Problems of Filipino Settlers 9789814380171

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The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

Established as an autonomous corporation by an act of the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore in May, 1968, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies is a regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modern Southeast Asia.

The Institute's research interest is focussed on the

many-faceted problems of modernization and social change in Southeast Asia. The Institute is governed by a 24-member Board of Trustees on which are represented the University of Singapore and Nanyang University, appointees from the Government, as well as representatives from a broad range of professibnal and civic organizations and groups.

A ten-man Executive Committee oversees

day-to-day operations; it is ex officio chaired by the Director, the Institute's chief academic and administrative officer.

PROBLEMS OF FILIPINO SETTLERS

Eva Horak ova

Occas ional Paper No. 4 Instit ute of South east Asian Studi es Singa pore Price : $2.00

The problem of population density and overcrowding in rural areas exists in nearly all of the countries of Southeast Asia. Before World War II there were efforts by the United States and Holland to relieve population pressures in Luzon and Java by re-locating some of the people in less crowded islands. The experiments were not very successful and the problem persisted into the independence period. The Republic of the Philippines in particular, has faced this problem since the early nineteen-fifties. Over the past twenty years, there has been a steady movement of families and villages from overcrowded Luzon to the less populated islands, particularly Mindanao. Philippine and foreign scholars alike have studied this movement in order to understand its impact on the land and people in both the sending and receiving areas and to assess how well it is achieving the goal of alleviating the problem of overcrowding. Dr. Eva Horakova, a Fellow of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, has been studying this problem for the past eighteen months. In 1970 she visited several areas in the Philippines and conducted research. Her studies have concentrated upon comparing the social and economic conditions of government-sponsored and self-propelled migrants. In January, 1971 Dr. Horakova was invited to read a paper on her research at the International Congress of Orientalists held in Canberra. The paper includes only a part of the data she collected and the conclusions she draws must be considered as tentative. Despite these limitations we believe that the paper should be made available :to a wider audience because of the information it contains. It is our hope that it will stimulate discussion and invite comments. Dr. Horakova's larger study is entitled "A Study of Migratory Population Changes in the Post-War Philippines With Special Emphasis on Settlers . in Mindanao and Palawan". The Institute intends to publish the completed study later this year. Dr. Horakova earns her initial degree at Charles University, Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1961; she earned her doctorate in history at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1967. Josef Silverstein Director March, 1971

Problems of Filipino Settlers by Eva Horakova

The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7000 islands with different topographica l features, have always suffered an unequal distribution of population and consequently also an uneven development of regions. Existing reserves inspire people in distress to migrate to other places where they expect better opportunitie s. Most of this migration is to urban areas but some of the migrants seek new rural areas such as Cagayan Valley in northern Luzon and the islands of Mindanao, Palawan and Mindoro. The history of the internal migration in the Philippines can be traced to the time when lowland areas in Luzon and Bisayan Islands first began to experience population pressure and following closely on the pre-war years internal migration has continued simultaneous ly under two schemes: the one organized and the other spontaneous. Organized migration is planned and sponsored by some government or other institution, while spontaneous migration is unguided and depends fully on the initiative and spontaneity and resourcefuln ess of the would-bemigrants. The government resettlement policy has not been constant. There have been periods of increased activity followed by periods of decline. Special attention to organized settlement was given by President Magsaysay in the 1950's when several pioneering farm projects were opened in virgin lands for dissident elements of the Philippine peasantry. The bold plans to ease population pressure on land in the Central Luzon by resettlement were, however, later abandoned owing to the high cost. Since 1963, when the Land Reform Codebegan to be implemented in certain areas, organized resettlement has experienced revival but even then there have been up and downs depending on the availability of funds and other resources. The organization of government sponsored migration is a function of the Land Authority which is one of the land reform agencies.

