1

The Story of Filipinos

Survival and Hope Lecture delivered in the class of Prof.

Domingo, Asian Languages & Cultures Department ,

UCLA on May 15, 2012

2

The context of the title

How Poor are most Filipinos?

What are the reasons for poverty?

What makes the Philippines a natural disaster” hotspot”?

3

How poor are most Filipinos?

2006 statistics, National Statistics Office, 2007

A quarter of the Filipinos –more or less 20 million of our countrymen lived on a little over one $1 a day (Php 44.00)

Nearly half of the Filipinos – about 44 % of the Filipinos survived on less than $2 a day (Php 88.00)

Your café latte costs more than the amount it takes for half of our countrymen to survive.

4

Poorest Provinces in the Year 2010

Province Percent

Sulu 63.2

Masbate 62.8

Tawi-tawi 56.5

Ifugao 55.6

Romblon 55.2

Maguindanao 55.1

Lanao del Sur 55.0

Sultan Kudarat 54.3

Camiguin 53.1

Camarines Norte 52.7

5

ARMM and Bicol Regions: The poorest of the Poor

All four provinces of ARMM are among the 10 poorest provinces in the country Tawi-tawi Maguindanao Lanao del Sur Sultan Kudarat

Two of the 6 provinces in Bicol Region Masbate Camarines Norte

6

Reason Percent

No. of votes

Corruption in government and society

68 365

High prices of goods and low wages

6 30

Poor and inefficient tax collection

1 7

Our ballooning population

10 51

Other factors 15 83

7

Living Conditions of the Poor

Experience food insecurity

Struggle to pay housing costs

Cannot afford health care

Likely to drop out at Grade 4

Difficulty in managing their money

More likely to smoke, gamble, and drink alcohol

8

Living Conditions of the Poor

Have no capacity to buy in bulk, cannot take advantage of sales

Supermarkets are not found in poor communities

No bank account Live in a day to day basis Predatory lending practices (Bombay 5-6

interest) Do not have “nest egg” of cash or assets for

emergency

9

Is it economic inequality?

Gini coefficient

• The greater the number means that• Wealth is not equally spread across the

country’s population

highest

• Nambia ranked 1 • Philippines ranked 37 out of 134 countries

Our Asia

n neighbor

s

• Thailand ranked 50th• Indonesia ranked 66th

• Vietnam ranked 78th

10

Poverty and Natural Calamities: Ingredients to an increase in Poverty

11

Philippines is a “natural disaster hotspot”

The Philippine government estimates that between 2005 and 2010, the country needs some 3.8 million new homes (Habitat for Humanity, 2009).

Disaster is one of the causes of homelessness in the country.

12

Typhoon Vulnerability Map of the Philippines

 

Source: PAGASA-PCARDD, 2008

13

Introduction

Nature of Disaster a disaster occurs when a natural phenomenon

brings damage or loss to the major social, organizational and physical facilities of a community to the degree that the essential functions of the society are interrupted or destroyed resulting in individual stress and social disorganization of varying severity.

Oliver-Smith, 1992:13

14 Mount Pinatubo eruption on June 15, 1991

15

The Lahar flow buried many Barangays

16

Residents wade in floodwater caused by typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) Cainta, Rizal, Sept 30, 2009

17

Case StudyBicol Region: A Typhoon Prone Area During rainy season almost all typhoons

(average of 20 annually) passes through the Bicol region and the surrounding areas of the scenic Mount Mayon

Mount Mayon is one of the 22 active volcanoes in the country

The places around Mount Mayon have always been most vulnerable to disaster

18

The Scenic Mount Mayon

Photp courtesyOf Evasco,KBicol University

19

The Typhoon Reming (November 2006) : The Event that Changed their Lives

20

How Typhoon Reming became a Disaster

Total cost of damage Php 4,817,070,173.00 709 persons dead 2,190 injured 753 missing persons 2,895,464 population affected 203,498 families rendered homeless 3,130 families or 16,649 persons sought

refuge to evacuation centers Source: UNHCDR and NDCC Oct. 2007

21

How Typhoon Reming became a Disaster Two typhoons brought about continuous

heavy rain in the towns of Guinobatan, Camalig,Daraga, and Legaspi City in Albay, Bicol Milenyo (Xangse) Reming (Durian)

