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[Video] #ProjectPagbangon by Shotlist/MAG

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

#ProjectPagbangon
Published on Mar 10, 2014 by Shotlist Productions

Video

[Press Release] Labor group joins #RememberHaiyan, calls for justice amid disasters, worsening climate crisis -CTUHR

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Labor group joins #RememberHaiyan, calls for justice amid disasters, worsening climate crisis

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights joined the Filipinos and the world in remembering the tragedy brought by super typhoon Haiyan on its second year commemoration last November 8.

“Two years after super typhoon Haiyan ravaged central Philippines, communities, especially of the poor and workers, are still unable to fully recover because of inept rehabilitation efforts by the government and poverty. Worse, we continue to face the same danger of super typhoons and long droughts because of climate change,” said Daisy Arago, Executve Director of CTUHR.

Last November 5, CTUHR co-organized the first Philippine Environmental Conference with the theme “Confronting the Climate Crisis” wherein the People’s Climate Platform was presented.

According to the group, workers are among the groups at high risk to the adverse impact of climate change as workers lose jobs and sources of income when big disasters happen.

“In the context of prevalent contractualization, low wages, high commodity prices and very low unionization rate, workers are pushed further to deeper poverty when climate-related disasters happen,” Arago added.

In Southern Leyte, hundreds of workers in Philphos are still unable to go back to work because the company is not yet fully operational. Banana workers in plantations in Compostela Valley hit by typhoon Bopha (Pablo) in 2012, also lost work days that lasted for months because of massive devastation.

Arago also cited CTUHR’s study that revealed the women workers are urban poor are subject to more suffering and financial pressure because of repeated typhoons and flood. Communities inundated by typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) in 2009 were again inundated by floods brought about by prolonged monsoon rains in 2011 and 2014.

“Since women are often employed in informal or contractual jobs plus women have been relegated to do household work and responsibilities, women workers and urban poor feel more pressure and burden during calamities compared to male counterparts,” Arago said.

The group stressed that if the climate crisis the world is facing will not be resolved, another Haiyan, Pablo or Ondoy is bound to happen which spells more tragedy to the working poor especially in high risk countries like the Philippines.

“Climate change is an issue of the poor and the workers. It is ultimately an issue of social justice.” Arago said.

The group reiterated that vulnerable marginalized communities must have increased capacity to adapt to climate change which can only happen if neoliberal policies that attack basic rights and humane living standards are abandoned.

“As we remember Haiyan and its impact to poor, we also call an end to the climate crisis. We must fight our right to development at the same time transform economies toward societies that are sustainable and just.” Arago added.

RELEASE
7 November 2015

Uncategorized

[In the news] ‘DND misused relief fund’ -INQUIRER.net

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

‘DND misused relief fund’.

COA: Huge part spent for AFP oil, repairs, etc.
Marlon Ramos, Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 3, 2015

MANILA, Philippines–A “huge portion” of the P352.5 million in emergency funding of the Department of National Defense in 2013 had been misused by the military, which spent money meant to help victims of natural disasters to pay for its fuel consumption and repairs of its offices, state auditors have discovered.

According to the Commission on Audit (COA), P843.5 million in Quick Response Fund (QRF) of the DND had also remained unliquidated since 2012.

Answering the findings of the COA, the defense department maintained that the emergency fund was “utilized for the purpose it was released to DND.”

In its periodic audit, the COA found out that a number of projects under the DND’s emergency fund had yet to be completed by its attached units despite the release of the budget.

Read full article @newsinfo.inquirer.net

Follow INQUIRER.net: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

In the News

[Blog] 10 Human Rights Issues ng 2014 –No. 10 Climate Justice Campaign, Yolanda, Rehabilitation etc. -Mokong Perspektib

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

10 Human Rights Issues ng 2014 –No. 10 Climate Justice Campaign, Yolanda, Rehabilitation etc..

Makikiuso lang ang inyong mokong na lingkod sa paglalabas ng mala-year-ender post. Sinubukan kong i-wrap-up ang mga kaganapan ng buong taon. Isang #Throwback series ng mga isyu ng nagdaang taon batay sa hits na tinanggap mula sa mga mambabasa ng HRonlinePH.com.

Nitong nakaraang ika-1 ng Disyembre ay pinarangalan ang mga pinakatinangkilik na kampanya na inilathala sa HRonlinePH.com sa pamamagitan ika-apat na “Human Rights Pinduteros Choice Awards” na ginanap sa Conspiracy Bar and Garden Café sa Quezon City.

Bagamat pinutakti ng napakaraming isyu ang 2014, ang ating pagtutuunan ng pansin ay ang 10 lamang na ang batayan ay ang hits na nakuha sa HRonlinePH.com stats ng wordpress. At tumatalakay sa human rights.

No.10- Climate Justice Campaign, Yolanda, Rehabilitation etc.

Hindi nakamove-on ang isang ito na nuong 2013 pa ay sing-init na ng bulkang Mayon na parang anumang oras ay puputok. Hustisya sa Klima-karapatang pantao.

Niyanig ang ating bansa ni Yolanda, kaya naman maging ang lahat ng isyu ay dumulo sa huling buwan ng 2013 sa panawagan para sa hustisya at tulong para sa laksa-laksang nabiktima.

Read full article @mokongperspektib.wordpress.com

Follow Mokong Perspektib in facebook

Blog

[Press Release] 1,000 kilometer, 40-day Climate Walk Marches to Ground Zero Tacloban on Typhoon Haiyan Anniversary

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

1,000 kilometer, 40-day Climate Walk led by Philippine Chief Negotiator for UN Climate Talks
Marches to Ground Zero Tacloban on Typhoon Haiyan Anniversary

The ship that ravaged a community still stands as a reminder of what happened one year ago during typhoon Yolanda's landfall. www.facebook.com/ClimateWalkNow

The ship that ravaged a community still stands as a reminder of what happened one year ago during typhoon Yolanda’s landfall. http://www.facebook.com/ClimateWalkNow

Dubbed as the Climate Walk: A People’s Walk for Climate Justice, the march gathered various environmental groups, celebrities, government officials, faith groups, youth, and individuals[i] during its launch last October 2 in Luneta, Manila, the International Day for Non-Violence, to take on a 40-day walk to reach Tacloban City on November 8, the first anniversary of the super typhoon’s historic land fall.

Led by Philippine Negotiator to UN Climate Change Talks and Climate Change Commissioner Naderev “Yeb” Saño, the Climate Walk campaigned for local governments to commit to taking action against the climate crisis by committing to draft their own Local Climate Change Action Plans (LCCAP) and Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) Programs and for world leaders to take drastic, urgent action against climate change.

Yeb Sano, the usually shy negotiator from the Philippines whose family’s hometown, Leyte, suffered most the wrath of Typhoon Haiyan, was ushered into the international spotlight when he delivered a very emotional speech at the UN Climate Talks last year in Warsaw at the height of the devastation of Haiyan that hit the Philippines. In his speech, he called on world leaders to “stop the climate change madness” and started a fasting during the COP until a meaningful outcome has been achieved. Saño’s own brother, AG Sano, a popular visual artist in the Philippines, survived the onslaught, helped gather dead bodies and rescued survivors.

In a statement in one of the Climate Walk programs in Samar, Eastern Visayas, Yeb Sano said “This battle can only be won in the grassroots. We cannot wait for sovereign nations to take action. We must, at the grassroots, embrace solutions.”

Philippines Demands Climate Justice

In 2013, the Philippines suffered the tremendous impact of Typhoon Haiyan, taking almost 10,000 lives and destroying farmlands, fisheries, and livelihoods of people. Months after, Southern Luzon and Northern Visayas were again hit by Typhoon Rammasun (Glenda), which damaged billions-worth of infrastructures and livelihood. Recently, Typhoon Mario (Fung-Wong) flooded the streets of Metro Manila, paralyzing the country’s capital and causing about PhP 1.14B crop damage.

Following the People’s Climate March last September 23 in NY, which mobilized about 400,000 people, Climate Walk encouraged people deemed most vulnerable to climate change – farmers and fisherfolks – as well as youth, faith groups, and the public to support the Climate Walk even in their own little ways. Photos of “selfeets” or “selfies of feet” began flooding social media as netizens from all over the world showed their support to the Climate Walk.

“Our destination is not only Tacloban. Our destination is the hearts and minds of the nation and the whole world, hearts and minds that can change the world,” Saño ended his statement.

For more inquiries and updates on the Ground Zero Tacloban activities of the Climate Walk, please contact Rash Caritativo (+63) 917 863 8055 or email at media.climatewalk@gmail.com.
For photos and stories of the climate walk, you may download at http://bit.ly/1zr6hYP. Kindly credit photos to Climate Walk.

Press Release

[Press Release] Workers in Leyte, still far from recovery a year after Haiyan -CTUHR

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Workers in Leyte, still far from recovery a year after Haiyan

Leyte–A year after Super Typhoon Haiyan battered Central Visayas, the working people of Leyte are still struggling to recover as poverty worsened with continued loss of jobs, lack of livelihood, inadequate government support and turtle-pace rehabilitation programs of the Aquino administration.

Even those previously employed and promised jobs are still far from resuming their normal lives. Over 1,800 rank and file workers at PhilPhos for instance, have yet to recover from the loss of property and damage to their homes caused by the strongest typhoon to hit the country in recent history.

In a Center for Trade Union and Human Rights’ interview with Oliver Llagas, Board of Directors of the workers union at PhilPhos, he reported that the company promised many times to re-open (on March, August and October) but has not resumed operations until now allegedly due to conflicts with the insurance company. As a result, over 1,500 casual workers of the PhilPhos were retrenched. Some of them resorted to informal work like fishing and driving pedicabs while others found jobs in Pasar, another fertilizer plant in Isabel, Leyte.

Meanwhile, the remaining 340 union members at Philphos were at least allowed and paid to work for the maintenance and rehabilitation of the factory site.

The income however, is far lesser as Llagas and his co-workers can only work five days a week with no overtime. Their income cannot match the damages caused by the super typhoon and Llagas family situation has worsened than before. Like most of his co-workers in Philphos, Llagas has not fully restored his house one year after.

Llagas and other residents of Isabel, Leyte also expressed dismay over the very little support they have been receiving especially from the government. Llagas noted having received relief goods from the DSWD three times since the typhoon. He heard that financial assistance from P10,000 to P30,000 was given to those families whose homes were partially and totally-damaged but he and his co-workers did not get any.

Llagas also expressed fear that if the company’s situation drags longer, the factory may eventually shutdown which means loss of jobs for another 340 workers.
Network of disaster survivors formed

If there is an obvious positive development in the aftermath of this disaster,it is the formation of ‘Daluyong’, a network of disaster survivors specifically in Visayas and Mindanao following a conference held yesterday, November 6 in Tacloban City. CTUHR who attended the activity, says that the coming together of survivors and taking a lead role in demanding accountability against government neglect, amidst pronouncements of billions of support, is the most positive thing that calamities such as Haiyan had so far created.

“The Aquino government promises and reports of billions of pesos spent for rehabilitation only serve to aggravate the misery of and injustice to thousands still living in tents and from charity of others. In some decent housing projects, it is obvious that private sector delivers more, even without talking about it, and government seems content on private sector taking on the government obligations,” Daisy Arago, CTUHR Executive Director said.

‘Daluyong’ which literally means upsurge brought together typhoon, earthquakes survivors from Visayas and Mindanao as well as victims of atrocities like the Zamboanga siege to hold the Aquino government accountable for its “criminal neglect” to the victims and survivors of calamities.

“The poor who is always the immediate casualties of calamities created and aggravated by capitalist development greed thru forest denudation, reclamation of waters, mining to land coversion is pushed to unimaginable poverty and survivors have every right to demand justice. These demands are worth supporting and CTUHR supports and will continue to support such demand,” Arago added.
Note: CTUHR together with its partner organizations had conducted relief operations in Leyte, Samar, Iloilo, Capiz and has an ongoing rehabilitation projects in farming communities of Eastern and Western Samar. CTUHR is a partner of American Jewish World Service (AJWS) in its effort to support the victims of typhoon Haiyan.

Image attachment caption: A year after Typhoon Haiyan, Oliver Llagas, worker and unionist at Philphos has barely put back their home together.

For reference: Daisy Arago, Executive Director, CTUHR, +632.4110256.

RELEASE
7 Nov 2014

Press Release

[Campaign] ‪#‎WeAreAllTacloban‬ ‪#‎ClimateJusticeNow -PMCJ

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

On November 8 let us remember the day when our country suffered the devastating impacts of typhoon Yolanda while the whole world sat to witness. The typhoon took along with it our sisters and brothers’ homes, livelihood, and the lives of their beloved.

But what the typhoon did not take is our ability to see through the challenge an opportunity to help and support those who are in need and the dignity to stand tall and demand accountability from those who have contributed to such a scale of devastation.

A year has passed and yet communities are still in misery. The government has failed in ensuring people’s participation in its rehabilitation plans and to deliver climate-resilient programs in building back better.

With this let us join hands in solidarity with the people who are still struggling after the typhoon and together HOLD THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE for its unpreparedness and for implementing policies and plans that worsened the conditions of affected communities.

Our message: 8 November, 8 Injustices.

