Action by Churches Together (ACT) Appeal - Philippines Civil Crisis ASPH-02 Appeal Target: US$ 114,121 Geneva, 8 June 2000
The war raging in Mindanao between the government troops and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) continues unabated. The deployment of military forces and the intensity of the battle have resulted in the dislocation of entire communities of Moros, Christians and Lumads (other indigenous peoples in Mindanao). KABAYAN (a national daily published in the vernacular), citing figures from the National Disaster Coordinating Council in its 1 June 2000 issue, indicates that 50,691 families or 237,816 people in 306 barangays in 53 municipalities under 11 provinces are already affected by the civil strife in Mindanao. The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) proposes the following assistance to the most vulnerable, affected by the civil strife. Food (rice, noodles, legumes, dried fish, sugar, milk, etc) Non-food (light blankets, sleeping mats, clothes and toiletries) Medical (medicines & service) Agriculture (seeds, livestock, poultry, etc.) Shelter (housing materials) The project implementation period is June 2000-March 2001. Ms. Genevieve Jacques Thor-Arne Prois Rev. Rudolf Hinz Director ACT Coordinator Director WCC/Cluster on Relations LWF/World Service REQUESTING ACT MEMBER INFORMATION National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) Program Unit on Faith, Witness and Service, Relief and Rehabilitation IMPLEMENTING ACT MEMBER & PARTNER INFORMATION The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) was formed in 1963 as a councilor body composed of churches and christian NGOs. Relief and Rehabilitation is a special program of the Program Unit on Faith, Witness and Service. It is involved in disaster management work with survivors of both natural and human-made emergency situations. This includes relief services, education and training on disaster preparedness and rehabilitation assistance. Its network in the regions include church leaders, clergy and lay persons from the NCCP member churches, church-related organizations and peoples organizations. Others are organized through the Regional Ecumenical Councils (RECs) who are given training in disaster management and eventually become the implementing local partners or local volunteers. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION "The Mindanao Conflict - a Situationer" (adapted from the situationer of the Inter-faith Solidarity for Justice and Peace in Mindanao - IFSJP-Mindanao) In 1998, a total of 17 battalions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were deployed by the Estrada government in Central Mindanao mainly in Muslim territories. Due to the battles between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the AFP troops, some 110,000 families have been displaced. In September 1999, AFP operations in Carmen, S. Cotabato adversely affected more than 1,000 families. Three (3) sitios in Sultan Kudarat, Isulan and Bagumbayan were militarized and 20 houses of Moro families were burned by government troops last November 1999. The hostage taking by a Muslim extremist group called the Abu Sayyaf has since exacerbated the crisis. The Abu Sayyaf has kidnapped 21 people, mostly foreigners, from a Malaysian resort island. Before that, they kidnapped 29 Filipinos, mostly children. The Abu Sayyaf is an extremist group with no clear political agenda and kidnaps people for money. The government has lumped together the terrorist Abu Sayyaf and the MILF, which has clear political objectives, as a single entity, fanning an anti-Muslim hysteria reminiscent of the Marcos era. There is already a resurgence of right-wing Christian vigilantism calling for a "Muslim Free Mindanao". Efforts for Peace But there were efforts for peace. On 12 January 2000, the panels for the peace negotiations between the MILF and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) signed a cease-fire agreement. Consequently, they also issued a Joint Communique to cease all hostilities on 23 February 2000. These joint agreements were the result of an arduous series of peace talks. Despite these agreements, the AFP has continued to bombard the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat with heavy fire. President Estrada also issued a June 2000 ultimatum for the MILF to lay down their arms. The ultimatum has effectively derailed the peace negotiations, a fate similar to the President's termination of the peace accord between the GRP and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in 1998. The government has ignored a 48-hour unilateral cease-fire declared by the MILF. After some time, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado stated that the government is willing to go back to the negotiating table but this is after the MILF camps, particularly its biggest base Camp Abubakar, had been encircled by the military (PDI, May 19, 2000, p.1). Making the proposal more suspicious is the incessant bombing of the said camp and the government's insistence that the MILF identify exactly its perimeter defense. According to Moner Bajunaid, chair of MILF technical working committee on the peace process, the MILF had not responded to the proposal because of the continued military operations. He added that "what is happening is, they are offering peace but your