The Banahaw - San Cristobal Social Fence

KALIKASAN BCSD Knowledge Series TWELVE
THE BANAHAW - SAN CRISTOBAL SOCIAL FENCE

LINKING ORGANIZED COMMUNITIES IN QUEZON AND LAGUNA
ABOUT THE COVER PHOTO The view from the Laguna side of Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal Protected Landscape, which spans across the two provinces of Quezon and Laguna. This protected landscape contains one of the largest tracts of forest in Southern Luzon. LABBs success in organizing communities to protect Mt. Banahaw in Quezon is being replicated in Laguna to build the social fence (USAID-FPE Project File Photo).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The case study writer wishes to thank the following: the support of Joji Roxas, Zorem Roxas and Au Esquinas of LABB, who requested the PO leaders from the partner communities of LABB to share their experiences in a writeshop held in Liliw, Laguna; and the PO leaders from Sariaya, Tayabas, and Dolores, whose passion and dedication to environmental protection have passed the test of time. This publication is about their story.
THE BANAHAW - SAN CRISTOBAL SOCIAL FENCE

APRIL 2013 Prepared by the Luntiang Alyansa para sa Bundok Banahaw (LABB) for the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE), under the Up-Scaling Forest Restoration Efforts in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) project.
DISCLAIMER The case study writers views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development, the United States Government, or FPE.
MESSAGE FROM
DENR
In this emerging era of climate change, environment and natural resources (ENR) around the globe are threatened with destruction to an extent rarely seen in earths history. The mitigation of the pernicious effects of climate change compels government, particularly us in the DENR, to adapt an integrated approach to ENR planning and decision making. Constructive engagement, international partnerships, and collaboration with the different sectors of society are forged not only to brace up our limited resources, but more so to create an enabling policy environment that would enhance institutional and regulatory capacities. It is in this complicated and complex task of building partnerships with key stakeholders that we appreciate the role played by the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE). A catalyst for cooperation, the FPE blazes trails in efforts to promote and encourage international and local cooperation among NGOs, business groups, and communities toward developing good policies and effective programs on biodiversity and sustainable management. The case studies presented in this publication bear testament to FPEs leading role in facilitating collaborations for sustainable development. Without the foundations assistance and effort to involve key stakeholders cooperation, appropriate assessments regarding the current conditions and trends of eight key biodiversity areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao would not have been made. Our success, hence, in establishing reliable bases for developing goals and strategies for future biodiversity and sustainable management interventions in these areas can only be ensured with support from the Foundation for the Philippine Environment.
Ramon J. P. Paje
DENR Secretary
MESSAGE FROM
USAID
The realization of our shared vision of broad-based and inclusive growth is greatly aided by enhancing environmental resilience and ensuring that the countrys bountiful natural resources and life-giving ecosystems services are sustainably managed while reducing the risk of disasters. The U.S. Government holds firm to its commitment to help the Government of the Philippines to achieve this goal. Expanding the network of environmental stakeholders and providing continued support to local governments and communities on proper natural resource management are crucial strategies to achieve this goal. With these in mind, our partnership with the Government of the Philippines has yielded a large network of partners that engages local communities and groups in biodiversity conservation and natural resource management. We have helped empower our partners to be more involved in decision-making leading to better management and protection of natural resources that they depend on. This publication captures the key strategies applied through the years that Upscaling Forest Restoration Project attempted to scale up in the last two years in eight key forest areas of the country. Eight case studies feature committed forest guard volunteers, lessons from science-based forest restoration efforts with indigenous peoples, and partnership building among government, communities, and the private sector to restore forest habitats and watersheds. This collection of stories is a testament to the hard work of our partners, led by the Foundation for the Philippine Environment, which collaboratively worked with local stakeholders to ensure that the approaches employed, milestones achieved, and lessons learned from our forest restoration efforts are carefully documented. It is our hope that knowledge sharing through publications like this will become a staple element in how we sustain our efforts in forest management. There is wisdom from the grassroots, as we have valuably learned through our initiatives, which have significant impact at the national level. I invite you to read these stories and share them with your network and other organizations working towards biodiversity conservation and environmental resilience.
Mission Director, USAID/Philippines
GLORIA D. STEELE
MESSAGE FROM
FPE
FPEs twenty-one years of working with partners to save forests and sustain life have borne fruit. Eight (8) case studies documenting the progress and challenges in expanding forest governance in key biodiversity areas (KBAs) are now available to the public. The cases relate, among others, how our partner in Negros Occidental transformed a silent subsistence community to active forest protectors; how planting native tree species revived dying forests and earned income for farmers in Leyte; how synergistic partnerships among various agencies accelerated watershed rehabilitation in Davao City; and how the concept of social fencing in the provinces of Quezon and Laguna deepened the communities collective resolve and shared responsibility in guarding their forests for life. These are testaments of progress in FPEs conservation support. But the mission of the foundation is none more relevant than today, as scarcity of natural resources worsens hunger, climate change brings collateral damage to conservation investments, and unbridled population growth threatens the carrying capacity of our remaining forests. In almost all USAID-FPE Up-Scaling Project sites, our partners continue to face the challenges of poverty, unsustainable economic development, and fragmented or uncoordinated conservation initiatives. Notably, this is the first time in many years that our long-time partners in conservation took the initiative of assessing and documenting what strategies worked and what could still work to sustainably protect our forests in KBAs. This is a conscious attempt to create tools and platforms for knowledge access and sharing. All these interesting case studies constitute the second set of Kalikasan (Kaalamang Likas Yaman) Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development series, one of FPEs regular publications. The first set describes the results of resource and socioeconomic assessments in selected KBAs. This second set combines best practices and lessons learned in forest restoration efforts under the USAID-FPE Up-Scaling Project. All Kalikasan BCSD series are packed with knowledge from projects and field experiences. FPE does not stop at merely making beautiful publications, but endeavors to translate knowledge into action towards improving our work and contribution to BCSD. Allow me to congratulate our project partners, the local government units in project sites, and USAID for making the case studies of the Up-Scaling Project possible. We hope our readers distill the lessons to guide future actions for more effective forest restoration and hunger alleviation.
NESTOR R. CARBONERA
Chair and CEO
MESSAGE FROM
LABB
Many years have passed, many people have come and go, but still the alliance remains an alliance, with or without funding support from outside. LABB remains as LABB, full of dreams, full of fulfillment and aspirations that someday LABBs dream of building a social fence around Mts. Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape (Linking Individuals & Communities owards The Protection of Biodiversity in Sacred Mts. Banahaw - San Crsitobal Protected Landscape) with the goal and objectives to protect, conserve, and enhance the habitats and biodiversity of MBSCPL and to sustain and improve its life support system capacity will come to a reality through the endless support and efforts of our partner communities in the foothills of Mount Banahaw. The wealth of information comes from the communities, whose vision, hard work and dedication to protect the environment needs to be told and retold to serve as inspiration to other communities and individuals. Building the social fence started to have a shape by linking organized communities in Laguna to Quezon. Our continuing mission to protect the rich biodiversity and remaining natural resources of Mt. Banahaw and to create models of sustainable development and ecological living, despite issues and challenges, will always continue to work and serve for the welfare of the environment. This is not only a mission but also a devotion. To all of you, on behalf of the Luntiang Alyansa para sa Bundok Banahaw (LABB)Inc., we dedicate this case study to all the people who were part and supported this fruitful endeavor, especially the friends of LABB, of the private sectors, volunteer professionals, LGUs and our partner organizations. To all donors of LABB, who made this possible, to our POs in the foothill communities of Mts. Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape, who spent their time, sweat and tears, and opened their eyes and became aware of the importance of the environment to their everyday lives, may the spirit of Mount Banahaw always be with you.
EUGENIO JOJI ROXAS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The BCSD Knowledge Series of FPE

