nasira. Ganito ang itsura ng barangay Plaridel, Dagami ng manalasa ang bagyong Yolanda. Nang humupa ang malakas na hangin at ulan, natunghayan namin ang nasirang mga bahay at kabuhayan. Ang bukid na dati ay puno ng pananim na niyog at bungang kahoy ngayon ay wala na. Halos mawalan kami ng pag-asa. Paano na kaya kami mabubuhay? May tutulong kaya sa amin?
Walang grupo ng livelihood sa barangay namin bago mag-Yolanda. Kanya-kanya lang kami sa pamumuhay. Ang mga alagang hayop gaya ng baboy ay nakagala lang sa sentro ng barangay dahil wala namang pananim na masisira. Dati ay nagtatanim kami ng mais at ito ang pangunahing kinakain. Pero buhat ng dumami ang mga niyog ay unti-unting nawala ang pagtatanim ng mais. Kaya laking panlulumo namin ng halos lahat ng niyog ay natumba. Wala na kaming mapagkukunan para pambili ng bigas at iba pang pangangailangan. Sa kabila ng panghihina ng loob pagkatapos ng Yolanda nakita namin na kailangang magtulungan para mapabilis ang aming pagbangon. Kailangan naming magtanim muli, kung hindi kami magtatanim kami din naman ang magugutom. Hindi naman tinangay ng bagyo ang lupa. Nandiyan pa din ito, kailangan lang ang dobleng pagsisikap. Isa ako sa naghikayat sa aming mga kapitbahay na bungkalin ang lupa at magtanim muli upang may makain pagkatapos ng ilang buwan. Nabuhayan kami ng loob pagkatapos ng ilang linggo pagdating ng tulong sa aming barangay. Marami at iba-iba ang dumating na may dalang tulong. Pero naiiba ang ACCORD at CARE. Ihinahalintulad ko ang pagdating nila kagaya ng sa dalawang ibon na dumako sa aming barangay. Dala nila ang pag-asa upang kami ay makabangon muli.
Ang pera na ibinigay sa livelihood ay ibinili ko ng baboy. Ngayon ay nakapanganak at nakapagbenta na ako ng mga biik. Nagtanim din kami ng mga kamote, kamoteng kahoy at gulay. Napawi ang aming pangamba sa araw-araw dahil may sigurado na kaming magpagkukunan ng pagkain.
Sa Phase 2 ng livelihood ay nagbuo kami sa barangay ng 6 na grupo. Ang nakuha naming indibidwal na tulong ay pinagsama-sama. Kada grupo ay bumili ng kalabaw, arado, suyod, pala, bara at sprayer. Bawat isang pamilya ay bumili rin ng sariling sundang (bolo). Ang mga gamit na ito ay nagpapabilis ng gawa namin sa pagsasaka. Ang mga kalabaw ay nag-aararo sa mga personal at komunal na mga sakahan namin. Habang ang iba pang kalabaw naman ay pinanghahakot ng mga kahoy na nakakadagdag sa kita namin. Mula sa pinagsama-samang pera, naglaan din ng pera ang bawat grupo upang makabili ng binhi ng upland rice. May indibidwal at grupo na nagtanim nito.
Bago sa amin ang upland rice. Tuwang-tuwa kami ng makapag harvest kami. Nakapagtabi na din kami ng binhi para sa susunod na taniman. Sa kasalukuyan, mga root crops muna ang itinanim dahil sa maulan ngayon. Nagbatay kami sa seasonal calendar na nagawa sa Disaster Preparedness Training ng ACCORD. Wala na ring gumagala na baboy ngayon sa barangay dahil lahat ay may tanim na.
Ngunit hindi kami tumigil sa aming pangarap. Lahat ng oportunidad at mga hamon ay hinarap namin. Gusto namin na magtagal ang proyekto at pinag-isipan namin ng husto kung paano ito maisakatuparan. Dama namin na ang pangunahing pangangailangan namin ay pagkain. Kailangan namin ng bigas, ang pwedeng tumubo sa mabundok naming lugar ay mais. Kaso walang gilingan. Kaya naisip namin na gawing proyekto ang pagtayo ng gilingan ng mais. Malawak ang aabutin na serbisyo ng corn mill. Hindi lamang ito para sa amin. Maging ang ibang barangay ay pwedeng makinabang dito.
Dahil sa kagustuhang lalo pang gumanda ang aming pamumuhay, nagsunod-sunod ang mga meeting kasama ang mga myembro, nagpaliwanagan at nagkumbinsihan hanggang sa umabot sa pinal na desisyon na corn mill na ang magiging proyekto namin para sa pangatlong yugto ng livelihood project – ang Community Enterprise Facility (CEF).
Walang may kaalaman sa amin sa pagtayo at pagpatakbo ng corn mill. Nakita namin ang pangangailangan na mag-aral at matuto upang magkaroon ng kaalaman. Pinuntahan naming ang mga proyekto ng ACCORD sa iba’t ibang bayan na may corn mill para pag-aralan. Kasabay ng pagbuo ng desisyon ay ang pormal din na pag rehistro ng aming grupo bilang asosasyon. Hindi naging madali ang pagbuo ng grupo. Iba-iba ang gusto ng mga tao. Malaking tulong ang pagkakaroon ng malawak na pang-unawa at maayos na pagpapaliwanag sa mga myembro.Sa pamamagitan nito nabuksan ang pananaw ng mga tao at nagkaroon ng pagkakaisa. Ang tingin pa namin ay may kakulangan din kami sa karunungan. Sa mga karanasan lamang kami natuto.
Tunay ngang nakakapagod pero kapag ang iniisip ay hindi lang para sa sarili kundi ang kapakanan din ng iba, nawawala ang kapaguran ko. Kailangang makinig sa sinasabi ng bawat myembro, pag aralan ang kanilang mga mungkahi at ikumpara ang resulta. Sa organisasyon ay mahalagang matuto kang maki-isa. Kung ano ang pinaka maayos na karanasan ay ito ang dapat mangibabaw. Nagkasundo kami sa grupo na magbayad ng membership fee na P100 bawat myembro at monthly dues na P10. Ang perang nalikom ay ginamit sa pamasahe, photocopy at iba pang gastos ng asosasyon habang naglalakad ng mga papeles. Kung nagkakaproblema din ang myembro dito rin kami kumukuha ng ipapahiram. Layunin nito na may magagamit kaagad ang myembro sa panahon ng kagipitan.
(Ipinarehistro ang Plaridel Livelihood Entrepreneur’s Association (PLEA), ang kanilang asosayon sa DOLE noong Abril ng taong ito upang maging isang pormal na organisasyon na may napapanghawakang papel.)
Mahirap ang pagparehistro sa DOLE. Malayo ang opisina, sa Tacloban pa. Pabalik-balik kami bitbit ang mga papeles. May nag-alok pa saamin na pwedeng maging fixer sa pag ayos ng papeles namin pero may bayad. Hindi kami pumayag, nagtiyaga kami na mag follow-up dahil gusto naman din naming matuto.
Sa paglakad ng aming papeles, natuwa kami sa abogadong nag-notaryo para sa min sa DOLE. Hindi niya pinabayaran ang pagnotaryo niya dahil naintindihan niya ang halaga ng ginagawa namin. Pinayuhan pa niya kami na pagbutihin ang aming ginagawa. Naging hamon ito sa amin na kahit hindi namin kilala ay sumusuporta sa aming ginagawa.
Ang aming pagkakaisa at pagbuo ng asosasyon o grupo mula sa dating kanya-kanya ay siyang naging gabay namin para makamit ang ganap na pagbangon. Masaya kaming pinapanday ang maliwanag na umaga para sa aming pamilya at komunidad.