houses are being bombed, what will you do, talk peace? Your natural reaction is first to defend your house, your position" (PDI, May 19, 2000, p.6). It seems that the government is willing to talk peace only after the MILF has been militarily defeated. The hard line stance of the government simply ignores the Moro people's hundred years of struggle for self-determination. On May 30, after the AFP had incessantly bombarded 2 MILF camps (Abu Bakar and Bushra), the MILF and the GRP has resumed with their peace talks. But up to now, in the midst of the negotiations between the two panels, the attacks on the MILF by the AFP continues. This has further aggravated the situation as the number of displaced people are increasing. The Moro People's Struggle for Self Determination The conflict in Mindanao can be traced to the four centuries of discrimination felt by the Moro people that has driven them to the fringes of social and economic development. The Spanish disdain for the Moros made them launch campaigns to subjugate the fierce warriors. Where the Spaniards were partly successful, the Americans forced the assimilation of the Moros into the body politic of the colony. The Moro people, since then, have struggled for rights to their land and resources, and recognition of their socio-political institutions as a people. The Reasons for the Government's Actions According to many analysts, the Estrada government has been launching its all-out war against the MILF largely because of the untapped natural resources in their area. The US$ 2.5 million it spends each day (according to PDI, May 10, 2000 issue, the cost of 1 bullet is equal to 1 kilo of rice) to support its soldiers will, in the long term, be returned if the resource rich Moro areas are rid of the MILF. The Moro areas found in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, North and South Cotabato, Lanao, Basilan and the Sulu islands, areas of still untapped cradles of rich natural resources, raw materials and cheap labor. These areas, especially those within the MILF camps have potentials for super profits. The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) is eyeing a marshland in the said area for natural gas extraction. The Moroland Sugar Corporation is planning to establish a milling facility within a 25,000 hectare land area which will traverse six municipalities. The Consunji concession and a Malaysian corporation are planning to log and to put up a palm oil tree plantation respectively in the town of Buldon. These are but examples of the region's potentials as an investor's haven. The MILF is a deterrent to the government's program of attracting more foreign investors in the region. The crisis in Mindanao is not a war between Christians and Muslims but has deep-seated economic, social, cultural and political roots. The battle is being waged for self-determination on the one side, and greed for super profit on the other. But the given reality is that, the all-out military offensives by the AFP have resulted in untold sufferings. There is a need to call for a stop to the all-out military offensives and the peace talks should fully consider the concrete demands and aspiration of the Moro people. Description of the Impact on Human Lives The raging war in Mindanao between the government troops and the army of the MILF and the hostage-taking of the Abu Sayyaf has turned from bad to worse. Lives have been lost, many wounded, civilians tremble in terror and whole communities are uprooted from their homes. The deployment of military forces and the intensity of the battle have resulted in the dislocation of entire communities of Moros, Christians and Lumads (other indigenous peoples in Mindanao). KABAYAN (a national daily published in the vernacular), citing figures from the National Disaster Coordinating Council in its June 1, 2000 issue, indicates that 50,691 families or 237,816 people in 306 barangays in 53 municipalities under 11 provinces are already affected by the civil strife in Mindanao. The following table shows the statistics of affected areas and individuals as of 1 June 2000: Region Province/City Number of Evacuees XII-Central Mindanao Maguindanao 127,000 Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur 170,000 Cotabato City 7000 North Cotabato 43,906 Sultan Kudarat 858 Total 348,764 In addition, more than 100,000 evacuees are also seeking refuge with friends and relatives. The health condition of the evacuees is deteriorating. The unsanitary surroundings and the congestion of the evacuation centers have caused the rise of common illnesses such as upper respiratory tract infections and diarrhea. A total of 36,663 children and adults are suffering from different ailments. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports in its June 6 issue that at least 39 civilians in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Pikit in North Cotabato have been killed in the fighting or succumbed to illnesses in evacuation centers. This includes 16 evacuees, six of them children, who died due to diarrhea and other diseases in the congested evacuation centers in Pikit, North Cotabatao, six evacuees died in Maguindanao, a 14-year-old girl died from shrapnel wounds and 16 others were killed in different instances. In Maguindanao, 23 pregnant women have had miscarriages since the April 28 fighting. Livestock shortage is also feared by livestock farmers in Mindanao because corn has suddenly become scarce from Central Mindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Corn is the major ingredient for animal feeds and the two regions are the main suppliers of corn. Southern Mindanao is the second largest producer of livestock in the Philippines. According to the regional office of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Quarantine, another problem being faced is the spread of diseases in hogs, water buffalo and cattle which were left unattended by displaced farmers. Central Mindanao stands to lose half of its rice production and 30% of its corn production unless the government ends the war. Twenty-two percent of the Philippine food supply comes from Mindanao. General Information on Areas Affected The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is composed of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and the traditional island centers of Muslim economic, political and cultural activities, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The region is a rice bowl and has rich mines and forests, but has one of the highest poverty rates in the country. Specifically, the region is first in cassava production and aquaculture production. Maguindanao, one of the member-province of the ARMM in the south central part of mainland Mindanao, has the biggest marshlands in the country- the Liguasan Marsh which harbors 35,000 species of wildlife and is a bird sanctuary. It has rich fishery and aquatic resources and has great potential for fertilizer production. Its natural gas reserves remained untapped. It is also the most densely populated province in the ARMM. Region XII-Central Mindanao is located in the southwestern part of the island of Mindanao. It is composed of three provinces, namely, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Lanao del Norte. There are three cities in the region - Cotabato, Marawi and Iligan. The region spans the geographical zone covering the Lake Lanao area; the Cotabato River Basin area, covering a major portion of the provinces of Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat; and the large coastal areas situated in its northwestern and western portions. The rich and vast land resources of Central Mindanao stretch over an area of 14,571 km2. Two of the country's major river basins, the Cotabato River Basin and the Agus River Basin, cover the region. The latter flows from Lake Lanao, one of the country's largest lake, the site of a huge hydroelectric dam that provides electricity to the whole island of Mindanao. North Cotabato is composed of 18 municipalities and Kidapawan serves as the provincial capital. The province is known for its rubber plantations. Lanao del Norte is located along the north-western coast of Northern Mindanao. The province is composed of 22 municipalities and Iligan City serves as the provincial capital. It is also known for its cement factories and steel mills. Sultan Kudarat used to be a part of the province of Cotabato. It became an independent province in 1973 through Presidential Decree No. 341. It is located in the southwestern part of Mindanao. The province is composed of three coastal and nine inland municipalities and further subdivided into 210 barangays. The municipality of Tacurong is the commercial and urban center and also serves as the provincial capital. GOAL & OBJECTIVES The project aims to provide life-sustaining assistance to the most vulnerable among the displaced persons. Specific objectives include: provision of food and non-food materials, medical assistance to around 8,000 families in Central Mindanao and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and other areas affected, provision of rehabilitation assistance in agriculture, housing and other viable economic activities to enable them to recover from their social and economic losses; The church constituencies will be mobilised for the various relief and rehabilitation efforts including resource generation, purchasing and repacking, distribution and monitoring. Awareness activities will be conducted among church constituency through fora and discussion groups to reflect on and study the various issues of the ongoing war. BENEFICIARY INFORMATION The relief and rehabilitation assistance will be provided to around 8,350 families, comprising Muslims, Christians and Lumads (other indigenous peoples in Mindanao) affected in the ongoing war in Mindanao. Prior to relief distribution, coordination is being undertaken with government and non-government agencies to identify areas that need further assistance. Therefore, relief assistance will be provided to evacuation centers which receives the least assistance from other agencies and entities. Efforts will also be made to reach out to those evacuees who have sought refuge with their friends and relatives in order to augment their sustenance. Locations & numbers of beneficiaries Region Province/City Number of Families Type of Beneficiaries Relief Rehabilitation XII- Central Mindanao Maguindanao 2,500 350 Christians, Muslims, Lumads-peasants North Cotabato 2,500 Cotabato City 800 Lanao del Norte 1,700 Other areas 500 Total 8,000 350 The figures cited mostly came from articles published in leading newspapers, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, National