Kaalamang Likas Yaman or simply, KALIKASAN, is the publication series of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development (BCSD). Kaalaman is the Filipino term for knowledge while Likas Yaman is the term for nature or natural resources. Kaalamang Likas Yaman literally means knowledge of nature. As FPEs main thrust is BCSD in key biodiversity areas of the Philippines, this series is essential in presenting and promoting valuable theories, case studies, site assessments, best practices, and other learning materials. As Atty. Danny N. Valenzuela, FPE Chair and CEO (2010-2012), explains, That the work of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development has gone a long way in the past twenty years cannot be overemphasized. In fact, it has become imperative for FPE to embark into an appropriate, meaningful and innovative knowledge management systems in order to preserve and properly utilize the significant learnings out of its various collaborations with partners in key biodiversity areas all over the country. As a major repository of the knowledge base of FPE and its partners, KALIKASAN will serve as a series of dynamic and enriching resource materials that will educate the readers, in particular those involved in the environmental protection of key biodiversity areas, and equip them with both theoretical and practical knowledge. Kaalamang Likas Yaman may also refer to the richness (yaman) of natural or intuitive knowledge (kaalamang likas). This is in recognition of the a priori knowledge of the local communities in FPE areas of operation and concern, especially among the grassroots communities and indigenous peoples, in environmental protection and conservation. KALIKASAN seeks to serve as a comprehensive BCSD reference and research source while tapping and augmenting the existing knowledge base of its partners, beneficiaries and communities. This is the legacy of the current FPE leadership to the next generation of Filipino environmentalists who will continue and further develop the current advocacies and endeavors of FPE and its partners.
KALIKASAN
USAID-FPE PROJECT
Up-Scaling Forest Restoration Efforts in Key Biodiversity Areas

For more than two decades, FPE has been at the forefront of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in the Philippines. FPE operates as a catalyst for cooperation, fund facilitator, and grant maker in order to save species, conserve sites, and sustain communities. Capitalizing on previous and existing forest restoration initiatives of its local site partners, FPE, in partnership with USAID, implemented the Up-Scaling Forest Restoration Efforts in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) project from 2011 to 2013. This project seeks to address the decline of the Philippine forests by strengthening the protection of approximately 170,000 hectares of forest habitats and reforesting a total of 480 hectares within 8 sites in the bioregions of Cebu, Negros, Leyte (Eastern Visayas), Luzon and Mindanao. The project has also instituted mechanisms to sustain conservation efforts and continuously affect a macro-level of consciousness among stakeholders. FPE supports its partners on sites in drawing lessons from projects and sharing results of research and experiences. FPE considers the knowledge gathered and lessons learned by the forest resource managers peoples organizations (POs), indigenous peoples organization (IPOs), forest guards and wardens, and the communities themselves as one of its strategic assets in improving methodologies, practices and systems toward BCSD. In the protected area of Mts BanahawSan Cristobal, in Quezon and Laguna provinces in Luzon, LABB has played an active role in the strengthening of the Protected Area Management Board as well as the implementation of the general management plan and strategy for the protected landscape. Through the USAIDFPE Up-Scaling project, LABB was able to replicate and expand its successful community organizing experience in Quezon to Laguna, thereby completing the social fence needed to protect the Mts Banahaw-San Cristobal landscape. LABBs efforts, difficulties encountered, and lessons learned in building the social fence are discussed in detail in this case study.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACRONYMS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY CONTEXT Training Sessions and Learnings Cultural History of the Areas Surrounding Mt. Banahaw LABB and CO-TRAIN expanded community organizing work in Dolores and Tayabas Organizing in Critical Areas in Tayabas (1996-1997) The Banahaw Bill and RA 9847 Some Difficult Times Experienced by LABB Up-Scaling Forest Restoration ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIENCE IN BUILDING THE SOCIAL FENCE CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS MAPPING OUT FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 9 16 17 17 20 23 24
ACRONYMS
COM CO CO-TRAIN DAR DENR EMB FPE LABB LGU LUPATA NIPAS NGO NWRB PCA PAMB PASU PO QWMD SLTEP Community Organizers Multiversity Community Organizer or Community Organizer-Trainee Community Organizing, Training, Research and Advocacy Institute Department of Agrarian Reform Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau Foundation for the Philippine Environment Luntiang Alyansa para sa Bundok Banahaw Local Government Unit Lucena, Pagbilao and Tayabas Water District National Integrated Protected Area Systems Non-Government Organization National Water Rights Board Philippine Coconut Authority Protected Area Management Board Protected Area Superintendent Peoples Organization Quezon Metropolitan Water District South Luzon Tollway Extension Project
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As part of the USAID-FPE project, Up-scaling Forest Restoration Efforts in Key Biodiversity Areas, this case study is a distilled documentation of the community organizing experience of LABB in building and strengthening the social fence (buhay na bakod) envisioned to protect the Mts. Banahaw - San Cristobal landscape. The work of CO-TRAIN and LABB, in the area of training and organizing for the protection of Mt. Banahaw, started from simple issues, which proceeded to complex community issues. These then were the entry points for a broader and deeper realization of what stewardship and citizenship mean. The concept of establishing a social fence to protect Mt. Banahaw carried with it an unspoken message of protecting the communities within the Banahaw territory. The social fence strategy is actually a concept of mutuality between the mountain and the people. While the vision of people collectively protecting the environment is a very inspiring concept, bringing the concept down to actual work on the ground requires competence and efficiency to use the approach in mobilizing the people. The on-the-job training in community organizing of young professionals, who were initially not from Quezon, provided the communities around the mountain the opportunity to develop their community organizing capability. From 10 trained community organizers, at one given period, the community organizing capability got transferred to community leaders, as they developed and resolved their issues in an experiential learning mode facilitated by the community organizers. Since 1994, the impact of LABBs work in the area of policy formulation, advocacy, and implementation can be seen in the communities around the mountain and in the mountain itself. The social fence is alive and is now being extended to the Laguna side of Mt. Banahaw. Highlights of LABBs eighteen years working in building and strengthening the social fence include the LABBs success in mobilizing communities in Sariaya, Dolores, and Tayabas and calling for policy change for and implementation of the protection and conservation of Mt. Banahaw. After the analysis of the experiences of LABB and its partner communities comes the way forward for the next five years which is envisioned to be a period of opportunities for the stakeholders in the protection and conservation of Mt. Banahaw.
PAGE 2 |
THE BANAHAW - SAN CRISTOBAL SOCIAL FENCE: LINKING ORGANIZED COMMUNITIES IN QUEZON AND LAGUNA
INTRODUCTION
This case study is part of the USAID-FPE project entitled Up-scaling Forest Restoration Efforts in Key Biodiversity Areas, which aims to improve forest restoration initiatives in eight (8) key biodiversity areas in the country, including Mt. Banahaw in Quezon and Laguna. LABB, a sub-grantee of the project in Luzon, has been at the forefront of environmental conservation in the provinces of Quezon and Laguna. The concept of building the social fence (buhay na bakod ) as a strategy for the protection of Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal creates images that make the people of Quezon and Laguna immediately identify themselves as Banahawin, which figuratively means child of Mt. Banahaw. In line with the USAID-FPE project components (i.e., knowledge management, partnership building, natural resource management, and sustainability), this case study aims to document the efforts of LABB since 1994 in building and strengthening the social fence. These efforts translated into organized peoples action to protest against projects that will harm the rich flora and fauna of the mountain (e.g. the SLTEP project), to stop undesirable personalities who have selfish intentions on the mountain (e.g. treasure hunters), and to advocate for legal frameworks that are bases of mountain protection (e.g. the creation of the PAMB and the passage of the Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal National Landscape Act). This case study tried to document the initiatives of LABB that clearly illustrate the role of issue-based organizing in building, strengthening, and sustaining the social fence to protect a mountain that nourishes the people living in its surroundings. Moreover, the expansion work of building the social fence in Laguna will be built on the success stories of LABB and its partner communities in Quezon.
METHODOLOGY
This case study uses the Phenomenological Approach in gathering and analyzing data. Phenomenology is a research approach that seeks to describe an actual experience that is of serious interest to a person or a group. As a research method, it is the study of essences. The essence of phenomenon is universal, which can be described through a study of the structure that governs the instances or particular manifestations of the essence of that phenomenon.1 Research using phenomenology seeks to uncover the meanings in our everyday existence. Its ultimate aim is the fulfillment of our human nature: to become more fully who we are.2 From August 18 to 19, 2012, key LABB leaders from Sariaya, Dolores and Tayabas participated in a writeshop held in Liliw, Laguna. The sharing of experiences was based on a framework presented by a member of the USAID-FPE team, who facilitated the writeshop. The framework included the major components for the case study, namely: context, analysis, vision, and the next five years. On October 27, 2012, the case study writer met with the LABB staff and the PO leaders from Sariaya, Tayabas, and Dolores for the validation of the first draft of the case study and to ask further questions related to the context of the case study.
1 2
van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Abany, NY: State University of New York Press Ibid., p. 12
CONTEXT
On the foothills of Mt. Banahaw, you see ordinary folks tilling the soil as their way of making a living. The land at the foot of the mountain is fertile, as shown by the lush vegetation all over the place. Tall trees are everywhere, along with guavas and other wild plants that provide food for birds and insects. Its not just green that you see on a clear day but also yellow, the welcoming hedges of sunflowers that stretch across several kilometers from the national highway to the mountain. The breeze that cools your face in the morning carries with it the soothing smell of coffee flowers and medicinal trees and herbs. This is what the weekend hiker will see when heading for Mt. Banahaw from Sariaya. If the weekend hiker heads to the mountain from the Tayabas side, he will surely want to pass by Tumloy Falls and listen to bird calls, while quenching his thirst by scooping the falls clear and clean water with his hands. If hed rather head to the mountain from the Dolores side, hell pass by the puestos which the people of Banahaw consider as sacred places. In the mountain barangays of Sariaya, horseback riding is the most logical and practical means of transportation for the people to move around hilly roads and ravines. It is not uncommon to see people move around on horseback, with women going downtown to sell their produce and return home with grocery goods from the market. Life at the foot of the mountain used to be unperturbed by external distractions, but diverse human activities in the age of globalization threaten to end what used to be a tranquil space in the shadow of the mountain. In the early part of 1994, a small group of environmentalists who were at the same time journalists, artists and writers, came together with the goal of protecting Mt. Banahaw - San Cristobal from the impending dangers that could harm the mountain. This group of environmentalists organized themselves into an alliance called the Luntiang Alyansa para sa Bundok Banahaw (LABB) or the Green Alliance for the protection and conservation of Mt. Banahaw. LABBs vision in building a social fence to protect the mountain from the inroads of an extractive development paradigm was a force that would fire people to join efforts for environmental protection and conservation. However, LABB needed a group of experts in community organizing to get people to take collective responsibility in protecting Mt. Banahaw. The passion to take environmental protection as ones own self-interest has to be built painstakingly from simple to complex issues that affect people daily, like eviction from their farm lots, tenurial security of their coconut farms or securing their barangay springs. Only sustained community action with the dynamics integral to it would be a sure guarantee that the envisioned social fence could be built. To achieve this, that same year, LABB and COTRAIN (Community Organizing, Training, Research and Advocacy Institute), now Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), met and discussed the threats to Mt. Banahaw and to the people living at the foot of the mountain. The DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) was implementing the NIPAS Act (National Integrated Protected Areas System Act) in a way that threatened eviction of the farmers from their farm lots. In fact, the farmers from Brgy. Bugon in the municipality of Sariaya feared that they were going to be the next in line to be evicted, based on the pattern of the Girl Scouts Tree Planting activity in Bugon. Earlier, in Brgy. Mamala, after the Girl Scouts had their Tree Planting event, the Mamala farmers at the foothills were no longer allowed to continue their agricultural activities. CO-TRAIN, being an NGO that was into community organizing and training of community organizers, was identified by LABB as the group that could assist the Bugon farmers with their issues. In February 1994, a group of mothers went to the office of CO-TRAIN to discuss the Bugon farmers fear of possible eviction from their farm. In March of the same year, CO-TRAIN started community organizing and on the-job training of
community organizers in Sariaya in partnership with LABB. COTRAINs role was to provide the training intervention through training mechanisms that would draw out the community organizing capabilities of the potential community organizers. The trainees had to live in Bugon for the 6-month on-the-job training. The possible eviction from the farmers agricultural lots in Bugon was the first issue that the community decided to tackle. With support from the legal community, who were allies of CO-TRAIN and LABB, the farmers were advised to invoke their rights as tenured migrant farmers, as provided for in the NIPAS Act. Being confident that they were working in their farms for more than 10 years and not just more than 5 years, they became determined to assert their rights when the time of the dreaded eviction would come. It was in Bugon, through the Federation of Foothill barangays, that the concept of setting up the Quezon PAMB was hatched. Having invited DENR Undersecretary Benjamin Bagadion, Jr. to the general assembly of the Federation of Foothill Barangays of Sariaya, the people presented the issue of the tenured migrant farmers in Bugon, who were anxious about possible threat of eviction from their farms. Undersecretary Bagadion Jr. presented the idea of Banahaw setting up a PAMB and those at the assembly adopted the idea and persisted in making it into a reality. The trainers of CO-TRAIN, together with their trainees had to study the NIPAS Act (R.A. 7586) before inquiring from the DENR how the PAMB would be set up. Having initial knowledge on what the PAMB should be and how it would be set up, the Federation of Foothill Barangays of Sariaya formulated a petition asking DENR to set up the PAMB. In just a few weeks, the Executive Director of DENR Region IV-A responded positively to the petition of the Federation of Foothill Barangays of Sariaya. A month after the receipt of the letter, the interim PAMB was convened with representatives from LABB, CO-TRAIN, and the Federation of Foothill Barangays, along with other representatives from LGUs and other organizations in Quezon. Word about the dialogues between the farmers of Bugon and the DENR spread to Barangays Pinagbakuran and Banahaw. These barangays had other issues, like their need to be issued a CLOA (Certificate of Land Ownership Award) by DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform) as their assurance for security of tenure in their coconut farm lots. It was around these issues that the young co-trainees of CO-TRAIN were trained to mobilize communities and conduct the needed community process towards participative decision-making.
Life at the foot of the mountain used to be unperturbed by external distractions, but diverse human activities in the age of globalization threaten to end what used to be a tranquil space in the shadow of the mountain.
PAGE 6 |
Training Sessions and Learnings

