kababaihan-at-kapayapaan-issue-3

at least 5% of their budgets for genderand development, that is, the GADFund. (In 1992, RA 7192 - Women inNation Building - mandated that partof overseas development funds beallocated for gender and developmentprograms.) For various reasons, theGAD Fund has often remained unused,or as often misused, even abused.GAD fund as the key to NAPNot anymore, at least in some partsof Maguindanao. NAP localizationhas provided the key to unlock thelocal GAD funds in the province.With characteristic prescience, NAPnational steering committee co-chairand peace adviser Teresita QuintosDeles saw a perfect fit in NAP and theGAD Fund, especially in areas thathave experienced armed conflict.In mid-2012 the Regional Councilof Bangsamoro Women, regionalcounterpart to the Philippine Councilof Women (PCW), held an orientationsession on the NAP for LGUs in theAutonomous Region in MuslimMindanao that includes Maguindanaoamong five provinces. Althoughlivelihood, education and humantrafficking (of women and younggirls) were acknowledged as priorityissues for the province, traffickingwas chosen because it was the leastaddressed. In a two-year period (2010-12), 186 cases of trafficking, mostlyof young girls, had been reported inARMM.with content not suited to women,e.g. study tours which were “notissue-based”. NAP has been integratedinto the 15-year provincial strategicplan to ensure continuity even withleadership change.Triple whammyMaguindanao (“land of the floodedplains”) is agriculture-based withnearly a million in population,over half of whom are childrenand youth (median age is 17.6).Over 500 barangays constitute 36municipalities, 22 of which haveexperienced trafficking in persons.Nearly half of the population is female;and nearly half (45%) of the total livesbelow the poverty line. Maguindanaohas consistently ranked second orthird poorest province in the countryin the past decade. (NSCB, 2010).A triple whammy explains the riseof trafficking in Maguindanao (andits neighbors) – nearly a decadeof conflict (2000-08) between themilitary and the MILF displacednearly a quarter of the population(235,000+), fueled in-between warsby rido (feudal conflict), and wasaggravated by flooding (in 2006 and2009) reaching its peak in 2011 whichdisplaced 462,000 individuals in 27municipalities.School participation rates in theprovince dropped by 30% withinternally displaced persons (IDPs)reaching hundreds of thousands. Therepeated cycles of conflict, feudal warsand flooding plunged families intodeeper poverty. Entire communitieslost their homes, land andlivelihood. Early marriages are also aconsequence of armed conflict and ofprolonged stay in refugee camps andresettlement centers.Provincial administrator AbdulwahabTunga poignantly describes the livesof IDPs: “Pag nasa evacuation centerdi na bumalik dahil takot. Lumaki saresettlement area, kubo-kubo, perowalang livelihood. Magsasaka biglangnadala sa resettlement area na walangsakahan, biglang naging vendor, walangpuhunan, walang kaalaman sa pagtitinda.Kaya ‘Tulong ka na anak, mag-exitabroad,’ akala heaven (Fear keeps IDPsfrom returning home. Children growup in huts in the evacuation area,sans livelihood. Farmers are expectedto become vendors without capital,without vending skills. So they pleadwith their daughters to become OCWsand help the family. They think workabroad is heaven).”Hence the lure of work abroad, foryoung girls, with monthly salariesranging from P12,000 to P18,000 (inGender Focal Point Officer PolAmpatuan enthuses, “Since NAPstarted in 2012, GAD programs haveincreased particularly in livelihoodand women’s empowerment. NAPprovided direction, established theGAD focal point system for effectivemechanisms in fund handling andutilization.” He adds that in the past,most of the GAD planning was leftto the planning officer who came upNulfarid (Pol) S. Ampatuan, Gender Focal Point Officer (left) and EngineerAbdulwahab V. Tunga, Provincial Administrator (right)March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN21