The National Nutrition Council (NNC) in the region is closely monitoring preschoolers in the province of Davao Occidental, where government’s data shows the highest number of children were undernourished.
Extreme sports among the highlights in 60th Araw ng Lanao del Norte celebration
Sports, both extreme and mainstream, highlight the 60th celebration of the Araw ng Lanao del Norte this year.
Karapatan hits bill to lower age of criminal responsibility as Sen. Sotto files it anew
“Karapatan reiterates its opposition on the bill lowering
the age of criminal responsibility as Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III
refiled it on Monday, July 1 despite strong condemnation from various groups
and individuals when it was filed in the 17th Congress,” Jose Mari Callueng,
Karapatan National Council member, said.
Didipio residents stage barricade as Oceanagold continues operation sans license
“The ongoing barricade by the affected citizens in Nueva Vizcaya echoes the battle that we’ve been long fighting. We want them gone and be held liable for their atrocities…”
By JOHN AARON MARK MACARAEG
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — The continuous operation of mining company Oceanagold, despite the expiration of its financial and technical agreement (FTAA) , forced the residents and village officials of Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya to set up a barricade, July 1.
A day before the expiration of its FTAA, Oceanagold sent a letter to Didipio’s village council, June 21, citing Section 18 of Executive Order 292 or the Administrative Code. It states that existing licenses shall not expire until the application for renewal has been finally determined.
But before setting up the barricade, the provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya already issued June 27 an order restraining the operation of the Australian-Canadian mining corporation.
Environmental activists headed by Kalikasan People’s Network Alliance for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) trooped to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) July 2 to support the ongoing barricade.
“In the past, they [Oceanagold] were saying that the people should respect the legality of their operation and just let them operate in accordance with the law. But now that their “legality” has expired, who is it that couldn’t follow the law? Who’s the one who couldn’t respect it?” said Leon Dulce, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE.
“We are one with the people of Nueva Vizcaya calling for the stoppage of Oceanagold’s illegal mining operation. For the entire 25-year duration of Oceanagold’s mining contract, the indigenous people, farmers and other citizens suffered human rights violations, land displacement, and environmental destruction,” said Dulce.
The checkpoint barricade was placed in the access road of Oceanagold. It will continue until the operations are permanently suspended. About 50 to 100 residents guard the barricade 24/7.
Dulce said that since July 1, no trucks transporting supplies or carrying out things from the company have passed.
Dulce also appealed to nearby municipalities, church organizations, and other environmental advocates to support the barricade.
Negligence of the national government
In 2014, an environmental investigation mission led by scientist group Agham found damages to forests, air pollution from dusty roads and stockpiles, and massive water pollution, all affecting the health and livelihood of affected residents.
In 2016, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) then headed by former Secretary Gina Lopez ordered for Oceangold’s suspension after conducting a mining audit and listed the following violations such as: violation of the Mineral Production and Sharing Agreement (MPSA), violation of the environmental compliance certificate, operating within a watershed, dust emission, discoloration and siltation of coastal waters, failure to comply with tree planting requirements, non-payment of mine waste and tailings fee and siltation fee, absence of permit for cutting trees, absence of water permit, use of provincial road as mine road, failure to mitigate erosion, operating silt ponds without valid permit for discharge, absence of ISO 14001 Certification.
Read: ‘Maverick’ | Green group hails DENR head for ‘political will’ vs. destructive mining
“The ongoing barricade by the affected citizens in Nueva Vizcaya echoes the battle that we’ve been long fighting. We want them gone and be held liable for their atrocities! Twenty-years of corruption in our environmental resources are enough. Foreign companies don’t just exploit our resources but also the indigenous people that live within the affected area,” said Joan Jaime of Katribu said during the protest at the gate of MGB.
But despite all the mining company’s reported offenses and violations, it was reported that MGB and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have already endorsed Oceanagold’s application for FTAA renewal to the office of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“We cannot accept how government regulators have been willfully blind to these violations and demand that they close down Ocenagold’s mine immediately,” Dulce said.
The group said in a statement that they would mobilize its provincial and national multi-sectoral member organizations to support the people’s barricade until Duterte, who has been outspoken against mining throughout his presidency, cancels the FTAA of Oceanagold.
The post Didipio residents stage barricade as Oceanagold continues operation sans license appeared first on Bulatlat.
Makabayan bloc opens 18th Congress with 67 bills, resos
While their colleagues, including other party list representatives, are busy with infighting for the speakership of the HOR, the Leftist lawmakers submitted both new and their old legislative measures and made sure they are among the first to file them.
