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URL:https://x.com/PhilstarNews/status/1670002501528215562?s=20

TITLE: For the first time ever, the Bangsamoro government participated in a global hunger and malnutrition summit abroad where its representative talked about how constituent communities are struggling to address both.

AUTHOR: John Unson

DATE: 17 June 2023

KEY CONTENT: The Bangsamoro administration made its first recorded appearance with overseas involvement in the global hunger and malnutrition summit .  Discussing how BARMM villages became markedly poor, still struggling vigorously to overcome underdevelopment caused by armed conflicts in decades past.

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URL:https://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2016/10/duterte-i-want-hunger-stopped-i-will-improve-the-moroland/

TITLE:Duterte: “I want hunger stopped….  I will improve the Moroland”

AUTHOR:Carolyn O. Arguillas

DATE: OCTOBER 30, 2016

KEY CONTENT: Former President Duterte addressed hunger through the BANGUN Project in one of the most poverty hunger incidences in the Philippines, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Focusing hunger and malnutrition among children 0-12 years old in ARMM. He wants to ensure that the children are fed adequately so that they can develop fully and grow into productive adults.

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Duterte: "I want hunger stopped.... I will improve the Moroland"

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COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/29 October) - The country's first Mindanawon President on Saturday vowed to pour money and resources into the Moro region "to

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URL:https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1189842

TITLE: 4 'tired, hungry' NPA rebels yield to Army in Agusan Sur

AUTHOR: Alexander Lopez
DATE: December 1, 2022

KEY CONTENT: Four New People's Army (NPA) rebels were compelled to turn themselves into the military in Agusan del Sur due to exhaustion and starvation. The NPA stated that they were cut off from sources of food and most of them experienced too much hunger.

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URL:https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/06/challenges-facing-philippines-bangsamoro-autonomous-region-one-year

TITLE:  The challenges facing tbr Philippines' Bangsamoro Autonomous Reigon at One Year

AUTHOR:Zachary Abuza;  Luke Lischin

DATE: June 10,2020

KEY CONTENT:The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was created in 2019 to end a long-standing conflict, achieving significant milestones in its first year. However, challenges like intra-Moro competition and the presence of militant groups threaten the peace process. At this critical juncture, external support, particularly from the United States, in the form of counseling, training, oversight, and financial aid, could strengthen BARMM's institutional capacity. Additionally, legislation is needed to ensure food sustainability in the region.

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Just over a year ago, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was formally established as part of a peace agreement to end nearly five decades of conflict between the Philippine government and Moro secessionists. This report discusses the many notable achievements of the BARMM government during its first year while cautioning that these accomplishments are not irreversible, and that the BARMM will need international support-including from the United States-to confront future challenges.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, center, holds the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law during a ceremony at Malacañang Palace on July 17, 2017. (Bullit Marquez/AP)

Summary

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was formally established in early 2019 as part of a peace agreement to end nearly five decades of conflict between the Philippine government and Moro secessionists.

In its first year, the BARMM accomplished several major feats, including forming a transitional government, drafting a regional budget, and overseeing the decommissioning of thousands of fighters.

Yet the BARMM faces a number of challenges that could undermine the entire peace process, including the task of coalition building in the regional government, which is complicated by intra-Moro competition among rival groups.

Furthermore, militant Moro groups affiliated with the Islamic State, though small and geographically separated, are a clear danger to the citizens of the BARMM and a potential spoiler to the peace process.

The gains made by the BARMM are impressive but not irreversible. At this pivotal time, outside help-if it is of the right kind-to support the peace process would be invaluable. The United States has the opportunity to augment the institutional capacity of the BARMM by providing counseling, training, oversight, and financial aid.

About the Report

This report is the result of over twenty years of fieldwork in the southern Philippines, detailed data set analysis, as well as extensive research into the Bangsamoro peace agreement. It is the first thorough analysis of the implementation of the peace agreement, including milestones and shortcomings, and of what needs to happen in the coming years to achieve full implementation.