Darating ang panahon na ang mga anak naman namin ang magpapatakbo ng asosasyon at mas mapapalago pa nila ito dahil nagsimula na kaming turuan sila mula sa aming karanasan. Sila ngayon ay nakakapag-aral na ding muli dahil may kakayahan na rin kahit paano. Gusto rin naming mangyari na sa panahon na may mangangailangan ng kanilang tulong ay makapagbigay din kami. ***
Dahil sa magandang simulain ng kanilang proyekto, at sa magandang pagtutulungang ipinamalas ng mga miyembro, ang samahan ng mga maliliit na magsasaka sa Bgy. Plaridel ay tiyak na magtagumpay at maipagpatuloy hanggang sa sunod na henerasyon.
To view and download a copy of this story, please click here.
(Building back better and safer by mainstreaming DRR in shelter project)
Ni Cristita Villablanca
Bgy. Macaalang, Dagami
Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat. Ako si Cristita Villablanca isang residente ng Brgy. Macaalang, Dagami, Leyte at isa sa mga napiling miyembro ng roving team sa shelter project ng CARE at ACCORD. Noong hindi pa tumatama ang bagyong Yolanda, masasabi ko na maayos ang pamumuhay sa barangay namin sa kadahilanang marami pa ang nakukuhang produkto sa niyog tulad ng copra na siyang pangunahing kabuhayan ng karamihan ng mga residente. Masasabi ko rin na sa mga panahon na iyon ay medyo nakaka-angat ang mga tao dahil marami pa ang nakakapag-aral ng high school sa poblacion ng barangay. Napansin ko rin dati na sa paggawa ng bagong bahay ay walang sinusunod na mga pamamaraan sa pagtayo o pagkukumpuni. Basta makagawa lang ng bahay ay tama na.
Sa pagtama ng Bagyong Yolanda ay naranasan namin ang pinaka matinding pagsubok na nangyari sa barangay namin. Halos naubos ang lahat ng pananim. Natumba halos lahat ng mga niyog. Nasira lahat ng mga bahay namin. Nagutom, naghirap at nagdusa kaming lahat. Nawala ang pangunahing pinagkukunan namin ng ikinabubuhay – ang mga niyog. Nagresulta ito sa paghinto ng mga anak namin sa pag aaral at lalong tumindi ang paghihirap namin.
Dumaan ang ilang buwan bago namin nakilala ang CARE at ACCORD. Noong Pebrero 2014, nagdala sila ng pagkain sa aming barangay na nagpagaan ng konti sa aming kalagayan. Lumipas ulit ang ilang buwan, bumalik ang CARE at ACCORD noong Agosto. Sa panahon na ito, ay hindi na food kung hindi ay shelter repair kits naman ang dala nila sa aming barangay. Dito na sa shelter project ako ay naging aktibong nakibahagi sa proyekto ng ACCORD bilang community mobilizer ng Shelter Roving Team.
Ang shelter roving team o SRT ay binubuo ng dalawang panday na lalaki at isang community mobilizer na babae na taga-barangay din. Nabuo ang SRT bilang isang pamamaraan na masiguro na nagagawa ang mga itinatayo o kinukumpuning mga bahay ayon sa mga tinurong mga teknik sa BBBS.
Nagkaroon kami ng mga pagsasanay para sa mga panday para ituro ang ibat ibang pamamaraan na mas mapatibay ang aming mga tirahan. Dito ko nalaman ang ibat ibang estilo sa pagpapatibay tulad ng 3 feet dapat ang minimum na lalim ng mga poste at dapat ay may ginawang ankla sa ilalim nito para hindi madaling madala ng hangin ang bahay pag bumagyo. Ang maganda pa dito ay kahit hindi panday ay maaaring sumama sa training upang matuto.
