DATU SAUDI AMPATUAN, Maguindanao (MindaNews / 06 August) — Fifty-five year old Norma Silad, a vendor in the public market here, worries about intermittent armed conflicts in her area but admits she is more worried now about displacements brought about by more frequent flooding. “You can run away from bullets and come back to your place when the fighting ends. You just cannot escape easily from the floods. Floods destroy our crops and vegetables and kill our livelihood,” she laments.
While the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has joined hands with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the current normalization phase following the peace agreement with the Philippine government, elements such as those from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), ISIS-affiliated groups, New People’s Army and other non-state armed groups (NSA) still make their presence felt, including those in flood-prone areas. “Rido” or violent clan feuds involving land ownership disagreements and election-related issues also cause multiple and repeated displacements of families and communities.
Norma recalls that when they fled from the rido-related fighting that resulted in the burning of the local marketplace in the village of Dapiawan, some of their vegetable plots that were ready for harvest were looted. “That’s okay,” she smiles, “compared to floods that take away everything.”
Maguindanao literally translates to “people of the flood plain.” Maguindanaons inhabit the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Zamboanga del Sur.
Maguindanao del Sur province, where Datu Saudi Ampatuan town is located, is the catch basin for the Pulangi river and other rivers and floods from upland provinces such as Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur.
The low-lying and marshy areas are most susceptible to flooding, mainly attributable to the rivers and streams that traverse Maguindanao del Sur, some parts of Maguindanao del Norte and their surrounding provinces. The Rio Grande de Mindanao, which cuts through Cotabato City before emptying into Moro Gulf, is the longest in Mindanao, and second in the country in terms of size. Its major tributary rivers include the Pulangi River and Kabacan River.
The floods make the plain’s soil rich in nutrients. Bananas, cassava, coconut, rice, corn, coffee, and vegetables grow easily.
As the second fastest growing economy in the country in 2021, the Bangsamoro Development Planhas laid out investments in agriculture, fisheries, development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and industries such as construction, real estate, trade and tourism.
More rains and more frequent flooding
On October 27 last year, Typhoon Paeng (international name “Nalgae”) wrought havoc in many parts of Maguindanao and North Cotabato. Cotabato City and Maguindanao del Sur municipalities such as Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Datu Montawal, Mamasapano, Pagalungan, Datu Salibo, Sultan sa Barongis, Mangudadatu, Gen. SK Pendatun, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Piang, Ampatuan and Paglat were hard-hit. The typhoon claimed lives and wrought destruction to structures, crops and livelihood. The Bangsamoro Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (Bangsamoro READi) reported that Typhoon Paeng’s floods affected 578,258 persons in Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte.
With Typhoon Paeng’s heavy downpour reaching around 300 to 400 millimeters precipitation, houses beside rivers were carried away by flash floods. Even communities far from the rivers and streams were also flooded.
On May 27 this year, super typhoon Mawar brought in heavy to extreme rainfall that flooded 17 municipalities in Maguindanao del Sur: Paglat, Datu Montawal, Pagalungan, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Ampatuan, Datu Salibo, Pandag, Mamasapano, Mangudadatu, Datu Saudi ampatuan, Datu Piang, Buluan, General Salipada K. Pendatun, Shariff Aguak, Rajah Buayan and Guindulungan. Four municipalities in Maguindanao del Norte were also devastated — Sultan Mastura, Kabuntalan, Northern Kabuntalan, and Sultan Kudarat.
The Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) in the Bangsamoro listed at least 300,000 residents affected in 146 barangays in Maguindanao del Sur and 46 in Maguindanao del Norte.
Not just the rivers but the roads as well
While increased flooding could be mainly caused by river overflows, several community women leaders and their organizations have been expressing concern that the way the concrete roads are being constructed has been worsening the floods.
In the upland municipalities of Upi and South, the combined long night of extreme downpour and river overflow from Typhoon Paeng on Octber 27-28 last year flooded new areas. “We have not seen that kind of downpour before. We were not ready for it,” Aileen Hualde, director of the Teduray Women’s Organization of Rajah Mamalu Descendants, said.
In her group’s climate crisis discussion with Lalang Hu Mga Laga Organization (Lalang), community women observed that flood waters flowed everywhere in the streets and into houses especially when roads have no drainage canals that are deep enough to guide where the waters should go.
“I think we should not accept that this is God’s will or punishment. We should accept that climate change is real and the climate crisis that brings too much rain can really also flood upland communities,” Aileen said.
Aileen’s house was among those washed out by the overflowing river, their clothes, pots, pans, plates, utensils, and appliances including the television and refrigerator they saved up for, gone in seconds.
