Engaging with Philippine armed groups

COTABATO, 25 April 2013 (IRIN) - For Chris Rush, of the Swiss-based NGO Geneva Call, nuance is everything when engaging with armed groups. Although the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Maoist-inspired New People's Army (NPA) are both fighting insurrections on the same Philippines island of Mindanao, the choice of terminology is a tender issue when it comes to the use of such phrases as "armed non-state actors (ANSAs)”. full report

Philippines’ natural disaster risks shift, along with experts

MANILA, 10 April 2013 (IRIN) - As the storm season approaches, officials in the Philippines are turning to seasoned storm emergency responders to help prepare communities that have historically been spared devastation but that now find themselves in harm’s way. full report

Philippines’ reproductive health law here - now what?

MANILA, 20 March 2013 (IRIN) - After a publicly contentious 14-year battle, legislators quietly signed the Philippines’ first reproductive health law in late December. It was expected to take effect by the end of March, but on 21 March the Supreme Court halted its implementation, issuing a 120-day status quo ante to review court challenges. full report

Briefing: The Sabah affair - a new humanitarian challenge in southern Philippines?

MANILA, 13 March 2013 (IRIN) - The Philippine government has begun putting in place contingency measures over what it has described as a possible “humanitarian emergency” in its southernmost islands after hundreds of Filipino migrants, caught in the cross-fire of a Malaysian government crackdown against Filipino gunmen asserting land claims in Malaysia, have started returning home. full report

Philippine cities tackle climate change

DAVAO, 6 March 2013 (IRIN) - When asked what resilience means, the head of city planning for the Philippines’ second largest city, Davao, said that for Filipinos it means how high floodwater reaches before they agree to be evacuated. “In our most recent flooding, that level was chest-high,” said Roberto Alabado III, referring to flooding in mid-January that affected thousands of city dwellers, most in slum areas, who refused evacuation until they were chest-deep in floodwater. full report

Filipino farmers - a dying breed?

MANILA, 26 February 2013 (IRIN) - Historically, as countries have industrialized, the number of small farms has dwindled, with workers opting for city life. But the Philippines government is concerned that this trend could exacerbate food insecurity in an import-dependent country already struggling to meet current food demand. full report

Allegations of aid politicization in Philippines ahead of elections

BAGANGA/MANILA, 22 February 2013 (IRIN) - Caridad Calungsod and her three children have been living in a makeshift shelter along the highway leading into Baganga, a coastal farming municipality in the southern Philippine province of Davao Oriental on Mindanao Island that was among the hardest hit by typhoon Bopha last December. full report

“Building back worse” after Philippines typhoon

COMPOSTELA VALLEY/DAVAO ORIENTAL, 8 February 2013 (IRIN) - More than two months after Typhoon Bopha hit the eastern coast of Mindanao Province in the southern Philippines some 198,000 families are still trying to repair their homes, even in the midst of daily monsoon rains. full report

Analysis: Concern mounts over infant formula additives*

NEW YORK, 25 January 2013 (IRIN) - Yi Lee fell for the hype. “After I saw TV ads claiming infant formula with DHA [docosahexaenoic acid] and ARA [arachidonic acid] can help with eye and brain development, I gave my baby formula,” said the 30-year-old mother in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. “Then I learned from books and doctors that breast milk is actually best.” full report