Marami akong natutunan sa pagiging community mobilizer ng roving team. Bilang community mobilizer, responsibilidad ko ang pag-monitor sa mga ginagawang mga bahay. Tinitignan ko kung nasusunod nga ba ang mga tinurong pamamaraan ng pagpatibay ng bahay. Sinusundan ko ang pagsimula at pagtapos at ang mga may problemang paggawa. Ang mga bagay na dati ay mga lalaki lang ang may alam sa barangay namin ay nagbago na. Alam ko na din ngayon, at ng iba pang mga nanay. Kailangan kong malaman ng mabuti upang alam ko din ang mga hindi tama ang pagkakagawa. Umabot din sa punto na habang isinasagawa ang proyekto sa barangay, ang mga nagpapanday na mismo ang nagtatanong sa akin kung eksakto at tama ba ang ginagawa nila. Minsan din hindi maiwasan na pinapaulit ko ang ginawa nila. Kinakailangan ng masinsing pag papaliwanag at pagpapaintindi na dapat maayos ang pagkakagawa ng mga bahay dahil kami din mismo ang titira at makikinabang.
Naging bago rin para sa akin at sa buong barangay ang naging paraan ng pagpapatupad ng shelter repair project ng ACCORD. Ang pagtatayo ng mga bahay ay isinasagawa sa pamamagitan ng bayanihan. May mga grupo o cluster na binubuo ng 10 pamilyang magkakalapit/magkakatabi. Inuunang pagtutulngang itayo ang mga bahay ng mga bulnerableng pamilya –mga bahay ng senior citizen o mga bahay na nanay na lamang ang nagtataguyod sa kanilang pamilya, at mga bahay ng mga PWD. Naging mahirap sa umpisa pero nagawang tapusin ng mga tao ang proyekto gamit ang pamamaraan na yun. Masasabi ko na maraming naging magandang resulta ang nagawang shelter project sa aming barangay. Nagawang magbayanihan para sa barangay na nagpakita na may napakalaking kapasidad pala kami. Nakita namin na ang pagtutulungan pala ay makadulot ng mas mabilisang paggawa at mas mura nguni’t maayos na paraan sa pagtayo ng mga matitibay na bahay.
Napakalaki ng pasasalamat namin sa CARE at ACCORD lalo na sa mga staff na pabalik-balik sa barangay kahit na mahirap ang daan. Ipinapangako ko, at namin sa barangay na hindi masasayang ang mga nadalang tulong sa amin at lalo na sa mga naiturong pamamaraan sa paggawa ng bahay na hindi na namin malilimutan.
Ika-26 ng Nobyembre 2015
to view and download a copy of this story, please click here.
What is resilient livelihood? This infographic aims to acquaint readers to examples and unique characteristics of resilient livelihood and how
INCREASE project will support its establishment in its project areas.
INCREASE or “Philippines – Increasing Resilience to Natural Hazards” aims to aims to increase the resilience of 45,00 women and men small scale farmers and fishers, including 720 extremely poor female-headed households, to natural hazards and the effect of climate change. The project will run from 2019-2021 in different parts of the Philippines, namely 36 barangays across 8 municipalities in the provinces of Cagayan, Mt. Province, Northern Samar, and Surigao del Sur. Its project components and activities include early warning systems, alternative livelihood, and climate and disaster governance.
By Celso Dulce, Jr.
Originally Written: October 8, 2014
The sight that greeted the rare visitor to Barangay Langaon was unexpected, and inspiring. Men and women, including some elderly, were busy repairing the hanging bridge known as Kalawahig-1. Some were erecting two concrete posts where steel cables of the bridge will be re-anchored. Some were replacing the wooden planks. Some were gathering rocks from the riverbed and piling them into an embankment that will strengthen the bridge’s foundation. Two days ago, the bridge was washed out by a flashflood spawned by typhoon Pablo (Bopha).
Typhoon Sendong (Washi) damaged the Kalawahig-1 suspension bridge that connects barangay Langaon to “the outside world.” The bridge was already in a state of disrepair prior to Sendong. The flooring was made of bamboo. The sides were unprotected and anybody, but most especially children, could easily fall into the river. The bridge was in urgent need of repair as the community could not bring their farm produce to the market, could not safely access relief assistance and basic services, and could not bring in basic commodities.