Injustice 1: Government Neglect towards the people
Injustice 2: Ignored people’s rights to participate and be consulted
Injustice 3: Massive displacement of Yolanda victims
Injustice 4: Disaster profiteering of companies
Injustice 5: Anti-poor actions and policies
Injustice 6: Promoting more indebtedness in the country
Injustice 7: More dirty energy addiction
Injustice 8: Absolving the accountability of developed countries on climate disasters

Join us as we make a “SOLIDARY SURGE” for the communities affected by typhoon Yolanda. Here’s how:

In real life: Take part in the mass actions in Manila and in Tacloban (for more info, email us at pmcj2012.sec@gmail.com).
Online: Selfie time – Take a selfie holding a placard: WE STAND WITH YOU, WE ARE ALL TACLOBAN (Indicate your city or province. Ex. Bataan)
Picture Profiles – Change your profile pictures to the image below.
Wall post – write your insights, assessment and demands from our government in its handling of the disastrous typhoon Yolanda
Hash Tags Yo! – Don’t forget to use ‪#‎WeAreAllTacloban‬ ‪#‎ClimateJusticeNow‬ in all your posts
Keep them coming – Send us your materials – pictures and messages – to pmcj2012.sec@gmail.com or on the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice FB page

Together, let us hold the government accountable and stand with the affected communities and demand climate justice for the victims of Yolanda

[Press Release] Celebrities Kylie Padilla and Mikael Daez and GMA team with Save the Children for Yolanda survivors

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Celebrities Kylie Padilla and Mikael Daez and GMA team with Save the Children for Yolanda survivors

Mikael Daez and Kylie Padilla today become official representatives of children’s charity Save the Children.

The pair, who are GMA’s hottest young stars are the first Filipino representatives of the charity who internationally have ambassadors such as ‘Hollywood’ A-Listers, Jennifer Garner and Julianne Moore, football star Cristiano Ronaldo and international designer Rachel Zoe.

Kylie, who rose to fame in hit drama series “Adarna” and won PMPC 2008 Best New Female Personality, is delighted with her new role and engagement with the children’s organization

Kylie Padilla represents Save the Children

‘It is a privilege to be a representative of Save the Children and be given the opportunity to help children in need, especially typhoon Yolanda survivors. I want to do whatever I can to help provide them everything they need so they can recover from their experiences and reach their full potential.”

In the coming days, Padilla and Daez will be traveling with Save the Children to visit Yolanda-affected communities across Visayas and meet with some of the survivors who lost everything in the storm November 8th.

Save the Children has reached nearly 800,000 people in some of the ‘Yolanda’-hit areas with emergency life-saving aid and long-term support for livelihoods and aims to continue working with those affected for the next two years.

Save the Children’s country director Ned Olney said about the relationship:

“Save the Children is delighted to have such passionate engaged young people working with us as we strive to give every child in the Philippines the best start in life.

We hope that our relationship with Kylie and Mikael will give us the opportunity to reach many more children and save even more lives.”

Actor and ‘24 Oras Midnight Express’ segment host Mikael said about his latest engagement;

Mikael Daez represents Save the Children

“I’ve always wanted to help children. All children should be able to dream about what they want to be when they grow up. Save the Children’s work means that more children can have those dreams. I am excited about the opportunity to work alongside this amazing charity and am privileged to be able to use my work for this excellent cause.”

Both celebrities are filming for their new drama series. Daez prepares for ‘Ang Lihim ni Annasandra’ while Padilla gears up for ‘Ilustrado.’

NOTE:
Save the Children welcomes the public to its photo exhibition entitled: ‘Yolanda’: A Children’s Story photo from November 5-20th at the SM Mall of Asia ‘By the Bay’. To know more about this exhibition, visit our website: http://www.savethechildren.org.ph and social media sites: fb.com/SavetheChildrenPH and @PHSaveChildren.

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need working in over 120 countries. We aim to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. Dedicated to helping children, Save the Children has worked in the Philippines for over three decades, providing both emergency and long-term support to improve the quality of life for children.

STRICTLY FOR PRESS/MEDIA:
Kylie Padilla and Mikael Daez join Save the Children’s press launch of ’Yolanda’ one year after report and photo exhibition on November 4, 2014 (Tuesday) 10 AM at Café Abe/Adriatico Restaurant SM Mall of Asia ‘By the Bay’ Pasay City .

To know more about the press launch/photo exhibition, high resolution photos and for interviews with our celebrity representatives, email april.sumaylo@savethechildren.org or call +639173011240.

Press Release

[Press Release] Groups launch 8 Days of Actions in time for Yolanda Disaster Commemoration -PMCJ

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

1 Year of Yolanda Disaster, Stormy Year of Injustices
Groups launch 8 Days of Actions in time for Yolanda Disaster Commemoration

Manila, Philippines – In the lead up to the first year commemoration of the Yolanda disaster, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), with its members and allies, comes up with its assessment on government’s handling of the Yolanda disaster, from preparation, response and rehabilitation.

“From the very start, the Aquino Administration has failed miserably! By saying that it is ‘under control’ which is contrary to its government’s level of preparedness was, in a way, already a death wish to all who perished when Yolanda struck Central Visayas. To sum up, the Aquino government was over-confidently, inappropriately prepared.” Gerry Arances, National Coordinator of PMCJ lamented.

The groups have lined up series of actions, highlighting the many injustices that the Yolanda victims and survivors have incurred, in the lead up to November 8, 2014 commemoration.

Arances further commented on the state of rehabilitation efforts that “After one
year, without a clear people-centered rehabilitation plan, tens of thousands still leaving in tents and bunkhouses, no substantial economic activities and sustainable jobs, among others, we can fairly say that what the government has done is that it has added more insult to injury to our kababayans who have suffered the wrath of Typhoon Yolanda and is still continuously suffering the ineptness of this government.”

According to the assessment of groups affiliated to PMCJ on the one year Yolanda response, there are eight (8) injustices that the people of Central Visayas and other Yolanda-affected areas had to bear for the past year.

The government is also accountable for not only neglecting the people and the rehabilitation efforts by passing its obligations so easily to the private sector but also for encouraging further the degradation of the environment in these affected areas. “One concrete example of government’s neglect is when it continued to push for extractive projects in the devastated areas instead of protecting the natural resources of the country and preventing the worsening of climate change impacts and disasters. Instead of making sure that rehabilitation efforts are on the way, the government agencies and local government units ensured that mining operations continues in mineral rich areas in Samar and Leyte.” asserted Jaybee Garganera, National Coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) and a
member of the Coordinating Committee of PMCJ.

According to ATM, In Manicani Is., Eastern Samar, it was Sec. Panfilo Lacson of the Presidential Assistance for Recovery and Reconstruction (PARR) himself, through an official letter to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, gave a go signal to the continuation of mining operations in the Island in the guise of pursuing rehabilitation efforts.

Another major problem with the rehabilitation plans as planned by the government was its imposition of a blanket policy regarding the, “40-meter no build zone” in Yolanda-affected areas, including the coast of Tacloban City. “The government imposed the policy without coming up with a clear guidelines and thorough consultation with the communities. We understand the need to transfer them to safer sites, however, if there are no additional supports from government and provision oflivelihood, this policy will be rendered ineffective because it will endanger the people further. Also, reports have reached us that the government is saving those premium lands from the coast to big corporations for tourism and commercial purposes. If this is true, then it is a clear violation of the people’s right to decent housing and access to livelihood in case of our fisherfolk kababayans.” said Pascualito Ilagan, PMCJ Eastern Visayas and President of Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) Samar-Leyte Chapter.

