(reprinted from http://www.abs-cbnnews.com, May 3, 2012)

by Lila Ramos Shahani

Over the past 12 years, cycles of violent conflict in Central Mindanao have displaced nearly a million people from their homes.In October 2011, thousands of families had to leave their homes yet again when fighting escalated in parts of Zamboanga Sibugay and Basilan. Currently, several thousand people across Mindanao remain displaced, particularly in Maguindanao.

These disrupted lives present major challenges to both government and affected families, particularly since these displaced individuals do not always return to their own homes, a recent study by the WB and the WFP revealed.

It found displacement to be detrimental to livelihoods, social cohesion and welfare across virtually every key indicator: food security, access to basic services, income poverty and housing.

The survey, launched by the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster (HDPRCC) last Friday, was conducted during the last quarter of 2010.

A total of 2,759 randomly-selected households from a total of 231 barangays across 5 provinces — Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), as well as Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat — were interviewed.

Families displaced by conflict

The study, “Violent Conflicts and Displacement in Central Mindanao: Challenges for Recovery and Development, ” revealed that 4 in every 10 households in the surveyed areas experienced displacement from 2000-2010, with 1 in 5 displaced 2 or more times, and 1 in 10 forced to leave their homes up to 5 times during this period.

The long-term effects of conflicts have been destructive indeed: they have repressed the growth of investments while diluting government resources needed for development, basic services and human capital.

But government firmly believes that war is not a solution to this long-term historical problem, and that much can ultimately be resolved by addressing the deeper problems of poverty and underdevelopment.

Inequality has been a primary reason for the insurgency’s continuation through so many generations: certainly, the human development index in ARMM is arguably the worst in the entire country, part of a legacy of decades of armed struggle.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary and HDPRCC head Dinky Soliman welcomed the report’s “important insights on the inter-related dimensions of conflict, displacement and economic growth” in Central Mindanao.

“The data provides a basis to allow the relevant departments in government and other development partners to offer targeted recovery and render extensive development support in affected areas, especially the most vulnerable households,” she said.

In a statement read by Undersecretary Luis Montalbo, Secretary Ging Quintos-Deles of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) also lauded the study, finding it to be a “very relevant guide” for government’s efforts in conflict-affected communities under the current Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Peaceful and Resilient Communities or PAMANA) program.

“It is also important that interventions under PAMANA be based on detailed knowledge of livelihood opportunities and access to land, credit availability and food supply. These indicators vary from place to place,” Deles noted.

World Bank Country Director Motoo Konishi said the report shed considerable light on the nature and extent of vulnerability across provinces, population categories and livelihood groups in affected areas.

“It can shape the operational choices of humanitarian, recovery and development agencies, in addition to improving outcomes for the population on the ground,” he said. Konishi was represented by Mark Woodward, senior social development specialist at the World Bank.

WFP Country Director Stephen Anderson, meanwhile, said the study will help agencies like WFP “better target food assistance and help communities strengthen their resilience to conflict and natural disasters.”

 

Not enough food

Anderson noted that “the 2 ARMM provinces in Central Mindanao – Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur – suffer the highest levels of food insecurity. This is exacerbated by high levels of exposure to shocks, such as recurrent flooding and crop disease that make people poorer and more food insecure.”

The study found out that households in Central Mindanao most vulnerable to displacement have been “frequently exposed to violence.”

Movements of armed military and rebel groups were cited by 29% of surveyed households as one primary cause of their displacement, while 9%blamed it on clan conflict or “rido.”

Host families also felt additional pressures, resorting “to selling goods or assets to provide food and support” for the displaced people they were hosting.

Of the areas surveyed, Maguindanao accounted for the highest degree of vulnerability, with about 82 percent of all households in the area affected by displacement due not only to violent conflict but also to weather-related disasters.

These displacements represented the 2 poorest wealth quintiles, where households suffered the highest levels of food insecurity and the lowest incomes.

Money as top priority

When asked to identify their top priorities, surveyed households ranked money, employment, food, health and education, in that order. Respondents called for government attention to these basic needs, as well as the construction of roads and the need for electricity.

Respondents also identified economic development, the signing of a peace agreement, and ending impunity as critical interventions that are urgently needed.

Peace is crucial for human wellbeing, economic development and nation building. Deeper problems of poverty and underdevelopment propagate and sustain conflict — which we therefore should be focusing on instead.

Many sources of disagreement are now generations old, no longer amenable to short-term solutions.

Peaceful resolution will now therefore require much greater give-and-take, carefully crafted policies and a great deal of goodwill on all sides.

But policies and mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of political disputes must be coupled with programs that accurately target socio-economic, political and environmental vulnerabilities.

By increasing access to services and infrastructure, these areas of conflict can potentially be transformed into peaceful and progressive communities.

In line with President Aquino’s thrust for more participatory government, this publication provides a wellspring for greater dialogue and collaboration in the future. This is just the start of a creative new partnership between the Philippine government and its international partners to work towards more humanitarian conditions — and more lasting peace and development — in central Mindanao .

Lila Ramos Shahani is assistant secretary and head of communications of the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster. She is also adjunct faculty at the Center for Development Management at the Asian Institute of Management.