Community organizing is about facilitating experiential learning situations so that the psychology of poverty or the culture of silence is gradually transformed into people empowerment. The day-to-day problems in poor communities have a lot to do with a mindset that reflects the way society is arranged. In a situation where only 10% of the population controls the wealth of the country, the 15% in the middle has access to a lot of things, and 75% has very little or nothing in terms of what it means to keep body and soul together, it is very obvious that the social arrangement is very much anti-poor.3 This situation breeds the culture of poverty which is a culture of powerlessness and hopelessness.4 It is this mindset that the community organizing process tries to address, so that a sense of collective power and hope will emerge gradually, as the people tackle simple issues towards bigger and more challenging ones. While the CO trainees were learning the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of people using the action-reflection method, they were also learning a lot about the economic, political, cultural and environmental context of Quezon Province and the Philippines in general, through both the study and tactic sessions. The trainees learned that to be effective in mobilizing people, they need to be equipped with community organizing knowledge and skills, as well as the required attitudes for community organizers, such as trust in peoples capacity for self-determination. Another attitude that the trainees needed to develop was irreverence towards unjust situations or structures, without fear of questioning established norms if these norms cause injustice, especially to the poorest in the community. Beyond questioning however, it also entails analyzing the root causes of the injustice and facilitatiing a process where people can see the injustice and do something about it. Irreverence doesnt mean going around in a serious and angry manner because peoples rights have been trampled upon, but doing painstakingly what needs to be done, in terms of gathering data and information that will be needed in resolving an unjust situation. Irreverence springs from a genuine love for the poor; that is why this attitude should never be equated with arrogance or a lack of breeding.5
Community organizing is about facilitating experiential learning situations, so that the psychology of poverty or the culture of silence is gradually transformed into people empowerment.
3 4 5
CO Multiversity Presentation Material on Community Organizing Freire, P., September 2000, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Bloomsbury, New York Fernando Yusingco, Manual for Training Community Organizers, 1985
Cultural History of the Areas Surrounding Mt. Banahaw

As the people from the foothill barangays tackled their day-to-day issues, they came to view their mountain with a fresh eye, having revisited their knowledge of the mountain through various fora, seminars, and workshops on sustainable development. In the continuing seminars in which the members of the Federation of Foothill Barangays in Mt. Banahaw participated, they came to share their knowledge of the mountain and learned new things about the environmental and scientific aspects of mountain. In the seminars that the PO leaders and members attended, they shared that Banahaw is a sacred mountain. Stories shared during the seminars and workshops on the protection and conservation of Mt. Banahaw eloquently showed the mysticism of the mountain.
MYSTICAL BANAHAW STORY

by Ka Isko
When he was a little boy, Ka Iskos grandfather told him a story about the soldiers fighting the Spaniards. These soldiers were referred to as tulisan by Spanish authorities. There was this soldier named Dike , a tulisan in the eyes of the authorities. In those days, urgent messages were written in a scroll. At one time, while in the mountain, there was a message from Batangas sent to Ka Iskos grandfather by a messenger. The message: Dike is in Batangas in a steep ravine. Come at early dawn. His grandfather, together with his companions said that they should hear mass first because the message from Dike augured a fight. From where Ka Iskos grandfather was, they saw Dike from a distance signaling: Kneel . Then his grandfather and his colleagues saw a small opening on a wall ( awang ). But the opening was too small they couldnt pass through. Dike made a signal again and said Dos. The opening widened but his grandfather couldnt get in yet. Dike signaled again: Tres. Cuatro. Then, his grandfather and his companions were able to enter the small opening and from there, they descended on a stairway that was just a bit short of 300 steps and when they were down, they saw many roads and highways heading somewhere. So Banahaw is not just a mountain. It is also a city inside a mountain.
LABB and CO-TRAIN Expanded Community Organizing Work in Dolores and Tayabas
As the members of the Federation of Foothill Barangays were taking up more community issues, continuing fora and seminars were conducted by CO-TRAIN and LABB. Representatives from diverse sectors, including farmers, professionals, church organizations, and local government officials started participating in the sustainable development seminar-workshops in 1995. Being all Banahawin, the participants longed for the time of their grandparents when Banahaw was considered a church. As such, the participants said that people who went to the mountain to worship during Holy Week a long time ago went there barefoot and saw to it that they did not urinate on what they considered as sacred grounds. They described the areas of the mountain where they prayed as velvety green grass under their feet. While the sharing experiences on mountain protection, the following issues were discussed with much passion: quarrying at the foothills, the danger of big business developing the springs or the waterfalls around Mt. Banahaw, sightings of treasure hunters, the volume of garbage on the mountain during Holy Week and, most of all, the governments plan to construct a six-lane highway traversing the foothills of the mountain. The participants agreed that linking their efforts to protect their mountain was something they would pursue. It was in 1996-1997 that the training of community organizers expanded to Dolores and Tayabas and the community organizers-trainees all came from Dolores, Sariaya and Tayabas.
and trust in peoples capacity for self-determination, hard work, irreverence, and other desirable community organizers attitudes. As the CO trainee was making the rounds of the community, doing her SI/Integration work, the people could not yet fully understand why a young woman who was fresh out of college, would want to go around the community, understand, help out, and talk about peoples problems. The only difference that the people observed between the CO trainee and what they thought about NPA workers was that the CO trainee was doing the community rounds during the day and in full view of everybody. In fact, this CO trainee was staying near a military station. The young CO trainee was unfazed by the new development and continued doing her groundwork. While people were already beginning to be convinced that the CO trainee was not an NPA worker, there were still many residents who were suspicious. The Barangay Captain said that the people should give the CO trainee the benefit of the doubt. They shouldnt judge her too quickly. Because of this show of support by the Barangay Captain, the CO trainee, together with a number of residents found one day written on a big papaya leaf the words: Capitan, Tuta ng NPA (Barangay Captain, NPAs lapdog). Despite this, the Barangay Captain continued supporting the CO trainee of LABB and CO-TRAIN. He even asked the community organizertrainee to stay with his family but the latter said she was okay with the family in Lalu where she was staying. The community organizer-trainee passed the on-the-job training and continued to face the daily challenges in the barangay. The new full-fledged community organizer was gradually accepted by the community. The people realized then that they had the wrong notion of the community organizers work as a member of the LABB staff.Through the community organizers facilitative role in the community, the people learned about their water, land, environmental rights, and other rights, with corresponding responsibilities. The community organizer didnt leave Lalu, and the Lalu residents didnt leave the community organizer assigned in their barangay. Between the period of 1995 and 1998, the Quezon Water District already had sole rights over the springs of Lalu, Kamaisa, Dapdap, and other barangays in Tayabas 9
Organizing in a Critical Area in Tayabas (1996-1997)

In Tayabas, particularly in Barangay Lalu, within the period of 1996-1997, a community organizer was automatically associated with the NPA (New Peoples Army), because Lalu was considered a critical area by the military. It was at this time that a community organizer-trainee of LABB, who was being trained by CO-TRAIN, experienced the initial demands for courage, tenacity, and faith,
as provided for in Presidential Decree No. 198 (as amended by Presidential Decree Nos. 768 and 1479, R.A. 9286), signed into law by former President Ferdinand E. Marcos on September 28, 1978. The agency in charge then of the right to use spring water for irrigation was the LUPATA (Lucena, Pagbilao, and Tayabas) Water District, Quezon Metropolitan Water District (QMWD). As early as 1977, LUPATA was already the agency mandated by P.D. 198 (The Local Water Utilities Act) to grant clearance to any group applying for the use of spring water. At the time when LABB and CO-TRAIN were organizing communities in Tayabas, five barangays that badly needed water for irrigation suddenly were required to apply for a permit and the springs in the Irrigators Associations areas would be tapped by the Quezon Metropolitan Water District (QMWD) as the source of water for the population the agency served. The barangays that had an issue were Lalu, Kamaisa, Dapdap, Ilayang Bukal and Kalantas. Only Barangay Hibanga had a permit. At this time, the QMWD already started getting ready for the installation of the water pipes. The QMWDs workers already placed the water pipes in the very location of the irrigation and the other pipes were already buried in some part of the irrigation area. With the Quezon Water District having sole right over the springs, the Irrigators Association feared that they wouldnt have enough water for their farms anymore. With the community organizers assigned in Tayabas and with the support of the Training Team of CO-TRAIN, the affected communities attended every seminar forum organized by LABB and CO-TRAIN in Tayabas tackling farmers rights to the use of the springs in their barangay, as stated in the Water Code of the Philippines. Side by side with their rights under the Water Code of the Philippines, during the paralegal seminars, the resource persons who were lawyers tackled about the farmers responsibilities, too. The effort of the farmers then was how to regain their access to the springs,
PAGE 10 |
which by then were already under the administration and supervision of the Quezon Metropolitan Water District. From the farmers paralegal trainings related to their water rights, they mobilized many times to the National Water Rights Board (NWRB) located in Manila, for as long as the springs of their barangay remained under the control of the QMWD. The farmers received support from former Tayabas Mayor, who allowed them to use governments vehicle and provided them with meals during their trips. There was also an ally in the Sangguniang Bayan of Tayabas who helped the Irrigators Association in paying Php 2,000. For an application for the use of 14 springs, the Irrigators Association had to shell out Php 28,000. While the farmers were following up on their application for a permit in the National Water Rights Board, their other problem was the clearance from the Quezon Metropolitan Water District. The QMWD refused to give a permit to the Irrigators Association. With the facilitative role of CO-TRAIN and LABB, the members of the Irrigators Association went through the process of planning for a protest mobilization to the QMWD. So, having been enlightened about their rights and responsibilities and with an issue at hand, the members of the Irrigators Association mobilized to the Quezon Metropolitan Water District to demand an answer. During the mobilization, only three leaders were allowed to enter the office of the manager of the QMWD. At first, the Manager was resistant to granting a permit to the Irrigators Association, but people power with a legitimate agenda resolved the issue. With hundreds of people outside the managers office keeping the pressure on, later in the day, the manager and the legal officer of the QMWD finally came out to tell the people that they would be granted clearance which was the prerequisite for a permit. For springs coming from the mountain, the permit was to be secured from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB).
11
With the farmers dogged determination to get back their springs, one day in 1998, the NWRB called from Manila to tell the Irrigators Associations President that their water right to 14 springs had been approved. The farmers victory was sweet, especially when they saw the Quezon Water District retrieve the water pipes that were about to be installed in Barangays Lalu, Kalantas and the other neighboring barangays. The Tayabas Community Organizing Team continued tackling the community issues side by side with the implementation of a research module covering an initial wildlife inventory and recommendations to the local government for management zoning in the lusher part of the Banahaw range. Implementation of the research module also covered the gathering of historical data and writing a comprehensive report on the problems of managing the Tayabas water resources which were under threat from the provincial governments development plans. The Tayabas research module, being a part of the LABB research module, also included a survey of nature shrines in Dolores incorporating folklore with botany. Sariaya also came up with a brief survey report on the hardwood species of small patch of forest in Sariaya. Community organizing in Tayabas included topics on local history and culture, like the story of Apolinario de la Cruz, or Hermano Pulias, as he was endearingly called by the people. Stories of heroes deepened the commitment of communities to protect their mountain. There was also the issue of quarrying in Dolores, which posed a great threat to the environment. The peoples organization protested against the municipal government through various mobilizations asking the Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Council) to pass an ordinance that would stop quarrying in Dolores. One memorable mobilization to the Sangguniang Bayan incorporated the beliefs of the community into the mobilization. On placards brought by the people to the municipal hall were written the following words: Sumpain nawa ni Bathala ang mga nagpapahukay sa banal na lupa (May Gods curse be on them who cause the digging of the sacred land). The crowd of a PAGE 12 |
hundred people that went to the Sangguniang Bayan in session was big enough to put across the message. While in session, the people with the placards calling the wrath of God to be upon those who would allow the digging of the sacred land were quiet and just let their placards speak. When the session was almost over, a resolution calling an end to quarrying in Dolores was passed. An ordinance would have been a more welcomed victory, but the people were happy, nonetheless, because something happened at the local policy level because of their collective action. With the municipal resolution, somehow quarrying was stopped but not with finality because after sometime, there was again quarrying in Dolores. A key event happened though to put a lull to the activities of a quarrying company. One day, the quarrying company discovered that all their heavy equipment were burned down. No one from the community was caught setting the fire and it was the belief of the companys workers that the burning of the equipment was likely done by members of the New Peoples Army. While the community organizers tackled the day-to-day issues of the community, they also tapped into existing cultural-religious practices that were very much linked to the protection of the environment and leadership development. In the olden days in Dolores, the community had a pator whose role and formation was very much different from the pator of today. Then, being a pator was to be in a very responsible leadership position, which demanded a high level of discipline and spiritual life because he had the total trust of the community. The pators then were looked up to for advice and guidance when a family needed enlightenment on the spiritual aspect or in healing physical ailments. The role of the pator then was not just knowing the location of the puestos and leading religious rituals, but also growing in wisdom and inner life, so that the community had no hesitation in terms of approaching him for guidance. Being a pator was viewed as a calling. Puestos are small or big formations of rock, stones, or water that the people consider as sacred places. These
are places where people pray. When people went to the puestos in the olden days, they took off their hats and shoes, and they refrained from smoking while there. With the guidance of the pator , people going to the puestos brought with them a bamboo, where they could pee when needed, and at the entrance of the puestos, people left their shoes, their hats, or any belonging that would distract them in their prayer. These belongings left at the entrance were never lost. Each puesto had its own function. This is still so even to this day. For example, the Puesto ni San Pedro is where the pilgrim presents himself/ herself. The function of this puesto is such because it is San Pedro or Saint Peter who holds the key. The other puestos in Dolores are: San Bernardo, Sta. Lucia Falls, San Isidro, Santong Jacob, Presentahan, Inang Santissima, Kuwebang Kiling, Ina ng Awa, Santos Kalbaryo, Patriarca, and Jusgado. These puestos are the big and more popular ones. But there are smaller and little known puestos given a name by the people of Sta. Lucia, who discovered them. These other puestos which are located in Kinabuhayan are: Bakas, Kristalino, Suplina, Salaming Bubog, Tatlong Tangke, and Kuweba ng Diyos Ama. In Sariaya, there is also one puesto - Mahal na Virgen.
In times long gone, each person climbing up the mountain, would carry stones until he or she reached the peak of the mountain. At the peak of the mountain was a big cross, Kalbaryo, a puesto . The stones brought by the pilgrims were placed around the cross and these stones became part of the altar. It was the pilgrims belief that bringing stones to the top of the mountain was a religious sacrifice. From 1995 onwards, the formation of the pator was part of the community organizing process. Within this period, an old house in Sta. Lucia called Panuluyan was reserved for the use of community organizing activities in Dolores, including pator formation and looking after seedlings for reforestation work in Mt. Banahaw. In Sariaya, between the period of 1995 and 1998, the mobilizations to the DENR by the Federation of Foothill Barangays resulted into the creation of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB). Organized communities in Sariaya, Dolores and Tayabas have gradually internalized the concept of building a social fence in Quezon and Laguna and were determined to protect the mountain, whatever the cost. So, when the communities learned that the barangay captains of the foothill
communities of Quezon agreed to a project called the South Luzon Tollway Extension Project (SLTEP), the communities got alarmed. Together with LABB and CO-TRAIN, they asked that the PAMB put the issue of the SLTEP as a priority agenda. With an active PAMB where peoples organizations were actively participating in all its affairs, the SLTEP project was viewed by each Banahawin as a threat to the province of Quezon and Laguna. At the time, the Federation of Foothill Barangays became experienced in engaging the government in dialogues pertaining to government policy concerns but the federation members were also aware that they couldnt stop the threat to Mt. Banahaw all by themselves. Learning that a scoping process had been done by the consulting company hired by the government to comply with the requirements of the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) law, PO leaders, together with LABB and CO-TRAIN COs, mobilized to the Environmental Management Bureau to register the protest. They reasoned that the EIA process had not been met, especially because no public consultations have been conducted regarding the social acceptability aspect of the issue. From there, the peoples organizations of Tayabas, Sariaya and Dolores organized themselves into committees to take care of community education, as well as link up with the church, professionals, the media, the scientific community, artists, and allies in the local and national governments. With the partner organizations of LABB and CO-TRAIN linking up with KAAKBAY Sariaya (Kapatiran at Alyansa Alay sa Kaunlaran ng Bayan Sariaya), the collective voice of the people of Quezon became stronger in calling the government to put a stop to a project that would harm the mountain and the environment in general. This started from small issue groups, leading to federations and then became a provincial-wide alliance. The SLTEP project would cut down trees and cement more earth grounds, therefore rendering Mt. Banahaw weak to absorb water from rains and gather and purify them in its womb. In the long run, the project too would affect not just the foothill towns of Banahaw, whose large tracts of agricultural lands thrive in natural irrigation systems, but also the other towns. Being the highest mountain in Southwestern Luzon, Mt. Banahaw feeds its water to the underground rivers that find themselves in deep wells and home faucets of low-lying areas such as Quezon, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and the Greater Manila area. Other than the negative impact of the SLTEP project on the environment, it was also viewed by the people of Banahaw as a threat to the cultural practices in Mt. Banahaw. The construction of the road could destroy the puestos . The land where these puestos were located could also be purchased by big companies or wealthy landowners, who would rather build income-generating structures in the area than maintain the puestos . In a big rally in Lucena in 1997, the people and the governor were finally face-to-face in a dialogue to discuss the issues surrounding the SLTEP project, side by side with the peoples alternative proposal, which was a program for the conservation of Mt. Banahaw as a protected area for development. While the legal support team of the campaign against the construction of the SLTEP was busy discussing the environmental laws with the communities, the geo-morphologists and foresters from the University of the Philippines did their share of enlightening the communities on the wealth of Mt. Banahaw. With all the sectors of the larger community doing their share of the work to come up with the Alternative Environmental Impact Assessment, the dialogue with the DENR and the Environmental Management Bureau had all the back-up data and information needed to argue for the scrapping of the SLTEP project.
PAGE 14 |
The lack of sleep of the leaders in consolidating the community surveys, the sustained community education facilitated by the community organizers, the continuing education given by the mountaineers to droves of people wishing to climb the mountain, the mobilizations to the DENR, to the EMB and to the local government offices and many more tasks emanating from the goal to protect Mt. Banahaw finally bore fruit in 1998 when LABB learned from the Environmental Management Bureau that the SLTEP project was scrapped. The period between 1997 and 1999 was a period of transition, from being assisted by CO-TRAIN in the training of community organizers to being a self-reliant LABB in the aspect of training and organizing. New Quezon-based Community-Organizer- Trainers have been trained and a LABB Coordinator was in an on-the-job training for taking on the management and supervision of LABB.
The Banahaw Bill and Eventually RA 9847