Indigenous Peoples communities are troubled as well. “The commitment of the government was building back better. a year after Yolanda, did Indigenous women’s access to basic services improved? No! They remained isolated and excluded and are even pushed to a much worst situation of struggling every single day to ensure that there is food on their tables.” said Cheryl Polutan, Campaigner of Purple Action for Indigenous Womens Rights (LILAK)

The one-year assessment of PMCJ has enumerated eight injustices: 1) lack of government accountability 2) corporate capture versus a people-centered rehabilitation; 3) ineffective policies and lack of implementation of climate change laws and mandates; 4) loan-driven rehabilitation effort; 5) prioritization of dirty and harmful energy; 6) massive dislocation policy – no build zone policy; 7) lack of incorporation of sustainable development principles and addressing inequality; 8) inadequacy of international response.

The injustices, as exposed by PMCJ and its members, also include the inadequacy of international response and the Aquino government’s failure to lead in this arena. PMCJ also points out in its assessment the message that the Aquino administration raised during his speech in United Nations Climate Summit in New York and the failure of developed countries’ response to the lessons of Yolanda disaster.

“There is a need to push for all pending commitments based on responsibilities of the developed countries. We need to press for adequate climate finance under the Green Climate Fund with at least $100 Billion starting in 2020 and corresponding funds before 2020, as well as the long standing issue of radical and ambitious emissions reduction led by the developed countries that would limit the global emissions to 1 – 1.5 degrees Celsius.“ explained by Manjette Lopez, President of Sanlakas and head of Emissions Cuts Working Group of PMCJ.

PMCJ is asserting that one of the lessons of the Yolanda disaster is that we need to also address the loss and damages that countries like the Philippines are incurring due to the increasing impacts of climate change. Aside from Adaptation needs, or the measures to adopt to the changes brought about by climate change, a Loss and Damage international mechanism has to be set up immediately and that corresponding funds has to be put in place based on responsibilities of the developed countries.

Lopez added that “Pres. Nonoy, during his speech in the New York Summit, left these needs of the country unsaid and he lend the culprits of the climate crisis – the developed countries and their big corporations – not accountable and off the hook.”

Part of the eight days of action for the Yolanda disaster 1 year commemoration, a People’s Caravan for Climate Justice will be organized around the offices of the developed countries, including the US and EU offices, who are accountable for the climate crisis.

“In honoring our dead kababayans due to the Yolanda disaster, those that have been orphaned, as well as those who continuously suffer the ineptness of the Aquino Administration, we need not only learn from this, we also need to exact accountability. Let this 1 year commemoration of the Yolanda disaster be the start of a movement that will exact accountability to those that have neglected the need of our kababayans in the face of increasing wrath brought about by climate change.

Justice to all those devastated by Yolanda disaster and the ineptness the Aquino government! Climate Justice Now!“ Arances concluded.

Phone: +63.2.433.0954
Website: http://www.climatejustice.ph |Email Address: pmcj2012.sec@gmail.com

PRESS RELEASE
OCTOBER 29, 2014

Press Release

[Press release] Yolanda-hit villages declared as first ‘Zero Open Defecation’ barangays in Leyte -Save the Children

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Yolanda-hit villages declared as first ‘Zero Open Defecation’ barangays in Leyte

Western Leyte, Philippines (27 September 2014) – Today 7 Yolanda-hit barangays across 3 municipalities around Ormoc have been declared as first in the entire Leyte province to eradicate defecation in public– a practice known to cause contamination of water sources and diarrheal diseases.

The declaration came after an authorized government body, including hygiene specialists and international organizations, certified the remote barangays of Bulak, Masaba, and San Dionesio in Matag-ob town; Payao in Villaba town; and San Ignacio, Santa Domingo and Libertad in Kananga town as the first Zero Open Defecation (ZOD) barangays in the province of Leyte. To achieve ZOD status, each household in a barangay should have access to toilet and water supply. The recognition was a big feat given that 70% of people in these communities did not have access to toilets immediately after the super typhoon.

Western Leyte has areas with some of the highest rates of open defecation in the country even before ‘Yolanda’. In the immediate aftermath, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) cluster estimated that around 65% of areas in the region did not have access to toilets.

Save the Children has been providing remote and vulnerable areas, including the ZOD-certified barangays, with construction materials and trainings to build and repair toilets as part of its comprehensive ‘Yolanda’ response. To date, Save the Children has provided construction materials for over 6,525 toilets in 32 barangays and plans to help build 3,475 more across 47 barangays in 2014.

“Save the Children knows that the practice of open defecation poses great health risks to the disaster-affected communities, especially children. By providing communities with toilets and clean water supply, especially those in remote and vulnerable areas, we can help protect children and adults from infectious diseases.” said Tom Howells, Save the Children’s Field Manager in Western Leyte Office.

According to WHO, diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old, and is responsible for killing around 760,000 children every year. WHO added that the disease can last several days, and eventually dehydrates the body. The disease is common particularly among children and elderly.

Save the Children recognizes, however, that building toilets and repairing water lines alone may not fully address water and sanitation problems in Western Leyte. In response, the organization launched a province-wide campaign to educate people on the health risks of poor hygiene and sanitation. At the household level, Save the Children consulted with and fully involved communities and local officials in the design and construction of toilets and water facilities.

“It is not enough that we provide communities with construction materials. The communities that achieved zero open defecation were successful because they now see the importance of proper hygiene and sanitation. Without proper consultation with and full involvement of the community and the local government, these projects may not succeed in the long-term”, says Reggie Aquino, Save the Children’s Program Development and Quality Manager in Western Leyte Office.

Save the Children continues to work closely with the local government, the Department of Health and humanitarian organizations in restoring water supply systems to provide clean water; engaging schools in hygiene promotion sessions and training communities in reconstructing their toilets. Save the Children’s comprehensive response in the region includes providing communities with cash transfers, community grants for food, security and livelihoods and shelter assistance. The children’s organization is also undertaking repairs of schools, district health stations, provision of medicines and establishment of Child Friendly Spaces.
—–

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children working in 120 countries. In the Philippines, Save the Children has been implementing programs for over 30 years in the areas of education, child protection, health and nutrition and child rights governance in both development and humanitarian settings.

Save the Children was one of the first organizations to pre-deploy its team during the Typhoon Yolanda to immediately assess and respond to the needs of children and their families. We are now one of the biggest responders to Typhoon Yolanda in Eastern Leyte, Western Leyte and Panay Island with field offices in Tacloban, Ormoc and Estancia, Iloilo.

In any emergency situation, Save the Children aims to respond to the critical needs of children and families inside and outside of evacuation centres, addressing concerns related to relief, child protection, education, health and nutrition including clean water supplies, sanitation, food security, and shelter.

