ILO and FAO launch joint initiative to nurture peace, security and decent work in the Philippines; Government of Japan allocates 2.5 million USD for inter-agency programme

The ILO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations will launch a new project to help fishers, farmers and workers in a Philippine province affected by conflict and natural disasters, in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

Press release | 04 March 2010

(ILO, Manila, Philippines) - The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations will launch a new project to help fishers, farmers and workers in a Philippine province affected by conflict and natural disasters, in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

The “Inter-agency Programme to Nurture Peace, Security and Decent Work through Local Development in Conflict Areas of the Philippines (Bondoc Peninsula) will address extreme poverty and inequality as the root causes of social unrest and armed conflict on Bondoc Peninsula, Quezon province, where natural disasters have affected many people. 80 per cent of the population in the region depends on farming and fishing activities earning not more than USD 1 per day.

“People cannot get themselves out of poverty without decent work. It is even harder for people living in conflict-affected areas with limited access to livelihood, health care, education and other economic resources. Breaking this vicious cycle by bringing stakeholders to work together for local development is crucial to reduce the number of working poor, cope better with climate change and address the root causes of conflict,” said Linda Wirth, Director of the ILO Subregional Office in Manila.

Funded by the Government of Japan through the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security, the project aims at promoting decent work for the disadvantaged through local economic development. It will complement the national government’s peace building and agrarian reform efforts.

“Quezon province is essentially an agricultural economy. Restoring, rehabilitating and further improving farming and fishing activities in the affected communities are prerequisites for a lasting peace and long term economic development in the province. We are strongly committed to support the peace process,” said Kazuyuki Tsurumi, FAO Representative in the Philippines.

Fishers, farmers and workers in the informal economy are priority groups among the disadvantaged populations identified. Through the project, women and men, including young people, will benefit from assistance to improve agricultural production and fisheries. The project will also provide alternative livelihood and entrepreneurial skills development and strengthen community-based disaster risk management. Furthermore, women and children from four priority municipalities, namely Mulanay, San Narciso, Unisan and Catanauan on Bondoc Peninsula, will benefit from improved maternity and child care programmes of their respective local governments. The project will be implemented over a three-year period starting in March 2010.

For further information please contact:

Mr Reinero Flores
ILO and FAO Inter-agency Programme (Bondoc Peninsula)
Tel: +63 2 580 9909 / 580 9900
Email


Ms Minette Rimando

ILO Country Office for the Philippines
Tel: +63 2 580 9905 / 580 9900
Email