In March 2012, CARE worked with the community to undertake minor repair of the bridge, as part of the cash-for-work activity. Cyclone wires were installed on the sides of the bridge to prevent people from falling into the river. Rotting bamboo were replaced to strengthen the flooring. Community members were jubilant, feeling safer as they cross the bridge every day, to go to the market, and in general to do business with the outside world.
A follow-up CARE emergency response project provided another opportunity to further strengthen the bridge. It was built on the initiative of a local NGO, Green Mindanao, which constructed a concrete foundation for a new bridge, but could not afford complete rehabilitation. CARE provided thick steel cables, wooden planks, cyclone wire, nuts and bolts, and other materials to complete the bridge through another cash-for-work activity. In August 2012, the new bridge was completed. In no time, not only people were crossing the bridge but even motorbikes laden with produce. The bridge was affording people safe access to goods and basic services. It was also encouraging people to increase agricultural production and livelihood activities as the people can now safely transport farm inputs and farm produce.
On 5 December 2012, barangay Langaon lost its hanging bridge to a big flashflood triggered by typhoon Pablo. The news was very difficult to accept. According to Langaon residents, Ugiaban Bridge one kilometer upstream got clogged and formed a temporary dam. When this temporary dam burst, it unleashed a huge wall of water that reached up to the Kalawahig-1’s flooring. The residents of Langaon watched helplessly as a huge wall of water washed away their bridge. The Kalawahig-1 was built substantially higher than the original precisely to prevent it from being overtopped by floodwaters.
The Langaon community was able to retrieve all the bridge’s materials – the steel cables, the wooden planks, the nuts and bolts, the cyclone wires. With their meager resources, and without waiting for external assistance, the community started rebuilding their bridge.
“We appreciate very much the support we received from ACCORD and CARE and their donors. Such support enabled to rehabilitate our bridge. The damage caused by Pablo is a setback. Slowly maybe, but surely we will rebuild the bridge, because it is our bridge. More valuable than the material support we received from ACCORD and CARE is the confidence developed in us that by working together, we will be able to recover from the disasters that have affected us,” declared Barangay Chair Martin Tanio, as he showed the several kilograms of tie wire, the few bags of cement, and the few pieces steel reinforcement bars he bought using funds contributed by community members.
Kalawahig-1 was built through a project partnership amongst CARE, ACCORD and RMP, with funding support from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), AXA Philippines and Metrobank Foundation. Barangay Langaon is in Baungon municipality, Bukidnon province.
The people and the leaders of Langaon demonstrate the indomitable spirit of the poor and vulnerable, who aspire to make their communities more resilient. A visit to Langaon in October 2013 showed that the community, on its own, has restored the Kalawahig-1 bridge, their own bridge.
This is an updated version of the previous story “The Bridge of Resillience,” also by the same author.
View, read, and download a PDF version of this article here.
This paper presents the feedback of several groups of stakeholders from Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Quezon City, and the City of Manila on the Final Report of the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan (MBSDMP).
Throughout August of 2019, CARE and ACCORD, through Partners for Resilience, conducted focus group discussions in six barangays, three cities, and two Water Quality Management Area (WQMA) bodies. The goal was to familiarize Manila Bay stakeholders with the MBSDMP and gather feedback from them to help ensure that the concerns and recommendations of those who may be affected by the master plan are brought to the fore. Participants were composed of community members, sectoral representatives, barangay and city local government units (LGUs), and members of the San Juan River System (SJRS) and Malabon-Navotas-Tullahan-Tinajeros River System (MANATUTI) WQMA.
The consultations consisted of one-day sessions per area, with two main parts: in the first half of the session, facilitators presented the fundamentals of Integrated Risk Management and the Rights-Based Approach before presenting the contents of the MBSDMP itself; in the second half, participants were divided into several focus groups to discuss and provide feedback on the MBSDMP.
In this paper, the results of the consultations are organized into:
A. General feedback on and cross-cutting issues affecting the MBSDMP
B. Specific feedback on each of the eight measures outlined in the MBSDMP
1. Issues and challenges – both internal to the MBSDMP itself and external factors that may affect its implementation
2. Good practices identified by participants (if any)
3. Current practices and future plans (if any)
4. Recommendations from participants
View, read, and download the full document here.