From August 14 to 29, 2004, one of the advocacies of LABB was done through an exhibit of a 3D map of Mt. Banahaw at SM Lucena. The theme of the exhibit was Kalikasan: Kanlungan ng Kasaysayan (Environment: Haven of History). Together with the 3D map were pictures of biodiversity, activities, issues, and threats to the mountain. At that time, Congressman Proceso Alcala, who had just won the congressional seat, was one of the guests at the exhibit. He offered the idea of taking the 3D map to Congress, as part of a lobby by LABB for the passage of the Banahaw Bill pending in Congress. The old H.B. No. 2773 was changed to another number, because of the additional names of lawmakers who wanted to sponsor the Bill. The 3D map of Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal was exhibited in Congress from February 28 March 30, 2005. Among those who supported the exhibit were SMART Communications, FPE, and UNDP. The day after the opening of the exhibit, the Committee on Natural Resources had a committee hearing, and the Banahaw Bill was endorsed to the Senate. After a lot of deliberations, the version of Senator Pia Cayetano became the version of R.A. No. 9847. It should be noted that the pressure to have the bill passed came from the organized lobbying efforts of LABB and the different stakeholders in Quezon and Laguna.
Some Difficult Times Experienced By LABB

As the LABB community organizers carried on with their mission to continue facilitating the building of the social fence, they experienced different challenges in the field of internal NGO governance, tripartite involvement, engagement with government, advocacy work, and working with very meager funding support. There was a time when LABB had no funding support but the partner communities never gave up on their commitment to continue organizing work. The LABB community organizers carried on their work with support from the communities, such as rice, root crops, and coconuts. For an office, the community organizers used a space in the house offered for free by one of the community organizers. It was at this most difficult time that the LABB coordinator, together with one community organizer from Dolores, received death threats from a sector of Dolores whose interests conflicted with the advocacies of LABB. The death threats came after the LABB Coordinator appeared on a TV talk show, Magandang Gabi Bayan, to talk about the dangers of quarrying in Sariaya and Dolores. Having identified the LABB Coordinator as the lead person in protesting in PAMB against the construction of structures in the upper part of the mountain, the death threats on the LABB coordinator and one community organizer continued. To make matters worse, a CO was diagnosed with cancer. But all these did not break the spirit of the LABB community organizers. They continued doing their best given the circumstances they were in. As if the difficulties experienced by LABB were not enough, an external evaluation of LABB commissioned by FPE recommended that LABB be managed instead by another NGO. This was a very low moment for LABB. FPE, however, assured LABB of its continuing support for their work in Banahaw. LABB managed to resolve their organizational concerns and proved to be ready and competent again for protection and conservation work for Mt. Banahaw.
Up-Scaling Forest Restoration Efforts in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)

All the work of LABB since 1994, with the continuous support from FPE since 1995, was directedtowards building and strengthening of peoples organizations at the foothills of Banahaw and beyond. The achievement of LABB, together with the partner communities in natural resource management, would not have been possible without the community organizing process, which started from the issues that were very close to their day-to-day lives. The creation of the PAMB was initiated by LABB. The PAMB provided the larger picture of a decision-making body with the daunting duty to protect Mt. Banahaw, with farmers protecting springs, residents patrolling the mountain to monitor the presence of treasure hunters, and farmers negotiating for secure tenure in their coconut farms, Bantay Banahaw members initiating activities that would protect the mountain from the negative impact of garbage from pilgrims, stopping the construction of a six-lane highway that would pass through the foothills of the mountain and harm its flora and fauna, lobbying for the passage of the R.A. 9847 declaring Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal as a Protected Landscape, and many other collective actions with the main goal of protecing Mt. Banahaw. All these were achieved through the community organizing process which is the foundation of the Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal social fence. The experience of building the social fence in Quezon intertwines with the protection of natural resources in the Mt. Banahaw area. While great challenges in environmental protection are always there, there is no denying the fact that the experience of LABB in the Quezon side of Mt. Banahaw is already a sure basis for LABB to upscale the successes in the social fence building process.
17
In January 2012, the work in the Laguna side of Mt. Banahaw started with support coming from USAID and FPE. The focus of the expansion is to up-scale the successful community initiatives in Quezon in the process of responding to the following issues in Laguna: A. Intensified economic activities, other than farming or land-based livelihoods in Protected Area (PA) due to low social and technical skills of PA occupants B. Increasing population in protected areas C. Lack of livelihood opportunities for upland farmers D. Extraction of plant by-products and animal species to supplement food requirements of the communities E. Uncontrolled slash and burn agriculture, illegal logging and logging concessions, wildlife extraction (e.g., hunting, plant gathering, timber poaching) F. Limited areas for expansion of rice plantations; conversion of forest land to agriculture G. Massive expansion of corporate agriculture and export-based agri-business; sedentary agriculture; adoption of mono-culture cropping and high yielding crops H. Buying of local occupancy rights in the absence of legal procedures I. Absence of firm commitment from the local government unit to expedite formulation of ordinances to abate abusive and exploitative forest activities
To address the above threats, LABB did a rapid assessment of the targeted sites in January 2012 in coordination with the LGU. One of the activities conducted to respond to these threats is the setting up of nurseries in 3 pilot barangays, one barangay in each of the towns of Majayjay, Liliw and Nagcarlan. The following was the number of seedlings distributed to the pilot areas: A. Nagcarlan B. Liliw C. Majayjay 20,000 seedlings 18,000 seedlings 16,000 seedlings
PAGE 18 |
LABB was given the opportunity to be trained in rainforestation, a new reforestation technology where the gathered wildlings are placed in a chamber (a structure covered with plastic). The moisture from the plastic provides water to the wildlings in a period of 4 months. What the farmers had to do was just visit the chamber every now and then and after 4 months, transplanting of the seedlings began. This new approach to reforestation was learned by the farmers in a one-week training session at the Visayas State University. In addition to this training, FPE provided hands-on training in the project areas for the farmers to really have a clear grasp of rainforestation. The USAID-FPE project covered the aspect of knowledge management through an update of the 3D map, which by now had been converted from rubber to fiber glass. The 3D map made of fiber glass could be carried by only 4 men, unlike the one made of rubber, which required 20 men to carry it. Video showing of the remaining flora and fauna of Mt. Banahaw also awakened a new appreciation of the role of Mt. Banahaw in the lives of the residents of the project sites. For partnership building, there is now a Movement to Save Mt. Banahaw, a local Liliw-based group likely to have a tie-up with LABB. There is also a Liliw-based Emergency Response Team to be at the front line in facilitating initiatives responding to emergency situations caused by environmentally-unfriendly practices of some portion of the target sites. All of the above initiatives will be carried out by capitalizing on the successful forest protection initiatives in the Quezon side of Mt. Banahaw.
19
ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIENCE OF BUILDING A SOCIAL FENCE

