Full Project Title: Strengthening Senior and Youth Farmers Organization to Access Resources

Objective 1: Strengthen the capacities of 34 small POs with 1,000 senior and youth members to form and legally register 2 federations of senior and youth farmers covering North and South Negros Objective2: Enable around 1,000 senior and youth farmers to access economic resources through linking with at least 3 government agencies and financial facilities Objective 3: Equip senior and youth farmers to have a voice in sharing of best practices, inspiring stories, and discussions on needs and issues through radio programs and social media.

To ensure that the activities conducted are successful and contribute to the desired change, the proponent will make us of a logical framework to track or monitor target outputs and outcomes, as well as monitor the verifiable indicators for each output. The log frame will help the team in measuring performance and achievement of targets from start to finish, as well as identifying backlogs and alternative solutions challenges encountered. In addition, regular community meetings will be held to get feedback from the senior and youth farmers to ensure that their voices are heard, individual or group learning is shared and short-long term effects of activities are discussed and documented. Feedback from the senior and youth farmers, whether negative or positive, will serve as a check and balance to project success and achievement of the desired change.

Collective and Organised Action is the Key in Getting Effective Results

TFM Elderly farmers claimed their rights through collective and organized action. The Voice Empowerment grant enabled Task Force Mapalad to focus on community organizing of Senior Citizen farmers and conduct of rights’ awareness in farming communities in four LGUs in Negros Occidental namely Silay, Talisay, Manapla, and La Castellana. Youth organizing and participation is also part of the whole project, however this journey shall focus on the gains of the elderly farmers.   

Despite the existence of Republic Act 7432 and Senior Citizens Act of 2003 and 2010, the TFM elderly farmers in the sugar plantation in Negros Occidental have little knowledge of the contents of the law, guidelines of the social benefits, and how to access or optimize these benefits. Not only in Negros but throughout the country, issues and needs of the Senior Citizens are coursed through the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs and in fact all our elderly farmers are members. However, because this is organized by the LGU, independent action or lobbying to the LGU to provide for additional services or needs is not possible nor effective.  

TFM addressed these identified gaps though conducting capacity building sessions, community meetings, and community organizing . Important gains of the capacity building sessions and community discussions were enabling the rights-holders to articulate their needs, active participation in planning the action, and conducting a united action or lobby at the LGU level. Thus, the Senior Citizens Chapters of Silay, Talisay, Manapla, and La Castellana all planned a petition letter conveying their needs, like additional amount in the local pension, medical benefits, and livelihood programs.  

Of the four LGUs, Silay (with 3,500 signatory petitioners) and Manapla (with 200 signatory petitioners) responded positively. Silay approved a Php 100 increase, from 500 monthly it became Php 600, while Manapla approved a Php 500 increase, from 500 monthly to Php 1,000. The LGU of Manapla also became active in providing health services, like increasing the supply of medicines given to Senior Citizens, whereas before medicines need by Senior were always short supply, and ensuring the availability of doctors during the monthly free check-up for Senior Citizens in the Municipal Health Center. These results showed that an organized collective strategy and action of rightsholders can enable the desired change or action within the local government.   

Two signatories to the petition and beneficiary of the increase in social pension in Manapla, Joerinda Jutar (71 years old) and Gloria Villalon (68 years old) stated, “there is a change in our lives and because we now know our rights, we were able make and submit our petition to the LGU where we articulated our request to have an increase in the local pension and access to medical services. And we realized that if we do not take action and state our demands, we will not get the benefits and services for the Senior Citizens from the local government.   

The key success factors are (1) translating the Senior Citizens’ knowledge into a participatory and collective strategy for claiming their rights, and (2) organizing an action and lobbying the target local government or agency.  

These lessons can be applied by other rightsholders in other municipalities after the project ends. However, other LGUs may take longer or fail to reply within the necessary timeline due to the bureaucracy or the prioritizing of other concerns within the Municipality. The difficulty for the rightsholder group in the other two LGUs is how to exert enough pressure on the LGU or build leverage for negotiation with the LGU on their petition for more social benefits or the availability of services to them under the law and government policy.