- 2 -

In this paper those migrants who settle in state organized projects and get government assistance are labelled as government sponsored settlers (GS settlers) and those who migrate on .their own, spontaneously, are referred to as self-propelled settlers (SP settlers). The assistance provided by the government includes a farmlot and houselot, free transportation from the place of origin, a house or temporary housing and construction material to build a house later, a working animal(carabao), farm implements, seeds, fertilizer and insecticides, food rations for a period of 1-1~ years, free medicine for the first year and, if need be, $Orne small items like mosguito nets, etc. All this the settler receives on loan (land is free) upon his arrival and is expected to begin repayment on such loans at the end of his third year in the project; the whole debt, interest-free, should be cleared within ten years thereon. The largest resettlement area is Mindanao. It used to be very ambitiously called "A Land of Promise" but this island has changld a lot since the war and already in 1956 columnist Balein coined a new name for it, "A Land of Compromise". The constant in-flow of migrants from other islands and the buying up of lands by companies and rich individuals for logging, farming, ranche~ and speculative purposes have considerably reduced the area still available for settlement. This fact, however, does not prevent further in-migration and purchases of lands, even those already occupied by either people native to Mindanao or settlers. This process results in land disputes. On one side are the rich land O\vners, companieq and new settlers, and on the other, local Maguindanaos and Maranaos (both Muslim), Manobos, Tibolis and other ethnic minoritie~ and old-time settlers. The disputes, often interpreted as Christian-Muslim conflicts because the settlers coming from other islands are mostly Christians, create a very tense atmosphere in some parts of Mindanao and often develop into armed clashes. They have been gaining in intensity since the 50's and in the last two years the problem has become so serious that there is hardly a month without reports of fights and killings in Mindanao. In Palawan and Mindoro land grabbing and land disputes are not as frequent, yet sporadic clashes occur there as well. Such is the situation which the self-propelled settlers moving into these areas have to face; this is precisely why they urgently demand legal solution to the problem of overlapping land claims, reliable land surveys, expedited

- 3 processing of homestead applications and r e lease of land titles. The position of government sponsored settlers is from this point of view better because they are resettled into projects where they get legal protection; they, however, have other difficulties. The Survey: Se tting and Respondents The major focus of the study will be a comparison of the situation and problems of two groups of settle~ one , gove rnment sponsored and the othe r self-propelled. The analysis will be based on data from a survey carried out among s e t t l ers in three res e ttlement areas from April to July 1970. The first area was in the coastal provinc e of Dava o del Nort e in Mindanao. The recent migrants there a r e predominantly SP settlers. Interviews were carried out in Santo Tomas. Today it is a municipal town, but in 1955 it was a government resettlement project with just a f ew houses in the forest. The territory of the proj ect was quite small (7,255 hectares) and was filled up quickl y . However, only about 60 per cent of the original pione ers have stayed on. The rest of the settlers sold their lands to newcomers and moved to other places. The sampl e from Santo Tomas includes principally these new s ettlers living either on the land of the project or outsid e . Both are SP settl ers because their migration was not assist ed by the government. Some interviewing was done also in two barrios (villages), San Isidro and San Miguel near Tagum in the same province. The respondents from thes e barrios were also SP settlers. The second area was in Bukidnon, an inland mount a inous province of Iv'Iindanao. Respondents were drawn from Bacusanon, a barrio which is a part of the Bukidnon Resettlement Agency in Pangantucan. This project in comparison with Santo Tomas is much larger (35,399 hec tar e s) and its occupants are n ew GS s ettl ers. The land chos en for this s e ttl ement is mostly fores te d, hilly and pr a ctical l y without road s. The climate is cool er than in other parts of the Philippine s. Remoteness and isol ation make adjustment rather difficult, as the settlers must adjust to diff er ent crops, diff erent climat e and ev en a diff er ent di et b e cause fish, a major food it em in their forme r hom e s, is in short supply. The ~hird are a was in Palawan, in the municipality of NARRA. Its history go e s back to 1950 when a r e s ettl e ment proj e ct was opened on an are a of 25,381 h ectar e s of virgin forest n e ar Aborlan. Palawan is a distant outpost of the Philippines and does not attract many SP s ettl ers.