The Banahawin (the term means with roots from Mt. Banahaw) perspective believes that Mt. Banahaw is a church, a mother (Inang Banahaw) and a holy place. This is the reason why there is a pilgrimage to the mountain during Holy Week every year. People who have the Banahawin spirit believe that Mt. Banahaw is a healing mountain; its rivers provide the power to amulets of healers and its puestos are sources of enlightenment and inner power. This mindset has been a force that drove people to love and protect the mountain. Obviously, there is a strong mutuality of affection between Mt. Banahaw and the Banahawin. As the mountain is the source of many good things for people, such as water for their farms, protection from typhoons, food, beauty, and healing, the people around it embrace the mountain as well, as something they treasure the most. This consciousness needs to be ignited and tapped into in order to successfully complete the building of the social fence. Deepening this consciousness is the continuing work and challenge for LABB. In efforts to protect Mt. Banahaw, LABB has built a linkage of allies from the communities as well as from other sectors of society like the academe, the church, the professionals, the local and national government, the media, artists, individual citizens, and funding organizations who care about the environment. Alliance building, from the experience of LABB is not something permanent. There were times when people who appeared to be allies were not allies, after all. The organizing principle that says there are no permanent allies but only permanent self-interests has been affirmed in the long journey of LABB for the protection of Mt. Banahaw. In community organizing, however, self-interest is a neutral concept. People act on the basis of self-interest this is a fact. People have different needs from basic ones such as food, water, land, shelter, clean air to more personal and esteem needs such as the need to assert leadership and the need to be respected all these diverse selfinterests were directed towards the higher purpose of environmental protection by starting from simple community issues. For example, communities residing in Mt. Banahaw expressed their self-interest of not wanting to be evicted from their farm lots. The strategy of building the social fence started from making communities realize that they could make things happen in this case, negotiating with government and stopping the threat of eviction from their farms. This victory made them aware of existing laws and government policies. Environment protection, in the same manner, is embodied in the laws of the country. Through community organizing, LABB successfully made people realize that protecting the environment should also be part of their self-interest. By making this concept a part of the peoples consciousness, becoming part of the social fence became easy to understand and practice. Building the social fence was an effort that continuously included the sharpening of the capacity of people to make diverse self-interests converge and be in synergy. To illustrate the convergence of sectoral interests of the province of Quezon, in particular, the community organizers of LABB had to link with the church, the local government, the schools, the farmers, the professionals and other groups in the province who had various self-interests connected to Mt. Banahaw. The common self-interest that bound these different sectors to protest against the construction of a highway at the foot of the mountain was the benefits they were receiving from the mountain. Because of this unifying factor, the entire province of Quezon was able to show
XX || PAGE 20
THE THE BANAHAW BANAHAW - SAN SAN CRISTOBAL CRISTOBAL SOCIAL SOCIAL FENCE: FENCE: LINKING LINKING ORGANIZED ORGANIZED COMMUNITIES COMMUNITIES IN IN QUEZON QUEZON AND AND LAGUNA LAGUNA
the concerned authorities that the highway would bring more harm than good both to the mountain and to the people of Quezon. The protest against the highway project was backed up by an alternative Environmental Impact Assessment done by the people with the assistance of scientists from UP Los Baos. Since the social fence refers to the individual resident in each barangay who benefits from the bounty of Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal, now each resident tries his or her best to be a fence to keep predators away from the mountains. But before each resident takes the responsibility of becoming a fence, he should have it first in his consciousness that for his family to be safe, he should first protect the mountain that protects him. LABB has been in a long journey of fair and stormy weather as far as advocacy work is concerned, with several challenges pertaining to availability of financial resources. It can be said that the reason why LABB is alive as an organization to this day is the intertwining positive factors within and outside of LABB. Internal Factors Strong sense of ownership of the Banahawin the vision of seeing the social fence completed and strengthened through the years. It is very important that in the continuing work of LABB in Quezon and Laguna, the passion and the commitment that are now present among the peoples tested leaders should spread like viable seeds and grow throughout the population of Quezon and Laguna. LABBs success in policy advocacy and implementation. Accomplishments
21
of LABB in these areas are worth celebrating during annual activities of peoples organizations within the Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal. Through community organizing, LABB was able to show that if communities act, laws that are not strictly observed can be implemented This was proven by the LABB and CO-TRAIN experience of having the SLTEP project scrapped by the DENR/EMB based on the alternative EIA presented by the people. Without a vigilant Banahawin population, the six-lane highway that would have traversed the foothill barangays of Dolores, Tayabas, and Sariaya would have been constructed and many of its negative impacts on the environment would have become the burdens of the Banahawin. In the aspect of making government structures work, including the local government unit, the police, and the military, as in the case of the diggings by the treasure hunters in the Tayabas side of Mount Banahaw, LABB has also shown that no threat is too dangerous as to be just left unchallenged by the people. External Factors LABBs partnership with tripartite groups in Quezon and Laguna. This factor must constantly be revisited and improved so that it does not remain a negative influence in building the social fence. In the interaction with tripartite bodies, LABB has been too generous as to expect an equal show of generosity from the members of the tripartite formation. In reality, some members did not see that tripartism is complementation and not
needless competition. Convincing other members of the tripartite grouping not to take credit for advocacy work at the expense of others remains something to be pursued by LABB. LABBs partnership with communities. The partner communities of LABB need to be constantly reminded that building the social fence cannot be done by a single alliance, no matter how good that alliance may be. Protecting the environment is a tall order and both coalition and consensus building need to be integral parts of the community organizing work of LABB. If people power is at the core of community organizing for environmental protection, there remains the big task of building on the power of the people to push for the enactment of the Banahaw Act (RA 9847). Power should continuously be redefined as there is a tendency that the concept of power gets distorted. The real meaning of power that has been defined in the context of the experiences of those who were able to hear the santong boses or of those who were guided by the concept of kapatiran , damayan , and kaliwanagan to such an extent that they were able to become their finest selves, should remain the anchor of the continuing education of the communities.
PAGE 22 |
CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS

Building a social fence is a process that can be done effectively only when the stakeholders involved realize that they need to have a vision. The vision of communities in the provinces of Quezon and Laguna to protect Mts. Banahaw and Cristobal is just a continuation of the efforts of the elders and their ancestors in the Banahaw-San Cristobal area. The process of communities owning a vision can be hindered by misdirected self-interests of the stakeholders. There is a constant struggle for interpretations in clarifying collective interests. In the case of the six-lane highway that would have been constructed at the foot of Mt. Banahaw, had people not invoked the Environmental Impact Assessment Law, the struggle for interpretation of what was an environmentally sound project would have been a point of endless debate between the government and the people. Community organizing processes enabled people to engage the government into a dialogue on what social acceptability of environmentally sensitive projects meant. Communities in the Quezon side of Mt. Banahaw built their sense of power as communities with a common vision through small issues which affected their daily lives and linked these small issues with the larger issue of environmental protection. The capacity to connect the day-to-day victories, from resolving small issues such as getting the Certificate of Land Ownership Award or getting permits for the use of springs, with the larger issue of protecting mountains, was a consciousness slowly developed through the action-reflection method carried out by the community organizers. Building a social fence to protect Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal is a strategy of building peoples power. Without a sense of power, people would not demand for appropriate implementation of an existing environmental law. But people power is not just about demanding implementation of an existing law. It is also about people helping one another to achieve a vision. It is about taking responsibility and accountability for tasks that need to be done while maintaining tolerance for individual differences in the course of group interaction or collective activities.
23
The training and nurturing of community organizers are also important aspects in the building of a social fence. While communities can be self-propelling in many ways, the role of community organizers who are not residents of local communities provide a dispassionate perspective of realities in the communities, therefore facilitating objectivity in the analysis of existing community issues. While stories of the mysticism of Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal are helpful in the effort for environmental protection, it is also of utmost importance that the scientific angle of environmental protection and conservation is factored into the information and education activities in the communities. The big task of protecting Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal cannot be done by one or two groups alone regardless of how efficient and effective they may be. This was best illustrated by the advocacy and networking efforts of LABB when it protested against the SLTEP project where various sectors from the entire province of Quezon were needed to present the peoples own environmental impact assessment to the government. The linking of the different sectors would not have been possible without committed community organizers and local peoples organizations leaders. The action-reflection method approach in organizing communities to help them resolve their issues, thus enabling social transformation, has been an effective way in carrying out the strategy of building a social movement that would serve as a social fence for the protection of Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal. Among the highlights of the community organizing activities in Laguna is the use of rainforestation as a technology in putting up a nursery, where seedlings are placed in a chamber, requiring less maintenance work for the farmers. With less time spent in tending seedlings, more time can be given to other community organizing work.
MAPPING OUT FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

