The Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS, Inc.) addresses the legal and technical needs of the marginalised and vulnerable groups, particularly: banana farmers who are agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), victims of human rights violations, and persons or communities affected by natural and manmade disasters.

IDEALS engages in policy advocacy and influencing work, case build-up and documentation for victims of human rights violations, and conducts legal missions to help identified marginalised and vulnerable groups establish their legal identity and/or update their records. Specifically for the work with banana farmers, IDEALS sits as part of the technical working group on the bill which aims to regulate the contracts and relations of farmers. IDEALS engage the general public for awareness-raising about the struggles of farmers locked into unfair contracts and influencing for responsible and inclusive business practices and operations.

Bringing the Vulnerable Outcast and Indigenous Communities to Engage in Management of the Dead and Missing (MDM) project empowers marginalised sectors of society, especially during disaster scenarios, by training them to identify priority issues, design action plans based on them, and lobby for the implementation of these plans with the government. The project takes its title from its desire to mainstream MDM in the country,  capacitate and encourage members of target groups to influence and engage decision makers by arming them with the skills to communicate their needs to the government. The project has several components, although the process itself is shaped and dependent on engagement with input specified by specific target communities.

The project helps:

• Gain a better understanding of how Management of the Dead and the Missing (MDM) Response works;
• Learn how to identify and present pertinent issues in their communities;
• Harness mechanisms and skills on how to effectively engage their respective local government units (LGUs) to address these pre-identified gaps;
• Actively participate in the formulation of post-disaster programs that the government can extend to these communities; and
• Pave the way for future advocacy by giving them a benchmark on how to effectively lobby.

Ultimately, the project promotes participatory governance by training and giving the target communities a hands-on experience of the process, and giving them the legal machinery to support their demands. Through workshops and dialogues with the government, the project gives these communities the skills to define, assess, and relay their needs to their government, using MDM as a stepping stone.

The communities can then apply this knowledge to further influencing efforts that can help them reach out to stakeholders, in addition to exposing them to local and national lobbying experiences (through local lobbying and the national conversation with government agencies) that can set the tone for their future engagements with the government.