For interviews with our spokespersons, please contact April May Sumaylo at 09173011240 orapril.sumaylo@savethechildren

Press Release

[From the web] Disasters and inequality could stop the Philippines hitting child mortality MDG target, Save the Children says.

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Disasters and inequality could stop the Philippines hitting child mortality MDG target, Save the Children says.

Breastfeeding Counselling in Yolanda-hit areas – A nurse from Save the Children’s nutrition team visits Lolita and her two months old daugther in Palo, Leyte during a breastfeeding counselling session, a few months after Yolanda. Photo by SAVE THE CHILDREN

MANILA, Philippines – August 18 marks 500 days until the Millennium Development Goals reach their conclusion and the Philippines looks set to miss the target for reducing preventable child deaths.

The 2015 MDG 4 target for Philippines is 20 deaths per 1,000 live births. Whilst there has been some improvement from the 60 deaths per 1000 in 1990, there has been little progress in cutting down neonatal mortality (deaths in the first month of life), which makes up almost half of all under-5 deaths.

Save the Children’s global study on newborn deaths. released earlier this year reveals that Philippines is one of the top 10 countries in the world with the greatest gap in equality for newborn deaths between poorest and wealthiest, and between rural and urban households. Babies born to the poorest and hardest to reach groups are most at risk of dying within few days after birth.

Extreme natural disasters are also likely to contribute to deaths among newborn babies due to collapse of health systems and unhygienic conditions in the aftermath of an emergency.

With 500 days left to meet the targets for UN MDG 4, Save the Children is urging the Philippine government to address inequality in newborn deaths and its underlying causes, particularly lack of skilled health personnel in the rural areas to provide quality health services and guide new mothers on breastfeeding. Studies have shown that early breastfeeding may reduce almost a quarter of newborn deaths, and may help cut down at least 75 per cent of deaths from diarrhea and pneumonia. The 2013 National Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) review indicates that out of the 1798 hospitals with maternity services, only 24% percent have been certified as complying with the Mother Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (MBFHI), a global effort launched to implement practices that protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

According to Dr. Amado Parawan, Health and Nutrition Advisor of Save the Children,

“Life is at its most fragile in the first few days after birth. Newborns require healthcare, and life-saving interventions before during and after emergencies.”

Dr. Parawan added, “It is not impossible to reach the MDG target on child deaths but the country needs to urgently invest in lifesaving neonatal interventions and prepare the health system to provide care during disasters.”

Earlier this year Save the Children committed ₱10m to mitigate newborn deaths in emergencies by providing clean birth kits in storm-proof boxes (the BEACON box) to be used to deliver babies in the case of an emergency.

Save the Children is calling on the government, civil society, local government units (LGUs) , funding agencies and the private sector to commit to the following to improve newborn and child survival:

· Fast-track the Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) guidelines and Policy on Integrated Management of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), for both development and humanitarian settings.

· Increase LGU investments for health to trainings, improvement of health facilities and increase the number of health work frontliners and human resources directly involved in the implementation and monitoring of policies related to newborn and child survival.

· Include the coverage for premature births in the national health insurance program.

· Enforce the Mother and Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (MBFHI) in all hospitals with maternity services.
ENDS

Save the Children is an international non-government organisation working in 120 countries. In the Philippines, Save the Children has been implementing programs for over 30 years in the areas of education, child protection, health and nutrition and child rights governance in both development and humanitarian settings.

Save the Children was one of the first organizations to pre-deploy its team during the Typhoon Yolanda to immediately assess and respond to the needs of children and their families. Our 3-year strategy for Typhoon Yolanda plans to reach 1.1 M people including more than 800,000 children in our comprehensive relief, early recovery and rehabilitation projects.

For interviews with our spokespersons, contact April Sumaylo, National Media Manger for Save the Children at +639057487684 or email april.sumaylo@savethechildren.org

[Event] Forum: Women After the Storm -Oxfam

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Forum: Women After the Storm -Oxfam

[Statement] Alyansa Tigil Mina rejects Nickel Asia as development partner for Guiuan post-Yolanda rehabilitation

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Anti-mining group rejects Nickel Asia as development partner for Guiuan post-Yolanda rehabilitation

Alyansa Tigil Mina, a coalition of more than one hundred organizations that is challenging the current policy regime on mining in the country, is strongly opposing the designation of Nickel Asia Corporation as the lead private sector “development partner” for Guiuan, south of Eastern Samar.

The Presidential Assistant on Recovery and Rehabilitation (PARR), on January 30, announced four pilot areas for Yolanda rehabilitation—Tacloban City, Tanauan in Leyte, Guiuan in Eastern Samar, and Biliran. There are more than twenty other areas for rehabilitation.

Guiuan was identified because of “high-level private sector interest”, specifically that of mining companies. A fishing and farming community, Guiuan is also rich in mineral resources including bauxite, nickel and titaferous magnetite—the nearby islands of Manicani, Homonhon and Suluan are also swarmed with mineral operations.

ATM believes that this engagement is meant only to give way to Nickel Asia for possible mining investments in the future. This is clearly corporate capture of potential developments in the area. Sadly, it is not shocking at all for our coalition, as it seems the government, through this initiative, is relinquishing its responsibility to rehabilitate disaster-hit areas to the private sector.

This strategy of the PARR raises too many questions to the government, not only by ATM but by other civil society organizations as well: what are the guidelines that led in the selection of these “development partners” per region or disaster-hit area? What mechanisms will be established to ensure the transparency and accountability of the “development partners” and PARR? will there be space for open participation of people in the development and implementation of the rehabilitation plans?

Lastly, a big challenge is the accountability of the Aquino “PNoy” Administration to its people. ATM believes that it is the government that should be “shepherding” the rehabilitation and recovery of the disaster-hit areas and that the sponsoring companies or may extend their expertise, but not perform the lead role.

ATM recognizes that Guiuan, as the first hit area and one of the most devastated with almost 100% of its people losing their homes, should be a priority rehabilitation area. But we also cannot discount the reason behind the intent of different conglomerates, such as Nickel Asia for instance, to help reconstruct the areas. They may have the funds and are able to rebuild immediately, however, they are also very likely to exploit the natural and mineral resources in the area, as in their many mine sites in the country.

It is to this end that we call on the government, through the PARR and Sec. Panfilo Lacson, to reassess their strategies in spearheading the Recovery and Rehabilitation the affected regions. The local government and its people as the “clients” (as the business sector would put it) should be at the center of the reconstruction efforts.

Alyansa Tigil Mina
c/o Jaybee Garganera, National Coordinator
nc@alyansatigilmina.net / 0927.761.7602

Additional Notes:

Guiuan was the 1st municipality struck by Yolanda on Nov 8. It is currently supported by several NGOs including Filipino organization Medical Action Group and Guiuan Development Foundation Inc. San Francisco-based social enterprise Give2Asia announced support for Guiuan on January 30.
Rep. Ben Evardone filed House Bill 6898 to declare the province of Eastern Samar as “mining-free”.
Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) is currently the largest producer of nickel ore in the country, with four operating mines: Rio Tuba mine in Palawan, Taganito mine in Surigao del Norte, Cagdianao mine in Dinagat Island, and Taganaan in Hinatuan Island, Surigao City.