LABBs current work in Laguna rests on the success in Quezon, in terms of community organizing. Through organized community information and education on the rich biodiversity of Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal, and the role of these two mountains in the cultural life of the people as well as their function of protecting surrounding communities from typhoons, the people of Quezon are able to tap into the Banahawin spirit again. The Banahawin spirit is part of the psyche of the people living in the shadow of the Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal but is sometimes numbed by conflicting perspectives brought about by development concepts that pass through different information channels. One development perspective that is in conflict with the Banahawin spirit is the concept that development means exploiting the earths natural resources supposedly for the common good. The challenge for LABB in the next five years is to continue harnessing multi-stakeholders involvement in the protection of Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal. Protection and conservation of these mountains in Quezon and Laguna are continuum of interventions on all sides of the economic, political and socio-cultural dimension of the community and the society at large. There is now a Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal National Landscape Act that key players in the protection of the environment can use to hasten implementation of plans for the protection of Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal. The positive impact of LABBs efforts in the past 18 years also needs to be sustained. There are the time-tested leaders of LABB and their allies who will be able to help in the strengthening of the social fence in Laguna. The Catholic Church in the province of Quezon and the Local Government Units of Sariaya, Dolores, and Tayabas have been encouraging and PAGE 24 |
reliable in the protection efforts for Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal. The same roles of the church and the local government units in Laguna are unfolding. There is also a consistent funding partner, FPE, who has been supporting the work of LABB since 1995. Without FPEs significant support, the impact of the work of LABB in Banahaw would not have been the same as what it is seen today. Building the social fence to link communities in Quezon and Laguna is a strong social movement which is a work in progress, with the protection of Mts. Banahaw-San Cristobal social fence, at the heart of the agenda
CASE STUDY WRITERS

FRANCIA CLAVECILLAS is a seasoned community organizer working for Community Organization of the Philippines Enterprises Foundation (COPE) and Community Organizing, Training, Research and Advocacy Institute (CO-TRAIN), becoming the Executive Director of the former for six years until 2005. Since then, she became training director for Community Organizers Multiversity (COM). She is a graduate of Elementary Education from Colegio de la Milagrosa. She also took Project Planning and Project Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management and a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Research and Development Management from the University of the Philippines Open University.
FPE MANAGEMENT TEAM

Godofredo T. Villapando, Jr. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Liza M. Vida OIC-MANAGER, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT UNIT Mary Ann B. Leones MANAGER, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS UNIT Fernando M. Ramirez MANAGER, LUZON REGIONAL UNIT Myrissa L. Tabao MANAGER, VISAYAS REGIONAL UNIT Armando C. Pacudan MANAGER, MINDANAO REGIONAL UNIT
USAID-FPE PROJECT TEAM

Maria Felda S. Domingo NATIONAL PROJECT COORDINATOR Rosalie G. Pasibe LUZON REGIONAL COORDINATOR June Arthur P. Banagodos VISAYAS REGIONAL COORDINATOR Joseph Thaddeus R. Rabang MINDANAO REGIONAL COORDINATOR/ NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST Cherylon A. Herzano NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST (Sept 2011-June 2012) Michelle D. Alejado PARTNERSHIP BUILDING SPECIALIST Ma. Rhodora C. Veloso KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST (Feb-Sept 2012) Florence C. Baula KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST Constancia S. Bacolod PROJECT ASSISTANT Carina Dacillo/ Charity Marces/ Anita T. Tungala BOOKKEEPER
The American people, through the United States Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for over 50 years. In the Philippines, USAID works in partnership with the national government in creating a more stable, prosperous and well-governed country through programs that promote broad-based and inclusive economic growth, increase peace and stability in Mindanao, and reduce risks from natural disasters. For more information about USAIDs programs in the Philippines, visit http://philippines.usaid.gov.
FPE is the first and largest grant-making organization for civil society environmental initiatives in the Philippines. Its support went primarily to protecting local conservation sites and strengthening community and grassroots-led environmental efforts in more than 65 critical sites through more than 1,300 projects grants. The establishment of FPE on January 15, 1992 was meant to abate the destruction of the countrys own natural resources. As many as 334 NGOs and grassroots organizations, along with 24 academic institutions, helped set its course through a process of nationwide consultations. Subsequently, Philippine and United States government agencies and NGOs raised the foundations initial $21.8-million endowment through an innovative debt-for-nature swap. Today, FPE remains committed in fulfilling its roles as a catalyst for cooperation, grant maker, and fund facilitator for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. For more information about FPE, visit http://www.fpe.ph.
The Luntiang Alyansa ng Bundok Banahaw, Inc. (LABB) was formed in 1994 out of concerns for biodiversity and the cultural traditions associated with Mount Banahaw San Cristobal Protected Landscape (MBSCPL). It envisions MBSCPL as a place where all life forms in the different ecological zones enjoy protection and conservation, and with empowered people who cherish their cultural heritage and are engaged in socioeconomic activities harmonized under the context of sustainable development. LABB is committed to work for the protection, conservation and development of the MBSCPLs integrity as a protected area that will enhance the biodiversity values, to strengthen MBSCPLs life support system capacity, and to improve quality of life of communities. Its overarching strategy is through building alliance in the foothills and uplands of the protected landscape. This is done through its programs and activities namely community organizing, resource management (community-based resource management), advocacy/networking/linkaging, alternative livelihood, and trainings/seminars/capability building.
THE BANAHAW SAN CRISTOBAL SOCIAL FENCE
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines

Annex 2 Building U.S. Embassy 1201 Roxas Boulevard 1000 Ermita, Manila Philippines Fax: (02) 301 6213
Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE)

77 Matahimik Street Teachers Village, Diliman Quezon City 1101 Philippines Telephone: (02) 927 2186/ 926 9629/ 927 9403 Fax: (02) 9223022
Luntiang Alyansa Sa Bundok Banahaw, Inc. (LABB)

Rizal St., Liliw 4404 Laguna Philippines Telephone: (63) 930 837 5470

The Banahaw - San Cristobal Social Fence

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Banahaw - San Cristobal Social Fence

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

KALIKASAN BCSD Knowledge Series TWELVE

THE BANAHAW - SAN CRISTOBAL SOCIAL FENCE

THE BANAHAW - SAN CRISTOBAL SOCIAL FENCE

Mission Director, USAID/Philippines

EUGENIO JOJI ROXAS

The BCSD Knowledge Series of FPE

Up-Scaling Forest Restoration Efforts in Key Biodiversity Areas

Training Sessions and Learnings

Cultural History of the Areas Surrounding Mt. Banahaw

MYSTICAL BANAHAW STORY

Organizing in a Critical Area in Tayabas (1996-1997)

The Banahaw Bill and Eventually RA 9847

Some Difficult Times Experienced By LABB

Up-Scaling Forest Restoration Efforts in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)

ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIENCE OF BUILDING A SOCIAL FENCE

CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS

MAPPING OUT FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

CASE STUDY WRITERS

FPE MANAGEMENT TEAM

USAID-FPE PROJECT TEAM

THE BANAHAW SAN CRISTOBAL SOCIAL FENCE

LINKING ORGANIZED COMMUNITIES IN QUEZON AND LAGUNA

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines

Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE)

Luntiang Alyansa Sa Bundok Banahaw, Inc. (LABB)

You might also like