Chronic undernutrition among kids, pervasive hunger belie 4Ps logic – IBON
Research group IBON said
that the results of the expanded national nutrition survey (ENNS) dispute the
logic of institutionalizing the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) for poverty alleviation under Republic Act
(RA) No. 11310. The program is said to be an
“investment in the next generation” that develops healthy educated
Filipinos. Yet after over 10 years of implementation, said the group, Filipino
children still suffer from chronic undernutrition. Also, more than half of the
population remains food insecure.
Data from the Food and Nutrition
Research Institute (FNRI) show that the nutritional status of Filipino children
has not significantly changed since 2008 when the 4Ps commenced. Stunting, in
particular, has even worsened among infants and young children. The World
Health Organization (WHO) defines stunting as the impaired growth and
development that children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection,
and inadequate psychosocial stimulation.
The incidence of stunting among infants
and young children 0-23 months old worsened from 20.2% in 2008 to 25.5% in
2018, and only slightly improved among children under 5 years old from 32.2% to
30.3% in the same period. Also according to FNRI, there is still a “public
health problem of high severity” among school children ages 6-10 years at 24.5%
in 2018, even if this is lower than the 32.2% reported in 2008. FNRI also
reports that 53.9% of the population is still food insecure in 2018.
Other indicators of undernutrition,
such as underweight and wasting, also worsened for school children 6-10 years
old, from 20% in 2008 to 24.5% in 2018 and 6% to 7.6%, respectively, from 2008
to 2018. These indicators meanwhile are statistically unchanged among children
under 5 years old – underweight barely improved from 20% in 2008 to 19.1% in
2018, while wasting moved slightly from 6% in 2008 to 5.6% in 2018.
Meanwhile, data from the Department of
Health (DOH) 2018 Field Health Services Information System (FHSIS) show that
deaths among children under five years old increased to 11.42 per 1,000 live
births in 2018 from 10.8 per 1,000 live births in 2013. The UNICEF observes
that nearly half of deaths in children under 5 years old are attributable to
undernutrition which puts children at greater risk of dying from common
infections, aggravates such infections, and delays recovery.
Food insecurity and lack of nutrition remain
a public health concern, IBON said. This is despite the billions spent on the
much touted poverty alleviation program – about Php475 billion from 2008 to
2018, said the group.
The National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) attributes the recent reported decline in poverty incidence to
4Ps, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) claims that
1,315,477 household beneficiaries moved above the poverty line also due to 4Ps.
IBON however noted that the program was questioned by a 2017 Commission on
Audit (COA) report.
The COA said that the DSWD data does
not say whether the 4Ps services were effective in keeping Filipino children
healthy or if increased access to primary and secondary education guaranteed
the 4Ps children would be properly equipped to pursue further education or
secure jobs. “There is insufficient longitudinal evidence to determine if the
program caused the decline in poverty incidence and henceforth contributed to
the goal of breaking the inter-generational cycle of poverty,” the COA stated.
These show that while cash grants
through the 4Ps may provide temporary relief to Filipino families, mere
dole-outs cannot wipe out poverty, said IBON.
Raising wages and incomes substantially
is critically important, said IBON. Paying Filipino workers substantial and just
wages will let them buy nutritious food for their children, said the group.
Giving farmers, fisherfolk and other food producers free land to till, the
infrastructure, technology and capital they need and ensuring that they are
paid fair prices for their produce will give them enough income to meet the
food needs of their families.
The group also stressed that the long-term
solution to pervasive hunger and poverty among the millions of Filipinos is
enough decent work from developed Philippine agriculture and industry. The
government should develop domestic agriculture for local consumption and
production of other raw materials. Local manufacturing should be developed as
part of larger program of national industrialization.
People-oriented economic policies that
give foremost importance to peoples’ welfare are needed. With steady income
sources deeply connected with the country’s economic development, Filipino
families can then nurture healthy and educated children. Only then can it be
said that chronic poverty has begun to meet its end, said the group. ###
Featured image by J. Ellao / bulatlat.com
On the act requiring private sector employers to pay 14th month pay
#MayMagagawa #PeopleEconomics #PeoplesSONA2019
Pastor speaks out against worsening militarization in Mindoro
Nakaranas din ang Quick Reaction Team ng Karapatan-ST nang harasment sa militar at pulis matapos silang magsagawa ng humanitarian mission.