About the Authors

Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College and teaches in Georgetown University's Security Studies Program, where he focuses on Southeast Asian politics and security issues. He is the author of five books, including Forging Peace in Southeast Asia: Insurgencies, Peace Process, and Reconciliation (2016). Luke Lischin is an assistant research fellow at the National War College, where he focuses and writes on political violence and strategy in Southeast Asia.

During the August 5 crisis at Second Thomas Shoal, the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs tried to contact its Chinese counterparts through a bilateral hotline. Manila's effort to de-escalate the standoff despite being the victim of Chinese aggression was laudable. Unfortunately, the calls went unanswered. Officials in Washington have shared the same experience on many occasions - when communication is needed most, Beijing can't be reached.

Global Policy

Tensions between China and the Philippines over control of Second Thomas Shoal have become the focal point of China's increasingly aggressive efforts to assert dominance over the South China Sea, says USIP's Dean Cheng: "Essentially what [China] is saying is that huge swath of ocean ... is somehow Chinese waters."

In recent weeks, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has dispatched ships and other maritime forces to the disputed Spratly islands near the Philippines. The goal has been to coerce the Philippines into withdrawing from the contested Second Thomas Shoal, effectively ceding it to the PRC. China's actions are in defiance of the international Permanent Court of Arbitration's findings that undermine PRC claims to the Spratlys. They therefore constitute a serious challenge to the international rules governing maritime conduct, as well as to broader peace and stability in the South China Sea, through which enormous amounts of global trade flow.

Global Policy

The flashpoints should be viewed against the backdrop of China's new coast guard law, which took effect on February 1, 2021. Under this new coast guard law, China's Coast Guard is authorized "to use all necessary measures including the use of weapons" to enforce China's territorial and maritime claims, in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea.

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

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The Challenges Facing the Philippines' Bangsamoro Autonomous Region at One Year

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Just over a year ago, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was formally established as part of a peace agreement to end nearly five decades of conflict between the Philippine government and Moro secessionists.

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URL: https://youtu.be/-FLdNtrLDzQ?si=vEvzXyrdcqHXTGAZ
TITLE: Malnutrition in the Bangsamoro region

AUTHOR: UNICEF Philippines

DATE: 14 November 2019

KEY CONTENT: The provision depicts an economically disadvantaged family in Bangsamoro, documenting their everyday challenges as well as the severe health concerns that their children confront. Aid proved to be inadequate due to the fact that they were subjected to the same complications every day. The in-need family in Bangsamoro piqued long-term health threats, highlighting the dire situations of the people in Bangsamoro.

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URL: https://youtu.be/eBWlDwhey_g?si=r_b2HtMN-SH1lHnm
TITLE: Is UN's goal of zero world hunger by 2030 moving out of reach? | DW News
AUTHOR: DW NEWS
DATE: July 13, 2021
KEY CONTENT:
Hunger persists as a global challenge, with the United Nations aiming to eradicate world hunger by 2030. In 2020, over 750 million people, possibly as many as 811 million, faced food insecurity, with Asia and Africa being the hardest-hit regions. This data is particularly relevant to conflict areas like Bangsamoro and Mindanao, which encounter distinct food security challenges due to conflicts and displacement. Addressing hunger in these conflict areas is vital for humanitarian reasons and aligns with the broader global goal of achieving zero hunger by 2030.

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Is UN's goal of zero world hunger by 2030 moving out of reach? | DW News

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URL:https://mpiasia.net/newsresources/allnews/alumni-news/468-volunteers-initiatives-in-bridging-and-empowering-society.html

TITLE: Volunteers’ Initiatives in Bridging and Empowering Society
AUTHOR: Lo Ivan Reyes Castillon

DATE: 17 January 2020

KEY CONTENT: Feeding programs for the Badjao communities and the city of Cotabato's street kids were started by the Volunteers' Initiatives in Bridging and Empowering Society (VIBES). The volunteers' hub was established for initiatives that seek to "give back" to their communities with the goal to create communities in Mindanao that coexist peacefully and prosper sustainably. They chose the Badjao community and are always left out of support from the government. They are considered the nomads of Cotabato City and usually seen on the streets of many other cities of Mindanao.

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URL:https://www.facebook.com/351448724937603/posts/cotabato-ssfss-pilot-areamindanao-guvs-link-upto-ensure-food-supplyseveral-gover/2960736570675459/

TITLE: MINDANAO GUVS LINK UP, TO ENSURE FOOD SUPPLY
AUTHOR: Manny Piñol
DATE: March 24, 2020

KEY CONTENT: Implementing the Self-Sustaining Food Security Strategy (SSFSS) recommended by the Mindanao Development Authority by linking up with one another to ensure stable food supply for their constituents.

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Cotabato SSFSS Pilot Area

MINDANAO GUVS LINK UP
TO ENSURE FOOD SUPPLY

Several Governors in Mindanao have already started implementing the Self-Sustaining Food Security Strategy (SSFSS) recommended...

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URL: https://mhsd.bangsamoro.gov.ph/mhsdelivers-magazine-january-june-2021/#dearflip-df_2509/1/

TITLE: MHSDelivers Magazine Vol.1 No.1

AUTHOR: Hamid Aminoddin B. Barra, Jose I. Lorena, Esmael W. Ebrahim, Bonaire M. Madid, Abdulhamid C. Alawi, Jr.

DATE: January-June 2021

KEY CONTENT: The Ministry of Human Settlements and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region focuses on housing and infrastructure development. While not directly related to zero hunger, providing stable housing, community development, and capacity building can indirectly contribute to addressing hunger by empowering communities, supporting local agriculture, and improving infrastructure for better food access and distribution.

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URL: https://pia.gov.ph/features/2023/07/06/food-shortages-and-price-increases-are-loomingheres-how-we-can-help-solve-such-crisis

TITLE: Food shortages and price increases are looming—Here’s how we can help solve such crisis

AUTHOR: Edna Bagadiong

DATE: July 06, 2023

KEY CONTENT: The arrival of the El Niño weather patterns would likely cause it to be a lot harder to put food on the family dinner table in the coming months. Considering the fact that Mindanao supplies nearly half the entire country's food requirements, this can not only affect the minimum wage workers in this industry, it can also affect everyone in the Philippines' food requirements. This can also highly affect the Bangsamoro, as they are heavily dependent on agriculture and the weather patterns can affect the sustainability of their food supply.

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We all know that if there's one thing Filipinos love to do, it's to eat. But due to the arrival of the El Niño weather patterns, it would likely be a lot harder to put food on the family dinner table in the coming months.

As harvests of rice, corn, sugarcane, fruits and vegetables dwindle, price increases are certain to create disruptions and wreak havoc on the food supply.

There are ways to deal with such a crisis. And what better way to help reduce the severity of food shortages and price escalations than growing fruits and vegetables in our homes' backyards, balconies and community gardens?

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. urged Filipinos in March to support fruit and vegetable production in cities and towns in an effort to address the problems on food supply and prices.

At the launch of the urban agriculture program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) at Rizal Park in Manila, President Marcos Jr. said the fusion of DA and DILG's urban farming practices would enable the government "to quickly and effectively promote urban agriculture in the entire country and to foster greater ties among residents in the barangay level."

The Halina't magtanim ng Prutas At Gulay, Kadiwa'y Yaman, Plants for Bountiful Barangays Movement (Hapag Kay PBBM) combined two programs of the DA and the DILG.

For the DA's part, its program aims to augment production of fruits and vegetables by turning urban, peri-urban, and rural areas into patches of green, edible landscapes.

This program encourages the people to grow their own food and other kitchen ingredients close to home, which improves access to affordable, safe, nutritious meals every day.

On the other hand, DILG's program seeks to put up community gardens in every village to diversify food sources and to contribute to food security within each neighborhood.

"Growing your own food" is something the Philippines has done well in the past, particularly in times of national need. The government's "Green Revolution" campaign during the El Niño years in the 1970s encouraged people to grow their own food. As a result, a great bulk of the country's drought time fruit and vegetable supply was grown by households.

Joan Beo takes pride in being able to eat the fruits and vegetables that she wanted without worrying much about the cost.

"I grow my food and kitchen ingredients in the community garden in our village," she said.

Beo and her husband are residents of Barangay JMA Poniton in Virac, Catanduanes.

In recent months, the people of Catanduanes set up 184 fruit and vegetable gardens in various villages.

The crops included tomatoes, pechay and lettuce. Some of these crops (tomato and green onion) have been affected by the ongoing shortages. The shortage and price hikes dealt a blow to their finances.

And that has changed, radically, the way the couple sourced their food.

Suitable for every Filipino

Beo and the people of Catanduanes should not be alone in making the big change.

HAPAG KAY PBBM has been designed to be more inclusive -not just for the green thumbs of Catanduanes, but for Filipinos of all backgrounds and abilities.

Developed as a one-size-fits-all answer to the looming food shortage, the enhanced urban gardening program is suitable for everyone. (EB - PIA V Catanduanes)

Kate Shiene Austria

Information Officer III

Information Officer III under the Creative and Production Services Division of the Philippine Information Agency.

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Food shortages and price increases are looming-Here's how we can help solve such crisis

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We all know that if there's one thing Filipinos love to do, it's to eat. But due to the arrival of the El Niño weather patterns, it would likely be a lot harder to put food on the family dinner table in the coming months.

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URL: https://youtu.be/v-Xaeu_UXSs?si=7UdxInmDREd5kTVT

TITLE: “KALAM” A DOCUMENTARY FILM

AUTHOR: Emer James Urbano

DATE: Feb 15, 2019

KEY CONTENT: In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, similar to other conflict-affected areas in the Philippines, the distressing practice of "pagpag" is a stark reality. Many people in Bangsamoro, struggling with food insecurity exacerbated by conflict, resort to scavenging and recycling leftover food as a means of survival. This heartbreaking situation emphasizes the urgent need for comprehensive measures to address hunger and food insecurity in Bangsamoro, focusing on both immediate relief efforts and long-term strategies for sustainable food access and development.

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URL:https://rssoarmm.psa.gov.ph/release/content/press/55883

TITLE: 2021 Full Year Official Poverty Statistics
AUTHOR:ENGR. AKAN G. TULA

DATE: October 13, 2022

KEY CONTENT: According to the Philippine Statistic Authority, the food threshold is the amount of money a family or individual must make in order to meet their basic food demands and provide them with the nutrients they need to engage in both economically necessary and socially desirable physical activity. Based on a survey they conducted, the food threshold, an individual would need at least PhP 1,683 monthly in 2021 to cover their minimum dietary requirements. A five-person family required at least PHP 8,413. In 2021, 0.59 million Filipinos, or 12.8% of the population, struggled to meet their basic necessities, mostly food.

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URL: https://mafar.bangsamoro.gov.ph/others-2/

TITLE: BARMM FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION ROADMAP

AUTHOR: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

DATE: October 14, 2020

KEY CONTENT: This paper is the result of a collaborative effort between Bangsamoro regional government and the World Food Programme (WFP). It talks about emerging issues and gaps in relation to agriculture and food. In addition to that, strategies and actions are also raised through this report. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform - BARMM strives to resolve the alarming problem of food insecurity and malnutrition among its people especially in the rural areas and this review paper acts as the guide towards that goal.

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Others | Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Agrarian Reform

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URL:https://www.international-alert.org/blogs/bloodshed-in-kidapawan-climate-change-conflict-politics-of-famine/

TITLE: Bloodshed in Kidapawan: Climate change, conflict, politics of famine

AUTHOR: Francisco ‘Pancho’ Lara Jr. Senior Peace and Conflict Adviser, Asia

DATE: April 2016

KEY CONTENT: As drought ravaged North Cotabato like no other province in Mindanao, destroying tens of thousands of hectares of rice plantations, the author, Francisco 'Pancho' Lara Jr., described how, after months of praying for rain, the people received it in the form of bullets raining down on them. He claimed that in order to meet their own requirements, bureaucrats and rebel groups might have a stake in regulating food supplies. This man-made disaster had an impact on individuals, with the poor bearing the brunt of its negative impacts, and it led to widespread food insecurity in the region.

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People prayed for rain these past few months in North Cotabato. Drought plagues the province like no other in Mindanao, laying waste to tens of thousands of hectares of rice farms planted in time for the March harvest season.

The harvest would have brought food on the table, relief from the heat and the chance to plant anew for the main season crop in September.

But the rains did not come and cloud seeding did little to alleviate the shortage of water. Rice stocks were adequate and the granaries were full. Yet, no relief came despite repeated pleas for help from indebted farmers, their burdened wives and their starving children.

When the rains finally came they took the form of bullets pouring hard on them.

Dress rehearsal

In 2015, a massive drought also hit many parts of Mindanao with severe crop losses. Rice farmers petitioned the government for aid and demanded the release of stocks to stop hunger from spreading.

Unknown to most of us, the areas hit by drought have a long history of food-stock raiding in times of crisis.

In 1990, farmers ran off with 500 sacks of rice from National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses in Roxas town, Arakan Valley. In 1993, farmers from drought-stricken communities took 3,000 sacks of rice from an NFA warehouse in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat.

In 1998, starving families from Matalam, North Cotabato were joined by Moro rebels who threatened to ransack government warehouses if their food needs were not addressed. The NFA promptly released rice.

These events would serve as a dress rehearsal for the Kidapawan tragedy. If one must learn lessons from the drought of 2016, it is that this crisis is only the most recent event in a long narrative of catastrophe, hunger and conflict in Mindanao.

Two narrative

There are two competing narratives used to explain the deadly events that left three people dead and scores wounded in Kidapawan.

The first narrative points to the legitimate protests of farmers demanding access to rice stocks to avert famine. In this narrative the farmers are the aggrieved party, their families reeling from hunger as government turned a deaf ear to their pleas and unleashed the full might of the state to quell the protest, leading to dire consequences.

The second narrative turns the spotlight on those who manipulate legitimate protest and use it to shame the government, no matter the cost in human lives.

In this narrative, the police and civilian bureaucracy are the victims. They tried their best to provide relief and clear the roads to facilitate travel, but failed to stifle the impatience and prevent the violence induced by the protesters. Their efforts were lost in the haze of denunciation and name-calling.

With no disrespect to the lives lost and the anguish and suffering on both sides of this conflict, it now seems relevant to ask: "Does it really matter which narrative counts?"

What stares us in the face is the truth that people who produce our food have little of their own. They are the face of poverty in a country vaunting its cash transfers to the poor while denying relief from hunger to its food producers.

Acts of desperation

The roadblocks were acts of desperation by the poor, some of whom have taken their own lives. They were waging an uphill battle to capture public attention to their plight in the midst of the 2016 political circus.

Poor farmers also blocked the Davao-Agusan highway in Davao City for eight hours. Many people denounced the protesting farmers for the inconvenience. Yet, how many times have we endured similar roadblocks to suit the whims of government officials, churches and political campaigns? A well-known writer put it succinctly when he denounced the clear double standard: "So it was OK to shoot them?"

Beyond the division and recrimination that characterised the response of a divided nation, we must now reflect on the urgent and decisive actions that can be taken to prevent a repeat of this tragedy.

Climate change, famine

The tragedy bares the deadly effects of climate change on food production and the links between hunger and violent conflict. Climate change over the past few years has led to more intense droughts and flooding neither seen nor felt at any time in the past.

People expect the government to be prepared adequately by now. Yet, amid rising tensions the government's response was to assure the public that rice and other food supplies were adequate. Two days after the bloodshed, the secretary of agriculture continued to mount this defense.

Indeed, government warehouses were filled with rice and foodstuff. Yet, anyone studying famine would have known that bulging food supplies do little to placate alarm. They actually invite agitation, as these signify the state's unwillingness to give urgent food aid to families in danger of starvation and death.

Calamities, bad policies

Drought-induced famine has been the stuff of many studies of political change in the face of crisis. Studies (Keen 1994, Johnson 1999) have shown that hunger could not be apolitical and that vulnerability could be politically manufactured through bad policies.

The catastrophic famines of the 1950s and 1980s occurred amid bountiful harvests. Yet, millions of people died due to wrong political decisions rather than shortages.

In India, the collapse of export prices left millions of farmworkers unemployed and with no means to buy food. The Nobel laureate Amartya Sen remarked that people starved not because food was scarce but because they had lost their endowments and consequently, their entitlements to food.

In China, structural changes and labor redistribution during the Great Leap Forward were identified as the primary causes of starvation, rather than natural calamities.

Something is terribly wrong when hunger sits side by side with huge supplies of food. The only conclusion you get is that suffering is the product of a political decision after all, rather than the calamity. These explain why the West Bengal and the Chinese famine are considered among the worst man-made disasters of the 20th century.

Decentralising stockpiles

The Aquino administration did the most to decentralise stockpiles of food to key cities and provinces to improve responsiveness in times of emergency. However, the 2016 crisis exposed the futility of moving stockpiles closer to the ground while maintaining command and control over their distribution at the central level. Food stocks are unlikely to reach those who need it most, when they need it.

The crisis also reveals the gaps in government preparations for El Niño. The rules governing access to food stocks were not changed to permit immediate redistribution if needed. Local stockpiling of food was not accompanied by the creation of efficient quick-response redistributive mechanisms that could ensure easy and equitable access.

Instead, in the face of an emergency, the government compelled victims to adhere to the slow and bureaucratic process of testing their means and verifying their eligibility, a feature of its cash transfer and cash-for-work schemes.

Sufficiency instead of survival

A comprehensive antihunger response was not implemented. Officials of relevant agencies (Department of Agriculture and NFA) wanted to ensure that agricultural productivity was sustained, when the issue had obviously shifted to ensuring that people survived.

Food production in root crops and investments in mulching techniques that are a basic staple in famine response was not implemented sufficiently and in time to stave off the worse effects of the heat and the consequent acute water shortage.

Finally, any student of hunger and famine knows well that the situation has taken a turn for the worse when farmers begin killing their animals for food.

By the first quarter of 2016, reports started to arrive about emaciated carabaos and cattle and the first reports of animal slaughter, signaling that drought was turning to famine and hunger to starvation. Yet, government went on to invest in training farmers on silage making to feed their cattle, when there was not even enough for farmers to feed themselves.

Election season's impact

Local government officials were ill-prepared to deal with the tensions and consequent violence that hunger brings. Crisis mediation and communication fell into the hands of those who knew little about how to deal with confrontation and thus they resorted to a policing solution.

The election season deepened the crisis because few were minding the store when calamity struck. Drought, hunger and death became a victim of transition creep, joining the long queue of unresolved issues under the current administration, including the autonomy project in Mindanao, the transport problem and the rise in criminality.

All of these factors converged with deadly consequences for Mindanao. The drought is likely to be followed by flooding in the monsoon season, creating more instability and the very real threat of renewed attacks on food stockpiles.

Urban bias, benefits

Everyone must share the blame for the Kidapawan tragedy. The first challenge is to change the patently urban bias of policymakers.

Urban bias ensured that the bulk of rice stocks was stored at the center so that urban publics were well-fed, food prices were stable and labor costs were held down. In fact, many people in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao City discovered how perilous the situation had become only when the Kidapawan tragedy exploded in the media.

But it does not end there. The string of benefits extends from global food chains to local traders, state bureaucrats, insurgents, rebel militias, international development agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Global food chains and big traders may want to enlarge their profits by keeping global commodity prices low, or by hoarding food and manipulating the prices of local grains. The rice and sugar cartels loom large in the public eye, yet some big trade predators identified in Senate investigations have not been jailed.

Bureaucrats, insurgents

State bureaucrats may have an interest in controlling and diverting stocks and exacting rents. The past few years saw various organisational changes in rural line agencies precisely to curb this sort of corruption and mismanagement.

Insurgent groups may have an interest in controlling food stocks to meet their own needs. Mounting a weeklong campaign in Mindanao requires resources that hungry communities can neither raise nor provide. It is not farfetched to think that those resources were made available by insurgent groups and their supporters, who may have an interest in promoting resistance.

Finally, multilateral and bilateral aid agencies and NGOs often ignore the political capture of the relief goods they provide just so they could gain humanitarian access to poor conflict-affected areas.

These actors can play a positive role in ensuring that the poor are able to sustain access to food, but they can also become perpetrators of a man-made calamity whose ill-effects inordinately falls on the backs of the poor.

Reversing crisis

There are at least three important steps that can be taken to head off the escalation of violence from the drought that continues to afflict the countryside.

Targeted emergency assistance in the form of food aid and emergency employment needs to be in place before hunger leads to starvation and consequently, to more violent conflict.

A significant portion of national and international funding for climate-change relief must be ring-fenced and targeted toward the building of village-level stockpiles in critical areas.

National and local government officials must immediately revise the rules governing access and distribution of food stocks to ensure their swift, equitable and efficient transfer to households and communities during complex emergencies.

The next administration must be pressured into resetting our food priorities in a world where climate change is the new reality. The situation calls for the reversal of ill-advised policies that targeted national rice self-sufficiency at the expense of stronger access and secure entitlements to food at the household level.

This op-ed was originally published on the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

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Bloodshed in Kidapawan: Climate change, conflict, politics of famine - International Alert

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Drought plagues the province like no other in Mindanao, laying waste to tens of thousands of hectares of rice farms planted in time for harvest season.

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URL: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/12/731218264/the-philippines-marawi-city-remains-wrecked-nearly-2-years-after-isis-war

TITLE: The Philippines' Marawi City Remains Wrecked Nearly 2 Years After ISIS War

AUTHOR: Julie McCarthy

DATE: June 12, 2019

KEY CONTENT: Julie McCarthy visited one corner of ISIS. It took a five-month siege before Philippine government troops expelled them. Hundreds more displaced families live in one of three tent cities. The unofficial leader of this camp, Olowan Magarang, escorted Julie through its muddy lanes. Children, seeming oblivious to the misery, are everywhere. One of the locals shared, “The children are always crying because there's not enough to eat. The $1,400 of government assistance is all spent. Are we waiting here to just die off?”.  This is an evidence of the food insecurity in Marawi City.

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The Philippines’ Marawi City Remains Wrecked Nearly 2 Years After ISIS War

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The city has a rich heritage of buildings and mosques. Today, the battle scars are as prominent as ever and residents displaced by the conflict complain about the sluggish reconstruction.