Disaster Coordinating Council and the monitoring reports of emergency distribution and evacuation centers. DESCRIPTION of EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROPOSED Food and Nutrition Bags containing basic food provisions like rice, canned goods, sugar, milk, legumes, dried fish, noodles and salt will be provided. Additional food items will be provided as the need arises or as needed by the specific group. Non-Food Aside from food, evacuees will also be provided with health and hygiene kits containing toothpaste, toothbrush, bath soap and laundry soap. Sleeping mats, light blankets and clothing will also be provided when necessary. Medical One of the immediate need is medical assistance. There is rising incidence of upper respiratory infections, skin diseases and gastro-intestinal diseases among evacuees in congested evacuation centers. Medical missions will be conducted in evacuation centers. Medical and paramedical practitioners and trained community health workers from the member churches will be mobilized to render their services. Medicines such as antibiotic, antitussive, analgesic, anti-diarrheal will also be provided. Agriculture The majority of the affected families and communities are small farmers and tenants who depend primarily on their agricultural production of rice, corn, rootcrops, vegetables, backyard livestock and poultry raising. Their capital for production is usually dependent on usury with high interest. Others are farm workers who depend on daily wage earnings as caretakers, planters, farm cleaners and other farm jobs. Rehabilitation assistance will be given priority to the farmers whose crops are totally destroyed and whose capacity for starting production is very minimal. The eligible beneficiaries will be provided with materials to start up their agricultural production. This may be in the form of rice seeds, vegetable seeds, root crop tubers, farm inputs (only when necessary), small capital for livestock and poultry production. Shelter Some will also be provided with housing materials to repair or construct damaged houses. This is in the form of materials such as lumber for posts, galvanized iron sheets for roofing, plywood for walls, etc. Labor for the construction will be the beneficiaries' contribution to the project. IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY Personnel required to carry out the emergency work The Program Unit on Faith, Witness and Service in which the Relief and Rehabilitation Program is lodged, will be responsible in implementing the proposed assistance. The two staff assigned to the program (social worker and driver-warehouseman) is complemented by the personnel of the Faith, Witness and Service composed of five development workers and one administrative assistant. Contractual staff will be hired on a daily basis who will assist in the day-to-day operations of the program especially during successive emergency situations. Project Administration and Support Requirements Considering the security situation, which limits the mobility of the staff and committee members, the center for emergency response operations will be based in the church offices of the three member churches in the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte. The two regional offices of the NCCP Program on Ecology and Environmental Protection located in Davao City and Cagayan de Oro will serve as communications centers. Their office equipment such as computers, landline phones and cellular phones will be utilized. However, funds for the monthly maintenance fees will be needed for the operations. Transportation Requirements Funds are also needed for the hiring of local transportation for the transport of goods and materials preferably light trucks which can carry at least 500-700 bags of relief goods. As much as possible, the spirit of volunteerism will mobilize church members who can harness church vehicles and other resources. Procurement Goods will be procured locally, meaning within the provincial centers. However, if goods become scarce, procurement can also be done in nearby provinces or regions, thus trucking fees will also be required. ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, MONITORING & REPORTING Project Management and Administration The National Council of Churches in the Philippines will administer and manage the whole project. It will also act as the over-all coordinator and facilitator. At the regional or provincial level, the NCCP member churches will coordinate with the local churches. They will be responsible for monitoring the emergency situation and the conduct of needs assessment. They will also determine the areas to be served and the corresponding needs to be delivered. There are three NCCP member churches located in the areas affected - the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, the United Methodist Church, and the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. These member churches and other church-related organizations are NCCP's local partners in the region. Initial meetings and consultations had been conducted with the representatives of these churches, which basically tackled the operations of the emergency response being undertaken. Various committees were formed to facilitate the various tasks and functions of the emergency response operations. Assessment