... 4 -

Other drawbacks of the place are the prevalence of malaria and for recent settlers - the great distances between houses and farmlots. Respondents were chosen from NARRA, where among them were included also people resettled there after the Taal volcano eruption in 1967, and the rest of the interviewing was done in the resettlement barrios of Jose Rizal and Princess Urduja, both are parts of the NARRA project. The visited communities have reached different stages of development but all of them are relatively backward. There is no electricity except that which is produced by two private electric generators in NARRA; there is no mail service although there are post-offices in Sto Tomas and NARRA. There is no regular supply of newspapers and people have to depend on transistor radios and contact with the rest of the country is maintaineQ through the telegraph system. Special lines connect the resettlement agencies with the Land ~uthority in Manila. The roads are generally bad and in case of Bacusanon almost non-existent. Only San Isidro is accessible by a good road. Sto Tomas and NARRA, both being municipal tovms, have more or less regular mini-bus service to provincial capitals, but Bacusanon, 26 kilometers away from its municipal town, Pangantucan, has no transport service whatsoever. The communities have primary schools and Sto Tomas and NARRA also have secondary schools. Health care was better than expected. NARRA has a settlers' health center with a general practitioner, a dentist, a staff of nurses and midwives. In addition to these, there are three more doctors. Sto Tomas has a government health center and the project itself has a nurse and a midwife. In Bacusanon there are only a project nurse and midwife. Medicine is available either in stores or in resettlement offices. On the basis of facilities and services available in the communities or their accessibility NJ~Rh would raD~ tho first, followed by Sto Tomas, San Miguel, San Isidro, Jose Rizal, Princess Urduja and Bacusanon. In the Davao area 45 interviews with the household heads were held; this represented 37 per cent of all interviews. Most of the families belonged to the SP group. The interviews with 42 heads of settler households in Bacusanon comprise 34 per cent of the total sample. Although a great majority of these respondents came from the GS group there was also a minority of the SP settlers in the sample. From the third area 36 interviews were included furnishing thus the remaining 29 per cent o;f. the total. The interviewed settlers were mostly sponsored by the government.

- 5 Alt-ogether 123 household heads were interviewed; 72 migrated under the government resettlement scheme and 51 as self-propelle d settlers. Table I.

Distribution of the Settler Households by Area and Type of Migration (%) Percentage of the Sample

Percentage of SP HouseY,_o ld s

Percentage of GS Households

Davao del Norte area

37

98

2

Bacus anon

3'+

14-

86

Nl.RRA Project

29

3

97

No. Cases

(123)

(51)

(72)

The only criterion applied in drawing the sample was to choose recent settlers,in other words, those who had been in the area for a period of 2-3 years. The assumption was that these persons would be likely to have adjustment problems and that differences between the GS and SP settlers might be most noticeable, in the first few years after migration. ~he interview was based on a questionnair e consisting following:ba sic data on the pre sent household, the of information about the respond ent and his family in the area from which they migrated, migration, present conditions of the household compared with past conditions, the settler's life in the new place, problems and prospe cts and an attitudinal test to find out the degree of possible adjustment to the new place. The languages used in interviewing were English, Tagalog, Ilocano and Bisayan dialects. Ls the author can speak only English and some Tagalog, it was necessary to use interpreters , usually local teachers. ~fter the survey all data were punched on to cards ( each household has four of them) for data processing purposes. The present paper analyses only a part of the data; it is proposed to use other data that have been collected for a future study.

Ethnic origin of the household heads. The ethnic composition of the respondents in the communities varied. The largest group in the sample from Davao del Norte area were the people of Bisayan origin (58 per cent) and the second were Ilocanos (4-2 per c ent);

- 6-

in Bacusanon the majority of the respondents came from northern Luzon, they were Ilocanos (45 per cent) and Tinggians (24 per cent) followed by Ilor.ggosfrom Panay in the Bisayan Islands (23 p er cent); in Palawan the b e st represented among the respondents were Ilocanos (61 per · cent), followed by Tagalogs (17 per cent) and Ivatans originating from the Batanes Islands in the north of the Philippine archipelago (14 per cent). Distribution by Place and Ethnic Origin (%)

Table II.

