MacArthur, Leyte on the road to development six months after Yolanda
Residents say ‘YES to agriculture, NO TO BLACK SAND MINING!’

MacArthur, Leyte—For the first time in 6 months after super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), residents of baranggay Liwayway enjoyed their organically grown vegetables—an output from their rehabilitation project.

This is a promising start for one of the most affected municipalities in Eastern Visayas, thanks to the consolidated efforts of various local, national and international non-government organizations (NGOs) including Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Christian Aid, Visayas State University (VSU), Irish Aid, PAKISAMA and FORGE.

“Nagsimula kaming umani noong Abril. Pero February hanggang March sinimulan na naming magtanim. Marami na kaming gulay na napalaki mayroong mais, ampalaya, patola, sitaw, kalabasa pepino at madami pang iba, (We started harvesting last April, but we started planting on February until March. We were able to grow different kinds of crops, there’s corn, bitter gourd, sponge gourd, string beans, squash, cucumber and many more.)” said Brenie Morcilla, Secretary General of Una sa Lahat ang Diyos – Bitok Lake Farmers and Fisherfolks Association UNLAD-BLFFA and a resident of MacArthur Leyte.

It was January this year when different organizations including ATM and PAKISAMA mapped out a sustainable food source and livelihood plan for various baranggays in MacArthur. Development of farm lay out, composting facilities and coconut nurseries and other crops nurseries were done as part of the long-term rehabilitation plan for the area.

The project was initially executed in the lands owned by UNLAD-BLFFA member—a member organization of ATM that has been very active in actions and advocacies against mining activities in the area. Unfortunately, MacArthur is mostly agricultural lands threatened by black sand or magnetite mining.

“Mayroong mahigit isang daang kasapi ang UNLAD-BLFFA na nakikinabang sa proyektong ito, pero binabahagi namin ito kahit sa mga hindi kasapi ng aming organisasyon. Mula sa mga pananim namin, binibigyan namin sila ng mga buto para maitanim nila at makapag simula din silang mag-backyard. Sa ganitong pamamraan, makaka ani din sila ng sarili nilang organic na mga pananim na pwede nilang pagkuhaan ng pagkain o maliit na kabuhayan. (There are more than one hundred members of UNLAD-BLFFA who benefit from this project but we also share it to non-members. We give them seedlings from our crops for them to grow in their own backyard. This way, they can also produce their organically grown crops that they could use as a source of food or small livelihood.” Morcilla added.

MacArthur is one of the 4 municipalities in Leyte that benefit from ATM and its other partner organizations’ early recovery efforts. Mayorga, Tolosa and Dulag are the three others.

According to ATM National Coordinator Jaybee Garganera, the recovery and rehabilitation efforts in the four municipalities in Leyte will continue as long the communities still need support. He also stressed out how a community’s initiative plays a vital role in the continuous and sustained development and progress of the area.

“MacArthur along with Mayorga, Tolosa and Dulag are really impressive communities. Despite the devastation that Yolanda swept them with, they remained resilient.” Garganera said.

Garganera added however, that Leyte still has a long way to go before it achieves an independent state of development. He also admitted that though different organizations are giving their all out support to the Yolanda-affected areas, a faster and more efficient response from the government is still needed by the struggling communities.

“It has been six months and our government is still on the ‘aide allocation’ stage. Where are these allocations? Why is it that there are communities which still live in the dark because of lack of electric supply. Why are there people who are still homeless? Why are there fishermen and farmers who still remain to have no means of livelihood? We understand that organizing the rehabilitation effort is not an easy task, but the people— the survivors of Yolanda cannot wait for the government to be ready. They have been doing that for six months now.” Said Garganera.

Garganera also said that in order to produce a genuine and long-term development, the government should look at the bigger picture which is the conservation and protection of the environment— A principle Morcilla strongly shares.

In a message to President Aquino, Morcilla asked ‘Pnoy’ to not make things harder for them by aggravating their situation through approval and implementation of projects and operations that clearly degrades the environment. Morcilla is referring to the threat that black sand mining imposes to their community.

“Dito kami kumukuha ng kabuhayan, dito kami nabubuhay. Ito ang dapat prumotekta sa amin sa mga kalamidad. IPATIGIL NIYO NA ANG PAGMIMINA DITO SA LEYTE. Sa lahat ng dinanas namin noong Yolanda dahil sa epekto ng paglalapastangan sa kalikasan, Sana Ibalato niyo na to sa amin. (Our environment is where we get our livelihood from, it is where we live. It is what’s supposed to protect us from calamities. STOP THE MINING ACTIVITIES IN LEYTE. With all the consequences environmental degradation has caused us during and after Yolanda, we hope you can give this one to us).” Said Morcilla.

ATM and UNLAD-BLFFA believes that the mining operations in Leyte have caused serious damages in the farmlands and fisheries of the area. These damages are believed to have resulted to lower productivity of agricultural and marine products, prevalent health concerns and food insecurity.

Alyansa Tigil Mina is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who are opposing the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines. The alliance is currently pushing for a moratorium on mining, revocation of Executive Order 270-A, repeal of the Mining Act of 1995 and passage of the AMMB.

For more information:
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, (0917) 549.82.18 <nc@alyansatigilmina.net>
Check Zabala, ATM Media and Communications Officer, (0927) 623.50.66 checkzab@gmail.com

ATM Press Release
May 8, 2014

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