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URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy0mohAZ3qc

TITLE: The Invisible Monster Short Film

AUTHOR: Director Javier Fesser

DATE: Nov 27, 2020

KEY CONTENT: In the midst of hardship, grief, war, and famine, the Filipino soul finds delight in the movie. Aminodin, who lives and works in a dump, and Aliman, who resides in an evacuation camp, are the two kids who star in it. We learn from these two boys that hunger and joy are not always apparent to the naked eye. The 32-minute documentary movie, which was directed by Oscar-nominated director Javier Fesser, was filmed in Marawi City, whose residents are still dealing with the impacts of the 5-month siege that took place from May to October 2017. The "actors" in the movie are all actual residents who experienced the siege and are not paid actors. The movie aims to inspire people to take action against malnutrition, a condition that affects 4 million Filipino children and is the most severe type of hunger.

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URL:https://www.facebook.com/mindanews/videos/842325619716156/

TITLE: Book Launch: The Challenges of Reporting Violent Extremism: Lessons from Mindanao

AUTHOR: MindaNews

DATE: May 20, 2021

KEY CONTENT: The authors and other collaborators successfully launched the valuable book, The Challenges of Reporting Violent Extremism: Lessons from Mindanao while being streamed live on MindaNews' Facebook page. The webinar discussed how the book provides us with insight into the characteristics and nature of violent extremism in the Philippines and how it affects the food production in the Mindanao context. “We all know that in order to solve a challenge, it is very important that we understand the problem itself. And this book gives us an insight into the magnitude of the problem of violent extremism,” according to Maj. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr., one of the speakers during the previously mentioned event.

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WATCH | Book Launch: The Challenges of Reporting Violent Extremism: Lessons from Mindanao | WATCH | Book Launch: The Challenges of Reporting Violent Extremism: Lessons from Mindanao | By MindaNews | Facebook

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WATCH | Book Launch: The Challenges of Reporting Violent Extremism: Lessons from Mindanao

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URL:https://kalinaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Moro-Reader.pdf#page=81

TITLE: The MORO READER History and Contemporary Struggles of the Bangsamoro People

AUTHOR: Lualhati M. Abreu, Maria Carinnes P. Alejandria, Kenneth E. Bauzon, Abhoud Syed M. Lingga, Alexander Martin Remollino, Temario C. Rivera, Bobby M. Tuazon, Julkipli Wad

DATE: August 5, 2008

KEY CONTENT:The whole book itself talked about the history of the Bangsamoro and the struggles of its people. However, in a section entitled “The Economic and Security Intricacies of the Bangsamoro Struggle” it slightly stated that the land of the Bangsamoro is one of the reason of conflict stating that in the midst of agro-business,infrastructure, and other development projects in the Moro areas, particularly the ARMM shows some of the most depressing sights of poverty being the highest 23 incidence of poverty and hunger in the country.

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URL:https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep31275

TITLE: The Philippines: Militancy and the New Bangsamoro

AUTHOR: International Crisis Group

DATE: Jun. 27, 2019

KEY CONTENT: The research is all about the militancy of the new Bangsamoro, talking about the inauguration and marking the culmination of the Bangsamoro Organic Law. In III. Challenges for the Bangsamoro, it slightly talked about the civil war of Bangsamoro against the government and its effect with the people, stating that they were not given the proper respect for their culture and religion, some being unjustly expelled from their land causing no proper home to stay and food to eat.

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URL:https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2022/05/21/2182594/editorial-looming-food-crisis/amp/

TITLE: EDITORIAL - A looming food crisis

AUTHOR: The Philippine Star

DATE: May 21, 2022

KEY CONTENT: The warning about the impending food crisis, though not explicitly mentioning regions like Bangsamoro, holds significant relevance for such areas. In the context of Bangsamoro, which has its unique challenges including conflict-related issues, the convergence of factors like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, international conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine situation, and climate change heightens its vulnerability. This impending food crisis, compounded by rising fuel prices and increasing debt, underscores the pressing need to prioritize local agricultural production in Bangsamoro. By doing so, not only can the region ensure food security and alleviate hunger, but it can also address the complex interplay of conflict and food insecurity that affects the area.