The Mayon Volcano area was submerged with knee deep mud that made the roads not passable

Triggered a combination of mud , volcanic ash , boulders from the slopes of Mt. Mayon

Reming had a maximum sustained winds of 190 kph and gust of up to 225 kph

22

Lost of Lives

Photo courtesyOf Evasco,KBicol University

23

Damage Infrastructure

Photo courtesy by Evasco,K

24

Lost of livelihood Barangay Binitayin

25

Locale of the study

Anislag resettlement Site,Daraga,Albay

26

Note on the methodology The use of narrative analysis is relevant for

it captures the event that changed the lives of the people and

how they continue to find meanings on the common experiences they have had and how they rebuild the community through combination of their resiliency to hardship, their adaptation to unfamiliar circumstances and their resistance to change.

27

On the methodology The narratives are complemented with

observations and interviews to shed light on the reality in the resettlement area.

The purpose of which is to give a voice to resettled individuals, families and the members of the communities who otherwise might not be heard.

The output is a written record of the lives of the resettlers from their perspectives and from their own words.

28

On Methodology

Demography without Numbers (Scheper-Hughes, 1997) Anthropologically informed demography Instead of counting the homeless victims of

natural disaster, their traumatic experiences were recounted

Instead of counting the resettled families, their support system (network) were documented

Research findings have application to public policy and everyday life.

29

The In-0ut Seeker-Provider (IOSP) Framework (Varda,et al 2007)

30

The Vulnerability Perspective ( Donner and Rodriguez, 2008)

Assumes that a real disaster occurs when it strikes an under privileged population

“Characteristics of a person or group and their situation that influences their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from the impact of a natural hazard”

31

Results and Discussion

The Affected residents have common experiences after typhoon Reming

All were homeless Livelihoods were disrupted Everyone panic with rising floodwater and strong current The flight after the panic was to move to neighbor’s

houses with second floor Schooling of children were disrupted Schools serve as evacuation centers Relief goods were donated regularly by various agencies

GOs and NGO Became home beneficiaries in the Anislag Resettlement

Area Everyone assisted in building homes

32

Life Before Typhoon Reming: The Beginning of the Story Men were farmers

Husband of Gina was a Cement factory worker

Some were tricycle drivers Family of Danilo owned a sari-sari store

Women were vegetable gardeners, cloth and basket weavers Jennifer was in buy and sell Felicitas was a dressmaker Mylene was peanut vendor Gina was a laundrywoman

33

But each has their own stories to tell about their experiences with disaster (“Differential Vulnerability”)

Different populations face different levels of risk and vulnerability

Some were worse hit than others

Some recovered faster than others

Some were more satisfied in the resettlement area than others

Some enjoyed better housing conditions than others

34

Mercuria lost her husband and 5 children

Only 1 child (11 year old boy)of her 6 children survived

Husband, a pastor also perished

House is near the river, suffered temporary amnesia

One of the 61 DSWD beneficiary

35

Gina : A Compassionate Beneficiary An entrepreneur makes rice cake (puto)

Son is a member of Compassion- receive Php1,500.00 worth of school supplies and uniforms

Live in tents from March to August 2007

Perceived the resettlement area as safe

36

Jennifer no previous experience with Disaster No past experience with flashflood

Suffered from hunger

One year old child was place in a basin for safety during the flood

No government warnings received

Neighbors rescued them

37

House made of Stone, saves many families in the neighborhood

38

Felicitas, the dressmaker Water was already chest high when she was

rescued

Stayed for 5 months in Bagumbayan elementary school

Relocated in tents for I year

Friends dug her sewing machine and was repaired

Thankful that the flashflood occurred in the morning

39

Mylene’s husband was not home when their house was swept away by water current At home with her 5 children

Husband was away attending a town fiesta

Children held on to cable wire to prevent from drowning

Grateful to the following organizations: Red Cross, ABS-CBN and government officials, governor, congressman and mayor of Legaspi

40

Relief Goods: Sardinas, Noodles, Bigas (SNB)

41

Marites, the pregnant woman Was 2 months pregnant when they home was

washed away by the current

Sought refuge to the neighbor’s house and later moved to Tuazon building

Swore to never return to the old village

42

Rebecca’s story Happy reunion with husband after the chaos and panic Husband took her and children to the

neighbor’s house

Husband panic when he did not find his family in the house where he left them

Tricycle was buried under mud debris and recovered a week after

A child is a Compassion beneficiary and their house was built by Compassion

43

Irma and the wedding feast Lost six pigs intended for the wedding of her

husband’s younger sister

estimated cost of properties that were destroyed was Php30,000.00 to Php 40,000.00

Sought shelter at their neighbor’s house

Walked shoulder to shoulder in chest high water where it took them an hour to walk to the school house which was only a five minute walk

44

The stories of the Farmers; Flaviano, Rodolfo and Edmundo Rodolfo, farms a 2 hectare farm lot for 35

years

Built canals around his rice field to let the rainwater carry the sand downstream

The old folks belief that typhoons do not always occur in succession was not always true

Today he buys rice whereas in the past he was self sufficient with rice

45

The stories of the Farmers; Flaviano, Rodolfo and Edmundo Edmundo is a 45 year old high school

graduate Worked as construction worker during off-farm

season heard rumors that the govt. Is no longer interested

in rehabilitating their farms or their community But plans to convert it to a ecotourism area

Flaviano is 41 year old with BS accountancy degree Farming his .44ha land since he was 20 years old A bachelor No plans to live elsewhere

46

Name /sex/age

Village of destination/Village

of origin

Household size

Number and age range of children

Highest Educational

attainment and place of birth

1.Jennifer Rodriguez/F/23

COPE/Binitayan 4 2 (3-4) High school

graduate/Binitayan

2.Felicitas Himor/F/66 Gawad

Kalinga/Binitayan 2

Grandchild (7)

Elem. Graduate

3.Gina Almares/F/33 St.Benedict Village/

Tagas3 1 (3)

Grae 4 (Tagas)

4.Marites Encinas/F/31 Compassion

Village/Binitayan 5

3 (11-2) College Graduate

5.Rebecca Loncaros/F/37

Compassion Village/Binitayan

4 2 (13-8) High school

graduate/ Mindanao

6.Mercuria Basas/F/30 DSWD/ Binitayan 2

1 (5 children drowned including husband)

7.Eduardo Lisay/M/45 St Vincentian Family Village

Malobago 4 2

High School graduate Alcala, Daraga

8..Rodolfo Llemeneses/M/59

St Vincentian Family Village

Malobago 5 3 Malobago

47

Behavior Percentage

Evacuated 80.77

Stayed at Home 5.77

Was Stranded 1.92

Helped by other People 1.92

Warned Neighbors 1.92

Observed Water Level 0.96

Not at Home 5.77

None 0.96

Total 100

Behavior of Respondents During Disaster in Daraga, Albay, Philippines, 2008.

48

Response Percentage

Neighbors 50.5

Barangay Officials 20.79

Relatives 14.85

None 4.95

Acquaintance 3.96

Church People 3.96

Friends 0.99

Total 100

Responses of Disaster-stricken Individuals‟ in Daraga, Albay, Philippines, 2008.

49

Source Percentage

None 34.17

Neighbors 25.83

Friends 14.17

Radio 10.83

Relatives 8.33

Church 5.83

Newspaper 0.83

Total 99.99

Sources of Warning, Daraga, Albay, Philippines, 2008.