ATM Statement
February 4, 2014

Statement

[Press Release] Leyte groups: Engage people in Yolanda rehab -PM

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Leyte groups: Engage people in Yolanda rehab

Informal workers associations in Leyte are asking the government to engage with people’s organizations in the planning and implementation of the Yolanda rehabilitation in the face of allegations of overpriced and substandard bunkhouses.

“Aside from the opinions of experts, the participation of the people themselves is vital in the success of the Yolanda rehab plan. Yolanda survivors should not just be passive recipients of aid but active stakeholders in the reconstruction process. We demand transparency and people’s participation,” asserted Judy Torres, chair of the Tacloban City tricycle federation and coordinator of Partido ng Manggagawa in Region 8.

Last December 30, Torres’ group held a motorcade around Tacloban of a hundred tricycles which were garbed in tarp posters with the message “Make jobs a priority in Yolanda rehab.” The motorcade signalled the launch of the campaign for decent employment, social protection and people’s participation as pillars of Yolanda rehabilitation plan. A representative of the International Labor Organization (ILO) observed and documented the campaign launch.

Torres averred that “People’s organizations can also serve as watchdogs against graft and corruption in the rehab process. Even more than the problem of temporary shelter, the input of the people is crucial in the issue of permanent housing. We insist on in-city relocation and climate-resilient socialized housing program for informal settlers.”

Some of the controversial bunkhouses are being built near Torres’ home and he does not believe they can cost almost a million each. He also attests to the fact that the contractors are not locals and even the laborers came from Mindanao.

He added that “Every cent of the USD 8.17 billion Reconstruction Assistance of Yolanda must be spent to meet the immediate and long-term needs of survivors. We also ask that locals be employed as workers with decent jobs as a guideline.”

The Tacloban tricycle federation together with drivers associations in Hilongos and Baybay, Leyte have issued a manifesto calling for decent employment to be a priority in the rehab plan. The demand echoes an ILO report that stated that more need to be done to provide decent work in the Yolanda affected areas that includes ensuring minimum wages, sound occupational safety, skills development and social protection.

“Decent jobs are a necessity since it is a guarantee to a person’s long-term security and a life of dignity” Torres argued.

Press Release
January 10, 2014
Partido ng Manggagawa
Contact Judy Torres @ 09262389963; 09482495848
Partido ng Manggagawa Coordinator for Region 8
Chairperson, Tacloban Federation of MCH Drivers and Operators (TAFEMDO)

Press Release

[Statement] New year, old woes for teachers -TDC

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

New year, old woes for teachers

As classes open today after more than two weeks of holiday break, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) enumerated some problems that they predict will continuously haunt public school teachers and the education sector for the coming year.

Kidnapped teacher in Zamboanga. The vicious kidnapping cycle in the South strikes again before Christmas. A young female teacher from Sibugtoc Elementary School in Zamboanga City was snatched by several armed men on December 18. The poor teacher and other colleagues were on their way to report for an event in the city proper, clearly, in line of official duty.. Kidnapping of teachers in Zamboanga Peninsula Region has been rampant in the past years, yet the government always failed to provide security or hazard pay for teachers in this and other conflict areas.

Delayed Comelec payment. The Comelec last week announced that the DBM approved their request to provide additional P300.00 honorarium for teachers who served in the board of election tellers (BET) during Barangay elections in October 28 (and November 28 in Bohol and Zamboanga City), a good sign. However, believe it or not, many teachers in some areas including the cities of Quezon, Makati and Olongapo and the devastated town of Palo in Leyte have not received their P500.00 transportation allowance until now.

Taxes on bonuses and salaries. Teachers from the provinces complained that their productivity enhancement incentive (PEI) were deducted of tax, just as the productivity based-bonus (PBB) which the allocation for 2012 only given last August 2013. Teachers were surprised that in some localities, taxes were imposed ranging from 10 to 30% of their bonus, which according to the BIR is guaranteed by the law. Another issue with the BIR is the sudden change of tax code of some teachers, specifically in Malabon City that become a heavy burden to them. In some schools for example, those that are normally being charged of tax amounting to P3, 000.00 to P4, 000.00 paid up to more than P10, 000.00 last November and December 2013. The taxman (taxwoman, actually) vowed to collect every peso entitled to the government, however, nobody is keeping an eye on where these taxes go. The year 2013 was a witness to robbery of taxpayers’ money in great scales.

No increase in salary. The government’s budget for this year has not reflected the increase in salaries for its employees. That means, the salary would maintain its 2012 status until next year and it is not even sure if the government would provide a pay increase for FY 2015. Thus, materials for the third year of implementation of K-12 will be shouldered again by teachers from their meager salaries. It is interesting to note that the DepEd does not provide for text books for the use of students and teachers in accordance with the new curriculum, instead poor mentors are expected to download e-copy of resource materials for printing and reproduction.

Situation of teachers in Yolanda-affected areas. And perhaps the greatest challenge will still be confronted by the teachers in Yolanda-hit areas. No classrooms, no electricity, no chairs and blackboards, not even chalk and erasers were spared by the monster typhoon. Teachers in the area, like all other residents will have to start from zero. Until now, they are seeking the help of the government, but while employees of other agencies have already received cash and assistance for house rebuilding, public school teachers rely on their own. Yet they are in the forefront of rehabilitation and they provide strength for the whole community especially children. The only help teachers, especially in Leyte received from the DepEd are lipsticks, make-up kits, free haircut and minimal relief packages. And worth mentioning are the loan packages from GSIS, Pag-Ibig and Provident Fund, while they said what they really need is a cash grant, if not, a tax break or moratorium of all mandated deductions in their salaries that will surely benefit them and would reduce the impact of the deluge in their families.

Note:
The TDC on Saturday has launched the Project PAG-ARAM, An initiative to raise school supplies for children and materials for teachers in Yolanda-affected areas.

Pag-aram is a Waray term which means ‘learning’ or ‘to learn’ and the project’s main objective is to provide the school needs of students and teachers in typhoon Yolanda-affected areas of Eastern Visayas, Northern Cebu, Northern Panay and Northern Palawan. The project, which will be done in close coordination with the field offices of the DepEd, aims to collect as many donations as possible from schools, students, teachers, parents, individuals and organizations.

Materials such as pens, notebooks, school bags, shoes, crayons for kids and chalk, eraser, manila paper, cartolina, markers, record book, lesson plan book and improvised blackboard for teachers collected during the first week of January will be distributed in Leyte on January 15. However, the secretariat will accept donations up to May 30, 2014.

