Philippine Journal of Social Development 2024 Volume 17 Issue 1
Foreword
Karl Arvin F. Hapal
Critical Reflections on Approaches to Enhance People’s Participation in Humanitarian Actions in the Philippines
Cesar Allan C. Vera
Abstract Despite the significant contribution to save lives and reduce suffering after a disaster, there is global and historical discontent on how humanitarian actions or disaster response projects do not connect with community development. Often, participation is limited and is confined to project consultations. This has led to humanitarian actions being disconnected from existing community development efforts. Worse, it can undermine them. This article provides a synthesis of the different approaches applied by civil society organizations to enhance community participation in disaster response. Drawing from the author’s own experience as a humanitarian worker and ongoing conversations with various CSOs, this article examines these approaches using the ladder of participation of Arnstein’s (1969) ladder of participation and identifies the different ways people are enjoined in humanitarian action. The article ends by asserting how community organizing during a disaster response–an approach often disassociated with emergency action–can lead to more strategic, more sustainable, and more transformative outcomes in affected communities.
Keywords: people’s participation, humanitarian action, community development
Marimar (Mare, marami pang chika!): Chikahan as Space for Conscientization, Resistance, and Collective Action to counter Violence against Women
Ma. Carla Michaela H. Batino, Kaye G. Cruz, Angelica Corazon P. Rayel, Mariane Joyce G. Robles
Abstract Violence Against Women (VAW) is a human rights violation inflicted by individuals, from strangers to family members. In the Philippines, one in every four Filipino women aged 14 to 49 are victims of it, with 41% struggling to seek help (Philippine Commission on Women, 2012). Although conventional mechanisms such as laws exist as means for protection and prevention, hostile environments impede victim-survivors from reporting or even talking about it. Due to this, women, in their intimate circles, use chikahan to respond to VAW and to resist the dominant cultures of patriarchy and silence. Contrary to the perception that chikahan is unproductive, Women in Magandang Lugar utilize this as their response to VAW through its integration into their everyday mundane activities and duties as Barangay Public Safety Officers. This article provides insights on how women use chikahan as a feminist organizing strategy, arguing that women-led community-based initiatives countering VAW must be examined.
Keywords: Violence Against Women, Chikahan, Spaces, Women-led Community-based Initiatives, Feminist Organizing, Female Resistance, The Everyday Life, Cultural Politics, Patriarchy
Constraints and Potentials for Just Transition in the Jeepney Modernization Program
Benjamin B. Velasco
Abstract Jeepney drivers and operators, who are informal transport workers, have commonly perceived the modernization program called PUVMP as a phaseout of their livelihood. The paper reviews the rationale for the jeepney modernization program using the lens of just transition which posits that, through social dialogue and decent work, workers will not be left behind in the changes needed in response to climate change, traffic congestion and industry formalization. However, the design and implementation of the modernization program—frequently enforced in a securitized fashion—shows it to be discriminatory. Using document review, key informant interviews and participant observation undertaken during the pandemic, the paper interrogates the experience of groups which nonetheless have critically engaged with the government in order to reveal the possibilities and limits of fighting for just transition within a discriminatory modernization.
Keywords: Jeepney operators and drivers, informal transport workers, PUVMP, just transition, climate change
Mula Panay Tungong Rizal: Gampanin ng Katutubong Kaalaman ng Ati Tribe sa Proseso ng Resettlement
Danilo Valencia Elosendo Jr., Sarah Nelle F. Pasao, Perrie A. Rejuso, John Bryan R. Salamanca, Rafaella Justine Marie C. Villena
Abstract Although there have been many international studies on displacement, what happens to communities during the post-displacement period is often overlooked. The agency and effort of indigenous peoples are sidelined, overshadowed by the prevailing discourse focused on policy issues stemming from global institutions. As a result, indigenous peoples are still viewed as passive, pitiful, powerless, and mere victims of the phenomenon. This study aims to highlight the role of the indigenous knowledge of the Ati in building their community in the resettlement area in Rodriguez, Rizal. In terms of social capital formation, bonding social capital is important to the Ati to strengthen the social cohesion of the community, while bridging and linking social capital are beneficial for them to gain access to resources. This study also seeks to demonstrate the value of indigenous knowledge in their livelihood in the resettlement, such as hunting and selling herbal medicine. Moreover, the dynamic nature of indigenous knowledge is highlighted, where modern knowledge and practices are filtered and selectively adopted by the community. However, the efforts of the Ati are limited by broader systemic issues such as institutional discrimination, state neglect, lack of land security, and environmental degradation caused by development projects. Despite these challenges, the indigenous knowledge of the Ati can be a foundation for organizing to promote their visions for the community and shape the transformational capacity of their daily efforts.
Keywords: Ati, indigenous people, resettlement, indigenous knowledge systems and practices (IKSPs), social capital, community organizing-community development (COCD)
Rafael V. Dimalanta, Geo Kariz D. Cabaron, Bernard Joy G. Dones
Abstract This article examines the experiences of KADAMAY in Sitio San Roque, an urban poor community in Quezon City, as it navigates the challenges posed by the state’s persistent and ongoing slum clearing efforts, driven by neoliberal urban development agendas. Utilizing data gathered over years of community engagement, including field notes and recorded interviews with selected community leaders and KADAMAY members, the authors document the detrimental impacts of state actions characterized by forced evictions and neoliberal housing policies on the community. In response to these challenges, the article traces the development of KADAMAY San Roque’s resistance strategies. Utilizing the frameworks of repertoires of contention and arenas of interaction, it highlights several innovative practices such as Street Occupation, Tumbalik, Temporary Shelter, and the Community Development Plan as notable forms of resistance to unjust state practices and policies. These strategies emerged after the community’s success in organizing barricades to prevent forced eviction. This article describes the context in which these resistance strategies surface as well as its implications for the state. Finally, it offers recommendations informed by the lessons distilled from KADAMAY San Roque’s struggles, contributing to the discourse on urban housing social movements.
Keywords: repertoires of contention, housing, urban poor, social movement, neoliberalism
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The Philippine Journal of Social Development is a peer-reviewed journal published by the College of Social Work and Community Development, University of the Philippines Diliman. The views and opinions expressed in this journal are solely the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the College of Social Work and Community Development.
Philippine Copyright ©2024
University of the Philippines, Diliman
Published Online September 2024
ISSN 2094-523X
All rights reserved.
No part of this journal may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher.
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Issue Editor
Karl Arvin F. Hapal
Managing Editor
Soleil Anniah C. Santoalla
Editorial Board
Lenore Polotan-dela Cruz
John Erwin S. Bañez, DSD
Sabrina Laya S. Gacad
Justin Francis Leon V. Nicolas, PhD
Rosalie T. Quilicol
Celeste F. Vallejos
Technical Editor
Alexa M. Carreon
Layout
Soleil Anniah C. Santoalla
Published by
College of Social Work and Community Development
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City