50

Sandy Farmlands

Photp courtesyOf Evasco,KBicol University

51

Flooded Farms

52

Frequently experienced emotion Percentage

Anxiety 84

Worry 84

Fear 81

Sadness 78

Self-pity 73

Hopelessness 56

Emotions Experienced by Respondents in Daraga, Albay, Philippines, 2008.

53

Life After Typhoon Reming

Reming left many damage properties , caused lost of lives and lost livelihood in short period of time

But the recovery of the affected residents from the typhoon is slower and took longer time

54

The 300 core houses built by the Daughter of Charity in Anislag Resettlement Site

55

Number of Relocated Families by Barangay, Anislag, Albay

Barangay Number of Families

Malobago 360Lower Binitayan 580Tagas, Biscara, Mayon

193

Total 1133Source: Municipal Social Welfare, Daraga, Albay, 2008

56

Life After Typhoon Reming Since the threat of flashflood and mudslides

becomes a regular destructive feature in their community of origin, farmers in particular have evolved certain adaptations with regard to

Crops they plant . Farmers have discovered that rice do not grow well in sandy soil, instead they planted kankong (water spinach) , sitaw (string beans) ,okra eggplant and sweet potatoes.

Maintaining two residences. Farmers go to the old community during the weekends to tend to their crops and stay in the resettlement areas during weekdays

57

On the IOSP Framework

58

Furthermore, Social network (attachments) is a cause of differential responses to disaster

Quadrant 1: In Seeker -Family members who are themselves disaster victims seeking post-disaster assistance for their families

Quadrant 2: Out Seeker-The Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD) and the Office of the Municipal Mayor are two government offices seeking assistance to provide resources for disaster evacuees.

59

Quadrant 3: In Provider- Network members who are in the disaster area providing something to the other network members. This Includes neighbors and barangay officials who immediately assist the disaster victims even if they are victims themselves.

Quadrant 4:Out Provider - Those who are out of the disaster area who are providing something to the other network members. This includes local and internal non-government organizations and foundations: CARE, Daughters of Charity, WFP, ABS CBN, GMA, Red Cross and OxFam

60

4 ways for which social networks change over the course of disaster1. Pre-disaster network

very strong community ties close proximity in the houses (no physical boundary

between houses) Mostly farmers –existence of social networks

2. Ad hoc social network Victims got to know each other in

evacuation centers. sharing of common experiences about

the disaster sharing of common need, concerns,

fears and anxieties by evacuees

61

3. The emergent network Albay Mabuhay (created to address the needs of the

disaster victims) Anislag Livelihood Center (established to train

victims so that they will have new sources of income) The organizations and sponsors also helped the

victims by providing them houses.

4. Stationary ties- unaffected by disasters and relocations.

Family members and kins that supported one another Preservation of the neighborhood system in the

whole barangay

62

On the Vulnerability Perspective Population growth and distribution

The population structure changes as the size of the population remains high in spite of the declining growth rate due to displacement.

Social diversity Poverty is the primary factor that affects how

individuals perceive risk Women may not have enough resources to

confront disaster due to low education and limited skills

Farmers : soil becomes infertile, non- transferrable skills especially the aging farmers

63

Disaster as social status leveler

The occurrence of disaster diminishes social distances among social classes or blurred the boundaries that may be existing among social classes before the disaster

Disaster Response Risk perception, responding on the basis of

interacting with other people (i.e. observing people evacuate), information seeking (i.e. warning received), and observation of social cues of reinforcement (i.e. “There’s serious danger”).

64

New norms emerge; more aware of their social ties and commitments (Turner,1957 and Miller, 2000

Join organizations to be informed and to enjoy benefits

Neighborhood system is important

There is formation of new order and regularity after the chaos

65

More Poor People after the disaster

But……..

66

Bayanihan (cooperation) Spirit at Work

67Houses on stilts in Bacolor, Pampanga ,Phil.1998

Post Disaster resilience and resettlement

68

Perpetual smiles of the Filipinos

69

Is it more fun in the PHILIPPINES?

Something for you to Ponder….

70

Salamat and Mabuhay!

For your kind attention and I can now take your questions.