Despite her predicament then, Aileen and members of her organization distributed rice, eggs, noodles, rubber slippers and other relief items to the displaced families who fled without being able to bring money, food or even extra clothing. “I cannot help but lend assistance to mothers who held on to their children and were unable to bring anything because the floods were too quick to rise,” she said.
A community leader, Melan Sayutin, spokesperson of Sigay nu mga Babay, Inc., observes the same problem with the roads. “It is the way the roads are constructed. If you see the concrete roads, you usually will not notice any drainage or canal. Sometimes the roads are too elevated and the houses and small businesses are on the lower level.”
Sigay is a Maguindanaon term that means, shine, glow or radiate. The organization is a women’s social enterprises organized in 2019 when the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was established. It has been harnessing the skills of local women to cultivate, process and market local products within and outside the region. Sigay has also been providing quick food and non-food relief to low-income families in the flood plain whenever disasters like floods strike.
“We all benefit from the roads, especially when we transport our goods. Everyone uses the road and without it, there will be no economic activities. However right now when it rains hard, the rainwater quickly flows down to the houses along the roadside,” Melan explained.
She added that debris and excavations from road constructions are also left along waterways, further blocking floodwaters from flowing to the rivers.
Divina Gracia Baclig, who used to work as a Disaster Risk Reduction specialist in an international organization, confirms Melan’s observation. “There is a scientific explanation to flooding currently experienced by rural women and their community. Concrete roads contribute to increased flushing effect. The lack of proper drainage worsens the floods,” she said.
She further explained that these are pluvial or surface water floods that the women are referring to. “Water will always look for a way out. Without drainage and an enhanced flushing effect, water often drains down to the communities,” she added.
Even with moderate downpours, Maguindanao del Sur towns are not spared from floods. Last July 1, rains caused rivers to overflow, flooding 12 towns — Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Datu Montawal, Mamasapano, Pagalungan, Datu Salibo, Sultan sa Barongis, Mangudadatu, Gen. SK Pendatun, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Piang, Ampatuan and Paglat.
The provincial government declared a state of calamity. It reported 44,722 families or about 223,610 individuals were affected by floods, including those from communities surrounding the Ligawasan Marsh where homes have been submerged in water.
Women’s voices
For Aileen, Melan and Norma, airing their concerns over increased flooding due to road construction is important for community women’s organizations to flourish. It is also a way to ensure that the Bangsamoro Development Plan’s Strategy No. 8 is complied with: “Scale up functional, strategic, climate-resilient and quality infrastructure to support sustainable socio-economic development in the Bangsamoro.
As infrastructure programs that include road construction continue in the coming years, women in the communities are taking up the challenge to speak up and be listened to by policy-makers, planners and implementers.
Youth leader Myrah Sahid thinks that the regional and local governments can prove their worth now. In 2008, her family was displaced by the fighting between the MILF and the troops of the Philippine government. After the signing in March 2014 of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the peace agreement between government and the MILF, “we wanted to go back to where our home was but we couldn’t anymore. The flood waters were more than waist high, compared to before when they were just above our ankles.
“Houses are rotting and people are always fleeing. Ten years from now, where will the people they are governing now, be? We all should act, now,” Myrah said.
Involve community women in planning
Engineer Datusikie Ampilan, executive director of Mangungaya Mindanao, Inc. (MMI) suggested the need to fast-track road construction to avoid delays that contribute to flooding. He stressed that “there should be a drainage to release over flowing water or surface water during the rains and communities should be involved in the planning of construction work especially that the construction will contribute to flooding during rainy days.
Internationally, elevated roads have become a response to floods that pose danger to motorists. Protected from stormwater runoffs, this type of road construction is considered a flood adaptation as well as a way to mitigate climate change effects, according to Climate ADAPT. Especially when sea levels rise and ineffectively drain river flows, raised roads ensure safe passage for all types of vehicles and allow economic activities to continue. However, to avoid water draining down to the homes and establishments at lower elevations, water pumps should be in place to remove the excess water before it floods the lower areas.
Asked about women’s participation in planning, Datusikie said that “women, being at the frontline of any family and social affairs of the community must be heard.”
Datusikie pointed to the need to provide formal spaces for women to share protection issues that affect them and the community.=
“They are the first vulnerable sector to be affected. Having meaningful participation of women in development programming gives higher chances of success to achieve the objective of road construction within the overall goal of development for all,” he said.
“Elections come and go, but the people will always be here. As we find more spaces to raise our voices, we look forward to regional and local governance that listens to our voices,” Melan added. (Carol Bello-Dawonlay / MindaNews contributor)
(Carol R. Bello – Dawonlay is the founding director of Lalang Hu Mga Laga, Inc. web.facebook.com/storiesofwomencampaign)