Community Empowerment Facility Profile

BACKGROUND

In the midst of the challenges of land distribution, government, especially local government, faces great difficulties in furthering the needs of the landless when faced with the power of the rich land-owning class. In this context, people's organizations, such as the Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA-Visayas), have a very important role in supporting local farmer organiZations.

The Philippines has been undergoing a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP) for fifteen years aimed at redistributing agricultural lands to small farmers and leaseholders. At the same time, however, the 1991 Local Government Code (LGC) has, in some cases, undermined CARP because it gives local government the power to reclassify lands for non-agriculture purposes, such as industrial or residential use. Further to the general resistance of large landowners to land distribution, smallholders, including fishing communities, may be further restricted from gaining resources where local government and wealthy private sector interests have their own interests for land and coastal area development.

However, with financial support provided by International Land Coalition CEF (USD 99 600), local community groups are being assisted to gain influence in the local government planning process, where they can influence decisions on land allocation, use and management. This is essential to protect their rights of access under the CARP. Through support to PhilDHRRA-Visayas and its project implementing partner PATANOM, this CEF initiative is assisting farmers and other marginalized community groups to represent their interests to local government. Both organizations have appropriate experience in mobilizing civil society in each of the two municipalities where the project is implemented over a period of two years from January 2002 until 2004.

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GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

To develop participatory governance in the towns of Ajuy and Barotac Viejo in the central province of Iloilo . The involves building local planning capacity that not only takes into account the needs of the poor, but also ensures a place for representatives of the target communities in local government decision-making. Specific objectives are to develop a Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) for each municipality; to formulate a five-year Municipal Agricultural and Fisheries Development Plan (MADP) for each municipality; and finally to strengthen the local councils in each municipality and civil society mechanisms for local government participation.

The scope of this project is ambitious both in its organization, involving two implementing agencies, and in its aim; obtaining recognition of the needs of the poorest by local government. If successful however, it could have a profound effect on the way land and fisheries resources are distributed, not only in the project area, but in other municipalities where activities could be replicated.

From the point of view of the CEF, the main strengths of the initiative are that it creates political space for the poor in government planning, provides a channel for conflict resolution with powerful local elites and increases government commitment to community-based organizations.

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WHO WILL BENEFIT?

The main beneficiaries of the project are the farmers and fisher folk in the two municipalities of Barotac Viejo and Ajuy who represent fifty per cent of their respective populations of 34 000 and 38 000. Many of the farmers do not own the land that they work - averaging one to 1.5 hectares per household. There is strong resistance to land distribution under CARP from large landowners, many of whom are also politicians. For the fishing communities the situation is similar. Fisher folk are constantly threatened by commercial fishing operators who encroach into municipal waters.

Insecure resource tenure as well as limited access to related productive requirements is a common problem for both the farmers and fisher folk in raising their incomes and improving family livelihoods.

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CONCLUSION

There are currently very few active social development organizations in the project area. On the other hand, there are a growing number of people's organizations - altogether some 25 groups in the two municipalities. However, without a strong group representing their collective interests, it is likely that the private sector and political interest groups will continue to dominate. There is significant potential to influence change by consolidating these small local groups into a strong civil-society lobby and representative body to work with local government and counter-balance the influence of established elites.

Beyond the direct benefit to the local groups, there is considerable potential for this project to be catalytic through existing civil society networks, such as the 64 NGOs nationwide that are related to PhilDHRRA, the Confederation of Development NGO Networks (known as CODE), and with AR Now an ongoing partner of International Land Coalition representing a network of organizations working for agriculture and fisheries reform.

PhilDHRRA has the necessary experience to implement this project which builds on a similar project in 1997 in the province of Leyte which assisted a local group in formula ting their Comprehensive Land Use and Municipal Agriculture and Fisheries Development Plans, using a participatory local development planning process. In general, International Land Coalition seeks to support successful experiences undertaken by civil society organizations in The Philippines, and elsewhere, that can be replicated in other parts of the country

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