Reference: Benjo Basas, National Chairperson 0920-5740241/ 3853437

PRESS STATEMENT
January 6, 2014

Statement

[Press Release] Group calls for transparency, people’s participation in Yolanda rehab plan -PM

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Group calls for transparency, people’s participation in Yolanda rehab plan

Amidst reports and allegations of overpriced and substandard temporary shelters for Yolanda survivors, the Region 8 chapter of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called for transparency and people’s participation in the implementation of the rehabilitation and reconstruction plan.

“We are victims of disasters not once but twice. First of climate change-spawned supertyphoon Yolanda and now of the greed-induced calamity of corruption,” said Judy Torres, PM regional coordinator and chair of the Tacloban City federation of tricycle drivers and operators associations.

Torres has seen the controversial bunkhouses since some are being built near his home and he does not believe they can cost almost a million each. He also attests to the fact that the contractors are not locals and even the laborers came from Mindanao.

He added that “Every cent of the USD 8.17 billion Reconstruction Assistance of Yolanda must be spent to meet the immediate and long-term needs of survivors. The participation of people’s organizations should be institutionalized in the plan and they can serve as watchdogs against graft and corruption.”

Torres called on the Philippine government, international aid groups and donor countries to dialogue with grassroots labor and people’s organizations. He also asked that locals be employed as workers with decent jobs as a guideline.

Led by Torres, the tricycle drivers of Tacloban are spearheading a campaign demanding decent jobs, social protection and people’s participation as bedrocks of the Yolanda rehabilitation plan. To signal the launch of the campaign, last December 30 a motorcade of a hundred tricycles garbed in posters with the message “Make jobs a priority in Yolanda rehab,” went around Tacloban and were warmly received by typhoon survivors. A representative of the International Labor Organization observed and documented the campaign launch.

In a manifesto of the tricycle and trisikad drivers in Tacloban, Hilongos and Baybay, the groups explained that prior to the onslaught of Yolanda, they already were living poor, miserable lives since transporting people through motorized and non-motorized vehicles for hire was their only source of income. The groups’ priority demand is decent jobs because it is a guarantee to a person’s long-term security and a life of dignity.

Torres declared that that since current extreme weather systems are the awful outcome of climate change caused by unrestrained economic activities of industrial countries thus more than the humanitarian aspect, developed countries have the historical, moral, and social responsibility to come to the aid of Yolanda survivors.

Press Release
January 6, 2014
Partido ng Manggagawa
Contact Judy Torres @ 09262389963; 09482495848
Partido ng Manggagawa Coordinator for Region 8
Chairperson, Tacloban Federation of MCH Drivers and Operators (TAFEMDO)

Press Release

[Event] #ProjectPagbangon concert series kicks off in Tacloban today -PMPI

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

#ProjectPagbangon concert series kicks off in Tacloban today

The three-leg #ProjectPagbangon concert series for the survivors of Supertyphoon Yolanda in Visayas officially started today in Tacloban City, Leyte.

The first leg was held at Sto. Niño Parish from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon and quickly followed by a Eucharistic celebration.

Entitled as “SANDUGO: Salu-salo ng mga Kwento at Awitin ng Pagbangon”, the concert focused on cultural rehabilitation of target affected areas.

Read full article @pmpi.org.ph

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

Event

[People] Searching for abused children and Yolanda orphans. By Fr. Shay Cullen

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines One comment

Searching for abused children and Yolanda orphans
By Fr. Shay Cullen
Mobile No: Sun +639228768621, Globe +63 917 627 4910

Immediately after the typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the strongest typhoon ever to hit land on 8 November this year, I wrote an article titled “The Lost Orphans of Yolanda” on 12 November in the knowledge that the children without parents are the most vulnerable to abuse, abduction, malnutrition and human trafficking. Hungry children go wandering off in search of food their parents cannot provide and you see them at city street corners begging and asking strangers for money.

That article on the orphans was based on the initial report that as many as ten thousand people had been killed by the storm surge and high winds and flying debris. The confirmed death toll has reached 6,500 dead and more bodies are uncovered as the debris is gradually removed. It was expected that there would be many homeless, hungry and orphaned children. They tend to be overlooked in the chaos that follows a great storm or disaster.

It was published in several newspapers and online and flew around the world via the internet and seemingly had its desired effect to alert the agencies, government and non-government agencies helping children in the disaster area of Yolanda to be on the lookout for homeless and abandoned orphaned children. Preda Foundation cares for almost 90 children in residential care and fifty in after care and did not have the resources for an immediate relief response until donations began arriving. Then we immediately set off to the disaster areas to assess the damage and the needs of children and learn how best we could help.

The article seemed to ignite a flurry of concern and press releases and stories about the dangers these vulnerable children faced. This may have had a preventive educational impact, I hope so. According to the DSWD Regional Director Bonoan, no orphaned children have been found, and none came into her Manila based evacuation centers. Preda social workers worked there and did not find any orphans there either. However, there are three posters appealing for information about missing children, one as young as 3 years old. Likewise in the Cebu evacuation center which we also visited, none were found according to the officer in charge. In Tacloban, reportedly there were none either, other than one family of five taken by the Council for Inter-county Adoption to an orphanage in Quezon City.

However, with 6500 people dead, it’s highly unusual that no children have been found homeless and orphaned. Perhaps relatives have taken them into their care already as informal fostering and undocumented adoption is customary. Perhaps, the fact that local government is so overwhelmed with so many other problems, they cannot cope or even know if there are orphaned children being sheltered by other families. The greatest concern is the vulnerability of boys and girls to local pimps and recruiters and foreign paedophiles disguised as government officials or charity workers.

Kandy is a 15 year-old victim of human trafficking from Samar. Before the typhoon, her parents fled the poverty and brought her and her sister, 20 years old, to Metro Manila but left them with an auntie and returned to Samar. Her sister Karina was lured to Limay, Bataan, a port, and she was ensnared in a videoke sex bar. The recruiter trafficker then texted Kandy inviting her to come and work in a bakery, she was given advance money and then to pay it off, she was forced to work in another sex videoke bar at Pexsite. Intimidated and scared, she went and was offered as a live-partner to a Korean. She ran away from this sex-slavery but because of debts, she had to go back to another videoke bar. A concerned citizen texted Preda’s hot line and within two days, Preda social workers and legal officer rescued her. She is finding a new life of dignity now at Preda home for trafficked girls. The Preda legal officer filed the criminal charges. The trafficker was arrested and is facing arraignment in Balanga, Bataan, Regional Trial Court.

Many people may know of abducted or recruited children or see trafficking or abuse happening but are afraid to report it or have no one to trust to whom they can safely and anonymously report it and get immediate action. What Preda Foundation does best is immediate response and through its highly trained personnel, it can do undercover surveillance and research on the one hand, and give public community training to develop awareness and trust in communities and empower women and children to report human trafficking and abuse of any kind through texting to the hotline mobile number +63 917 532 4453. The one utility back on in most disaster hit areas is the mobile phone systems.

Besides giving relief foods and seeds to farmers, we need to give this public education and empowerment training seminars to parents and youth on the dangers of falling for the offers of traffickers and spread the message through radio, seminars and puppet shows and distribute information cards with the contact information and hotline number.