of every activity will be immediately undertaken by the various committees to determine the result, strengths and weaknesses and possible recommendations to improve implementation. Terminal evaluation participated in by the various committee members will be conducted at the end of the project. Terminal Report will be prepared by the NCCP Relief and Rehabilitation Coordinator while the financial report will be prepared by the NCCP Treasurer's Office. Monitoring and Reporting Procedures Comprehensive Monitoring Procedures include: On-site visits to affected areas either by the NCCP staff and/or its partners Area survey reports from local counterparts. Participation in relief operations. Activity reports, both financial and narrative, by local counterparts. Project completion report to ACT, both narrative and financial. Financial Management and Controls Funds transmitted to NCCP bank account or given to NCCP in cash or by cheque will be acknowledged by an official receipt. All disbursements will be made in accordance with the budget or grant from any funding partners for a certain activity and shall meet with the finance officer's requirements such as: availability of funds, whether the request is signed by the Program Secretary or the duly designated representative and with the attachment of proper supporting documents. After submission of these documents, the Treasurer's Office will prepare a disbursement voucher and check for the implementation of the activity. If it is a cash advance, the person responsible will liquidate the cash advance completely with receipts and other documents related to the activity before the next advance is made. COORDINATION The crisis in Mindanao brought together efforts of various entities - government and non-government, in responding to the immediate needs of the thousands of evacuees. However, due to the magnitude of the crisis, the concerted effort and sharing of resources of various organizations is encouraged. The NCCP coordinates with other agencies working in the area such as the Citizens Disaster Response Center and other non-government relief agencies and the local social welfare offices, in order to avoid duplication of services and at the same time encourage complementation of resources. Since the start of the crisis, meetings and consultations have been conducted with other agencies operating within the affected areas. These resulted in the formulation of various forms of intervention, such as peace and advocacy campaign and emergency assistance. The NCCP has started to provide food assistance to some of the evacuees. Solicitations for food, clothing and medicines were made locally. However, these were not enough considering the rising number of affected families and individuals. Although the government has assured of enough food supply, reports from the field shows there is limited supply of food and medicines. In fact, the local officials of Maguindanao have solicited the help of other entities to support the needs of their evacuees. BUDGET ACT-NCCP ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE Description Type of No. of Unit Budget Budget Unit Units Cost Php USD 1. Direct Assistance FOOD Rice (6 kgs./bag) 50 kg/sack 960 940.00 902,400 22,560 Noodles (2 packs/bag) pack 16,000 5.00 80,000 2,000 Canned Goods (3 cans/bag) piece 24,000 15.00 360,000 9,000 Milk (1 pack/bag) pack 8,000 26.00 208,000 5,200 Sugar (1 pack/bag) pack 8,000 14.00 112,000 2,800 Cooking Oil (1 pack/bag) pack 8,000 32.00 256,000 6,400 Legumes (1/2 kilo/bag) kilogram 4,000 35.00 140,000 3,500 Salt (1/2 kl/bag) kilogram 4,000 25.00 100,000 2,500 NON-FOOD Blankets piece 1,000 175.00 175,000 4,375 Sleeping Mats piece 1,000 250.00 250,000 6,250 Hygiene Kits piece 1,000 150.00 150,000 3,750 MEDICINE Assorted Kinds of Medicine box 85 750.00 63,750 1,594 POST CRISIS Agriculture Assistance lumpsum 200 2,000.00 400,000 10,000 Shelter Assistance lumpsum 150 3,500.00 525,000 13,125 SUB-TOTAL 3,722,150 93,054 II. Material, transport, storage, warehousing, handling Truck Rental & Related Costs lump-sum 100,000 2,500 Labor for Loading & Unloading lump-sum 80,000 2,000 SUB-TOTAL 180,000 4,500 III Personnel, Administration, Operations and support Salaries month 10 29,950.00 299,500 7,488 Staff Benefits month 10 1,800.00 18,000 450 Volunteer Honorariums month 10 5,000.00 50,000 1,250 Staff travel-local & region month 10 9,000.00 90,000 2,250 Office Rental & Utilities month 10 5,000.00 50,000 1,250 Office Supplies month 10 1,500.00 15,000 375 Communications month 10 6,000.00 60,000 1,500 Audit of ACT Appeal Funds lumpsum 20,000.00 500 Program Evaluation lumpsum 15,000.00 375 SUB-TOTAL 617,500 15,438 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 4,519,650 112,991 EMT contribution 1% of expenditure 45,196 1,129 TOTAL APPEAL TARGET & EXPENDITURE 4,564,846 114,121 Exchange Rate: USD 1 = Php 40 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide network of churches and their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency response. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ecumenical Centre Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33 150, route de Ferney Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06 1211 Geneva 2 Telex: 415 730 OIK CH Switzerland http://www.act-intl.org distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -