Women Have Voice

Women have Voice in Decision Making

(Zandro Escat)

Datu Paglas Municipality Barangay Mangadeg more women are participating in community meetings. After attending community re-echoes conducted by Protection Pool of Trainers (PPOT) which, aim to inform community members of their rights and entitlements according to the law of the land. So sure of themselves after knowing their rights. They demand from their leaders great concerns on women and children.

I showed enthusiasm in assuring that the concerns and issues of women are included in every aspect of the community plan. I speak for women’s needs and concerns and involved in the decision making especially on the welfare of women and children told Noraida Daud. She is involved in most community activities.

Women are more diverse in building their communities. Some are involved in backyard gardening which gives them income and food while others are joining their male counterparts in the farm. This is far beyond their domestic responsibilities.
In community activities, more women participated in community discussions and have influenced in the formulation of community plans particularly the Disaster Preparedness Plan. ZCE

Philippines: displacement increases

Philippines: displacement increases as Mindanao’s peace process stumbles on

Fighting and displacement in the Philippines have increased in the past two years. From less
than 100,000 in 2006, the number of people displaced by conflict reached 170,000 in 2007 and has exceeded 290,000 during 2008. Most are in the southern region of Mindanao, where the government has been fighting secessionist Moro (Muslim) rebels groups for the past 30 years. Although hopes of an imminent formal peace agreement were raised in July 2008 as the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) reached a consensus on the issue of Moro territory, strong opposition to the deal by Christian groups and growing Moro frustration led to intense fighting in early August in North Cotabato Province, resulting in the displacement of more than 160,000 people. Further violence, affecting mainly Lanao del Norte, forced an additional 60,000 people to leave their homes in Mindanao in mid-August.

The government’s “war on terror” against groups and people suspected of links with the al-Qaeda network is another important cause of displacement, mainly in the south-western Provinces of Sulu and Basilan, stronghold of the Abu Sayaff Group (ASG) and also of the second-largest Moro rebel group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). At the same time, government efforts to root out the communist rebels, the New People’s Army (NPA) has led to an increase in confrontations and in extrajudicial killings of leftist leaders over the past years. Military-NPA confrontations continued to displace people all over the country during 2007 and 2008. A peace agreement with the NPA remains elusive.

The displaced often live in inadequate evacuation centres or with relatives. While many are able to return home quickly, a consistent group of several hundreds of thousands of people remains displaced without sufficient access to clean water, food or education and job opportunities. The continuing conflict in Mindanao contributes to its continuing status as the poorest region in the Philippines. Increased food prices and the impact of Typhoon Frank in June 2008 have only made matters worse for Mindanao’s poor.

National and international agencies continue to have difficulties in their humanitarian response, due to financial constraints, coordination problems, and insecurity on the ground. Increased international interest in human rights violations in general, and the fate of the displaced in particular, would be necessary in improving the human rights situation in the Philippines. Greater engagement in the peace process would contribute to putting an end to the cycle of violence and displacement. IDMC