This way, the people knowing about trafficked children or adults can report it without fear of retaliation or threats. It’s important to involve the local officials and train and hire local youth to take on the preventive educators’ job and continue the empowerment and information project. The feedback to the Preda coordinator of any trafficking or child abuse will be met with an immediate response. The hotline number for reporting trafficking or child abuse of any kind is +63 917 532 4453. We can make this a better world for children at risk.

Donations: Preda Foundation, Metrobank, Rizal Ave., Olongapo Bank Account 144-2-14403962-3, Swift code MBTCPHMM

shaycullen@preda.org , http://www.preda.org
Mobile No: Sun +639228768621, Globe +63 917 627 4910

People

[Press Release] Workers in Region 8 demand employment, people’s participation in Yolanda rehabilitation and reconstruction plan -PM

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Workers in Region 8 demand employment, people’s participation in Yolanda rehabilitation and reconstruction plan

Declaring they won’t beg and live on relief and aid forever, several associations of workers in the informal sector in Region 8 today launched a campaign demanding employment, social protection and people’s participation as bedrocks of Yolanda rehabilitation and reconstruction plan to address not just the immediate but also the long term needs of Pepe and Pilar.

The campaign came days after the government announced the US$8.17-billion or P361-B plan under the so-called Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) which will be completed in four years or by 2017.

Held in Tacloban City, the campaign launch was spearheaded by tricycle and trisikad drivers and operators (TODA’s) in Tacloban, Hilongos and Baybay, in coordination with the labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

After attending a twelve noon mass at the Sto. Nino Church, TODA members held a motorcade around Tacloban City with posters bearing the call, “Make jobs a priority in Yolanda rehab”, wrapped around their trikes. A gathering and small salu-salo followed the motorcade at the Church’s Social Hall where family members and other Yolanda survivors gathered to hear the groups’ manifesto and affirm their commitment to the collective struggle of rebuilding their lives and their communities.

In a joint Manifesto signed by the Tacloban Federation of MCF Drivers and Operators (TAFEMDO), the Hilongos-based Trisikad Operators and Drivers Organization (TODO), and Partido ng Manggagawa-Region 8, the groups explained that prior to the onslaught of Yolanda (Haiyan), they already were living poor, miserable lives since transporting people around the city through motorized and non-motorized cabs for hire was their only source of income.

The Rebolustonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM) in Leyte also signed the manifesto in solidarity with the workers.

“Because income is irregular in this nature of work, we earn less than what we need. This condition likewise explains why many of us, together with other poor people, live in urban poor communities where we face recurrent and extreme vulnerabilities from both man-made and natural calamities. In other words, we are poor, defenceless and were unprepared to face the strongest typhoon in history,” read the manifesto.

Jobs as priority

According to Judy Torres, regional coordinator of Partido ng Manggagawa, this was the main reason why they were urging the government and donor agencies to make jobs a priority in Yolanda rehabilitation and reconstruction plans.

“We want jobs because it is a guarantee to a person’s long-term security and a life of dignity,” said Torres, adding that while everybody was devastated it is the poor that suffered most.

“We want to rebuild our lives. We want to rebuild our communities. Hence, in the rehabilitation and rebuilding process, we do not want to just revert back to where we were before Yolanda. We want a new community – a better community,” added the manifesto.

Torres, who also chairs TAFEMDO, added that aside from providing employment, “the State must also provide victims of Yolanda a broad range of social protection to enable them to live a more secure life in the face of the ‘new normal’ and the worsening climate crisis.”

The workers’ groups also called on the government, both national and local, to put their act together in formulating a new type of rehabilitation and rebuilding plan, saying people at this point in time are not interested in squabbles and personal plans among politicians.

“What you owe us is immediate, climate-resilient, inclusive, and empowering rehabilitation and rebuilding program,” said the groups, stressing further that in the rebuilding process, direct participation by the people is far more important than private consultants and contractors.

International responsibility

The groups likewise urged donor countries and international aid agencies that once the relief and life-saving stage is over, “we enjoin you to help us build a new model community out of the ruins of Yolanda.”

They further stated: “While we clearly understand that it was Nature’s wrath that made our lives more miserable now, we are also aware that today’s extreme weather systems are the awful outcome of climate change caused by unrestrained economic activities of industrial countries. Thus, we believe that more than the humanitarian aspect, developed countries have the historical, moral, and social responsibility to come to our aid.”

Specific demands

The TODA groups in Tacloban have come up with specific demands addressed to concerned government agencies, international donors, as well as the Church and civic groups. These include:

§ Jobs for displaced TODA members and for unemployed Taclobanons.
§ Moratorium on payment of fees, specifically the renewal of business permits for FY 2014.
§ Financial assistance for motor/cab repairs or for acquisition of new units.
§ Fuel subsidy for registered TODA members.
§ Mandatory SSS and Philhealth coverage for TODA members through national government or local government sponsorship programs.
§ In-city relocation and climate-resilient socialized housing program for informal settlers.
§ Participation in the rehabilitation and rebuilding process.

Except for some specific items, the same set of demands will be pursued by workers associations in Hilongos and Baybay.

The groups said they are making this appeal not as mere victims of Yolanda but as Filipino citizens who are entitled to the broadest social protection possible from the State.

“Finally, we believe that everything is possible as long as everyone considers the task of rehabilitation and rebuilding a collective mission and the dream for a new community rising out of Yolanda ruins a common vision,” concluded the manifesto.

PRESS RELEASE
Partido ng Manggagawa
30 December 2013
Contact: Judy Torres
Partido ng Manggagawa Coordinator for Region 8
Chairperson, Tacloban Federation of MCH Drivers and Operators (TAFEMDO)
09262389963; 09482495848

Press Release

[Blog] Video-video din pag may time for Yolanda victims

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Video-video din pag may time for Yolanda victims.

Malikhain talaga tayong mga pinoy, akalain mo ‘yun ang daming video sa youtube na nalikha at ginamit upang ipaalam sa mundo ang mga nangyari, at siyempre makangalap ng tulong para sa mga biktima.

Ilan sa mga video na aking tinutukoy ay hinaluan ng musika na ang iba ay orihinal at ang ilan naman ay remake. Ang mga talentadong pinoy para sa mga biktima ng bagyong Yolanda ay bumirit at umere, ikaw napanuod mo na ba?

“The Prayer” by The Loboc Children’s Choir & Various Artists Official Music Video (Typhoon Yolanda)

Published on Youtube, Dec 12, 2013. By UniversalRecPH

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#ProjectPagbangon: Sandugo (Original Singers Edition)

By the Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc.

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We are the World for Philippines (We Are The World 25 – Michael Jackson COVER by Filipino Artists)

Published on Youtube, Nov 22, 2013 By Chamberlain P. Guevarra

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“SOS Philippines” – The song after the storm! [TYPHOON HAIYAN / YOLANDA]

Pls visit http://mokongperspektib.wordpress.com/