Mia said, “Secure from whom? They are the ones who sow fear among the people.”

The soldiers attempted three times to enter the premises, causing delay to the delivery of medical services.

Poverty

Mia also said that many of the diseases they diagnosed are preventable if only the people have the money to obtain their basic needs and health care services.

Mia said that cases of stress and insecurity are also brought about by problems of daily survival and separation from family members. She said that some of the residents’ loved ones have left Guihulngan in search of additional income elsewhere.

Rolando Libang, executive assistant of the CPDG, said landlessness remains to be the major problem of farmers in Guihulngan. He said that 90 percent of the farmers are tenants.

Agricultural workers receive only P45 ($0.855 at an exchange rate of $1=P46.745) a day, said Libang. Farmers are paid P200 ($4.278) for three days’ work of weeding out grass in sugar plantations.

Libang said farmers have no food security at all. They harvest palay (rice grains) only once a year because of the soil’s acidity. The farmers harvest only 2,000 kernels of corn per cropping season.

Malnutrition

Dela Paz said that most of the children she examined complained of pain in the stomach. “It is ironic that the children of farmers, who are the producers of food, are malnourished.”

She lamented the eating patterns of the children. Most of the schoolchildren would eat ground corn with ginamos (salted fish) before leaving for school. “Kung may bigas, maswerte na.” (If they have rice, they are lucky.)

The children, dela Paz said, would eat nothing for morning snacks. “I found out that they reserve kamote (sweet potato) or saging (banana) for lunch,” said dela Paz.

Prescription

Katharina Anne Berza, CHD advocacy officer, said, “In its prescription, the mission underscored the need for the people to have access to their right to health and economic alleviation.”

She said further, “A clear health program must be implemented to battle the health problems the communities face instead of having army troops who spread fear and anxiety. Genuine land reform is definitely a necessity and not the presence of soldiers in full battle gear.” (Bulatlat)

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