14/04/2020 - Film release: Voices of Manila Bay
Partners for Resilience in the Philippines is supporting local communities to have access to information and space in development planning processes directly impacting their livelihood and living conditions. The plans currently being developed for Manila Bay should build on people's vulnerabilities and capacities and ultimately ensure they become more resilient to disasters. “What we want to influence is for the Manila Bay Master Plan to carry the voices of the most vulnerable” - Rocelyn de Vera, programme manager CARE-Philippines.
“We need to clean Manila Bay. We need to address the problems that we have now. We have garbage in our coastline, we have garbage in our riverbase. We need to clean the area.” explains Vonne B. Villanueva, City Disaster Risk Reduction Officer. The current condition of the Manila Bay area is impacting livelihoods and is putting people at risk not only for typhoons, but also for fire and other hazards.
Partners for Resilience in the Philippines works closely together with communities in Manila Bay to build their capacities on disaster risk, climate change and environmental degradation. “If it was not for Partners for Resilience, I would not know how to prepare for disasters, or what to do if the disaster is already happening… they taught us to be ready” said Jethron Albo - Fire & Rescue Volunteer. Through this engagement communities are able to develop their own view and to translate this view into local development plans.
To guide the future growth of Manila Bay, the Philippines and the Netherlands government are jointly developing the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan. As part of the Dutch Expert Team, Partners for Resilience Philippines advocates for the integration of local voices, as well as social and environmental safeguards within the Master Plan. For instance by:
- providing space for local participation and emerging local messages in the planning process
- promoting the building with nature approach as part of the sustainable development solution
- harmonizing the planning processes at different levels; by aligning local development plans with the Master Plan
“Without Partners for Resilience, many of the vulnerable communities will not have an idea that there is an ongoing planning process. They will not have a chance to share their aspirations of what they want the Manila Bay to be in the next few years” Rocelyn de Vera, programme manager CARE-Philippines.
The story of the voices from Manila Bay and the Partners for Resilience have now been captured in this film:
We thank the following people for their time and effort in the creation of this film:
Production: Visual Development
Interviewees
- Rocelyn de Vera - Programme Manager CARE-Philippines
- John Carlos M. Quijano - Area Coordinator ACCORD
- Alma Niw - community organizer
- Vonne B. Villanueva, City Disaster Risk Reduction Officer
- Jethron Albo - Fire & Rescue Volunteer
With this film Partners for Resilience aims to encourage a dialogue around the participation of communities and local stakeholders in large infrastructure and development projects, provoking thoughts on the participative processes within large infrastructures and development projects and the role civil society organizations can play within these processes.The film sheds light on the points of view of various stakeholders engaged in the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan.