Originally Written: October 4, 2014
By Darwin Masacupan
It was so bright that day, and not just because of the noontime sun directly over our heads. It was another thing entirely: the dreams shared by the people of Barangay. Mag-aso in La Paz, Leyte.
Mag-aso is an hour and a half drive from Tacloban City proper. Access is through a rough road, which becomes slippery and muddy when it rains. Majority of the population depend on agriculture for their living.
Elvira Andrade, a livelihood group leader in the barangay, shared, “Before, we really did not worry about feeding our families. We had abundant abaca and coconut trees from which we derive our income. We even had time to play bingo. Yolanda changed all that.”
Indeed it did. Agina Gabreno, barangay secretary, said that “We thought it was the end of the world. The winds and the rains terrified us. We cannot see our surroundings. Our families and possessions were all drenched. We were cold and hungry.
With most of the abaca and coconut trees destroyed, the community faced a great challenge. But these people were not about to give up. Immediately after the storm, they set upon clearing roads so that supplies can get to them. They also redistributed and rationed what little rice and bananas they gathered and received.
ACCORD and CARE, with the support of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) and the Dutch Cooperating Aid Agencies, built on this display of bayanihan (mutual aid) with their shelter assistance. Neighbors helped each other and prioritized rebuilding the houses of the most vulnerable such as the elderly and those with disabilities. They did not only receive shelter repair kits and cash support but also technical assistance in the form of trainings on Build Back Safer techniques. Initial trainings on community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) also broadened their understanding of how socio-economic and structural conditions render them vulnerable to disasters like Yolanda.
For the livelihood recovery phase, ACCORD and CARE helped the people organize themselves into livelihood groups. The list of income-generating activities they came up with included raising livestock sari-sari stores, and planting crops. Many of them, for the first time in their
lives, picked up their tools and cultivated crops they were not really used to: cassava, gabi, mani, and corn.
This diversification of livelihoods and crops is part of ACCORD and CARE’s strategy to strengthen community resilience. According to Dolly Odo, treasurer of the livelihood group, “We were encouraged to plant different crops in our backyards and idle lots so that we can have an additional source of food.” By having a wide variety of activities, the community can be self-reliant especially during emergencies.
But the community wanted to go big or go home. Odo shares, “If we only utilized the cash assistance we received in individual activities, we cannot scale up. We want something bigger.” It was then that all 148 of their barangay’s beneficiaries decided to allot PhP 3,500 (around $81) each from the cash grants they received. It was with this amount that they set upon the construction of a cornmill for the barangay. Their neighboring barangays ask, “Why corn? And why a cornmill?” Andrade replied, “It only takes 3 months to harvest corn, and we are able to make rice from it. A cornmill here in our barangays would mean that we, along with other barangays in La Paz, would not have to go to another municipality to have our grains processed.”
But building a cornmill is not easy. The men have had to commit a set amount of time to help build the cornmill, despite also having to earn their livelihoods working the fields in the
area. The women also contribute by cooking the food, clearing the area, and devising budgets to guide project implementation. Andrade proudly shares that they have placed their order for the machinery and expect to open the cornmill this October.
Their planned cornmill is different from other businesses, where profits are divided among the members every month. “The earnings will not go back to us. It will be invested in the bank, and will go into the future purchase of a solar drier, and eventually a rice mill,” she says.
The people of Mag-aso do not have it easy. Life remains hard. Incomes are low. Most of them are tenants, with just a few families owning most of the productive land in the area. This would clearly be a challenge to recovery going forward.
But still, one cannot help but be proud of such strong women, who make things happen. Not content with merely standing behind their men, they have stepped up to the challenge brought by Yolanda. Now working hard from sunrise to sunset on their crops instead of idly chit-chatting, they still seem to appreciate the change in their community.
Andrade is nothing but thankful.
“We never dreamed of such things before. Thank you to everyone who believed in us and made us believe that we can scale up our dreams. “