Davao del Norte

Bisayan

. 58

ll.rea

Ilocano

42

Ilocano

45

Tinggian

24

Ilonggo

23

Bacus anon

Other

·. N.I'..RRA Project

8

Ilocano

61

Tagalog

17

I vat an

.

14

"

Other

8

The distribution, however, does not fully correspond to the provinces of out-migration of the respondents. The reason is that for about 40 per c ent of the settlers this migration was not the first one. About 25 per cent of the respondents moved twic e , approximately 10 per cent three times and about 5 per cent four time s. The ethnic composition has bb.ought about the evolution of a means oi' communication in the multi-lingual s e ttlements. In Davao area it is a language based on Cebuano enriched by elements from other Bisayan dialects, in Bacusanon people use Ilonggo and Tagalog, and in Palawan mostly Tagalog.

- 7 Age of the household heads and size of their families. The age distribution of the household h eads in the SP and GS groups was generally similar, but it showed some slight and interesting differences. Although in both groups there was a sudden sharp drop in number of respondents after the 40-44 age bracket, this drop occurred later with the GS household heads than with the SP ones. (See Graph

I.)

There was almost no difference in the size of the families when a comparison was made between the GS and SP settlers. The average membership of the households was 6.4 for the GS settlers and 6.2 for the SP ones and these figures roughly corresponded to the membership of the nuclear families (i.e. the household head, his wife and unmarried children). However, not all the members of the nuclear families lived in the households. About 5 per cent of them stayed in another place but about the same number of non-members of the nuclear families (like married children and relatives) living with the settlers made up for this decrease. Education of the household heads Educational attainment of the household heads was measured in terms of the highest grade completed. The scores tabulated separately for the GS and SP groups showed different results. The SP respondents were slightly better educated than the GS respondents and this difference was noticeable especially in the percenBage of those who completed lower grades of high school. This level was reached by 24 per cent of the SP respondents but only by 7 per cent of the GS ones. This evidence may indic ate that unguided migration would be more attractive for those who obtain relatively higher education. However, more rese arch must be done on this hypothesis.

- 8 -

Graph I.

Distribut ion of Household Heads

·by Age and Type of Migration (%)

-

-- - -- ---

SP Settlers (51) GS Settlers (72)

2

18

/

16.

14

I

I

12

"

I

/

/'\ \

\

I

"-..I

I

10

I 8

\

I

'

\

I

\

r-

/

\

/ \1

18-24

25-9

30-4

35-9

40-4

45-9

50-4

55-9

60

- 9 Table III. The Highest Grade Completed. Grade

SP Settlers

GS Settlers

0

12

9

1-3

12

25

4-6

45

50

7-9

24

7

10-over

7

9

No. Cases

(42)*

(68)*

·,

* The difference between the actual number of the respondents (SP 51 and GS 72) and these totals account for the number of the answer failures. Occupation of the household heads About 86 per cent of the interviewed household heads were farmers. This percentage is slightly higher when compared with the percentage of those who were farmers prior to migration but the increase is not shared by both groups of the settlers. While the number of farmers among the GS settlers has increased - by about 13 per cent leaving merely two settlers who mentioned farming only as an additional occupation - the number of farmers in the other group has decreased by 4 per cent. The rest of the respondents worked mostly as labourers or employees. Since it is customary among Filipino farmers to have an additional occupation these were also studied. It was noticed that the household heads from the SP group had more additional occupations after migration and the GS household heads had fewer. Eeasons for migration The examination of the reasons for migration as given by the interviewed household heads yielded the following results. For 83 per cent of the respondents the only motive behind their decision to migrate was a necessity to secure some land for farming. Out of this group 54 per cent had an absolute need for land which means that they had no land of their own and conditions of tenancy in the previous place were so bad that .they could not make both ends meet; the remaining 46 per cent wanted a bigger piece of land.

