Food is a basic human right

The Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes (PNFSP), composed of food security advocates, calls for the immediate action of the Duterte administration on this absurd food blockade imposed by the 75th Infantry Battalion in the town of Liangga, Surigao del Sur.

About 1,688 lumad and 345 families in 15 communities have evacuated since Nov. 26 due to intense militarization. This was the second time the lumad evacuated their communities since President Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao.

Support from the church, nongovernment and civil society organizations, and other humanitarian groups have been arriving for the lumad. However, the troops are blocking food aid to the Simowao Community Learning Center where the lumad  evacuated to avoid military operations.

Food is a basic human right. It is very important for the state to provide these basic social services as needed by its people, or the least, allow food aid to enter for the lumad. The PNFSP demands the Duterte administration to address this food blockade and pull out the troops from the communities as they are the reason why the indigenous peoples evacuated.

The PNFSP is worried how the government will address this issue. It is clear that this attack will not benefit the lumad but the big mining corporations eager to do business in their ancestral lands. Is this what they mean by “ensuring the economy serves everyone”? Is this how the administration addresses food insecurity in communities, by disallowing food aid for its people?

RENMIN VIZCONDE, executive director, Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes Inc.