- 10 -

If we analyse this percentage further we will see an interesting difference between the SP and GS respondents. The group of the SP household heads stressing their aim to live better, to progress, or to get a bigger piece of land was greater (69 per cent) than the group stressing the immediate need of land ( 31 per cent). h o, ~ g the heads of households in the GS group, this relation was just reverse: 66 per cent of them mentioned an absolute need for land and 34 per cent wanted bigger farms. imother reason reported by the interviewed SP settlers was a dispute over land O\vnership or other conflict with people in the previous place, a problem generally and very unhappily classified by the respondents as "Muslim trouble". The percentage of the disputes was as high as 23. These conflicts were given as a reason for migration among the GS respondents in only 3 per cent of the cases. Ownership and size of land. Both groups of settlers aimed at getting land for farming into private ovmership. To what degree were they successful? To provide an answer it is necessary that the ownership and the size of the farms cultivated by the household heads and their families in the previous places are compared with the O\vnership and the size of their farms in the new places. The situation before migration as far as ovvnership of land is concerned was really critical. About two thirds of the interviewed household heads did not own any land and worked as tenants or depended on relatives who owned some land. Only about one third owned a piece of land. However, when ownership is computed separately for the SP and GS groups, then the picture is slightly different. P~ong the SP respondents 42 per cent were land owners, while amongst the GS respondents only 29 per cent could be considered land owners. When the percentage of -tenants and dependents was compared, it was higher among the GS respondents (68 per cent) than among the SP ones (56 ·per cent)o

- 11 -

Table IV.

Ownership of Land by Farmer-Respondents Before Migration (%). GS Settlers

Ownership

SP Settlers

Household Head

42

29

2

3

37

36

Relatives

19

32

No. Cases

(43)

(63)

Government Landlord or Other Tenancy

..

After migration the ownership of land changed considerablyo The GS settlers will become owners of the farmlots allotted to them once they have paid off the loans. That is why a hundred per cent of them are prospective ovmers of economic family-size farms (6-8 hectares). Only one GS r espondent has become an o~n1er of his farmlot but he has been staying in the project longer than the rest of the respondents. The analysis of the ovmership of land in the SP group shows a worsening of the situation. About 12 per cent of the household heads gave up farming completely and the percentage of land owners decreased by 8 per cent. Although there are fewer t enants now, dependency of the SP settlers on land owning relatives has incr e ased. Table V.

Ownership of Land by Farmer-Respondents .lifter Migration (%). Ownership

~p

Settlers

GS Settlers

34

1

8

99

Landlord or Other Tenancy

29

0

Relatives

29

0

No. Cases

(38)

(72)

Household Head Government

- 12 The size of farms of the interviewed household heads also has changed remarkably. Before migration the respondents from the GS groups worked on farms of a mean size of 2.2 hectares. Upon cigration they were allotted an average of 6.7 hectares of land. In addition to this they will become ovmers. The respondents from the SP group cultivated an average of 3.3. hectares before migration and after i~ 3.2 hectares. There seems to be almost no change but when these data were crosstabulated with the categories of ownership, some interesting differences could be seen. The size of the farm of the owners reduced by almost one half. The tenants also cultivated smaller farms than before migration. Only those working on their relatives' land cultivated a bigger field. Those who were able to s ecure a farm on government land, and they were just a few, have bigger farmlots now. Table VI.

Average Size of Field Cultivated by the Household Heads in the GS Group Before and After Migration. (In Hectares).

1m

Working on Ownersl Tenants Dependents Government IJand Relatives on 1 Before !Migration

1.8

Lfter fMigration .

2.5

Table VII.

im .A verage Size of Field Cultivated by the Household Heads in the SP Group Before and Lfter Migration .

2.5

~

.

~!!

-

2.3

8.0

-

6.7

Working on Owners Tenants Dependents on Relatives ·Government Land Before Migration

6.3

2.4

2.3

2.5

::..fter Migration

3.6

1.9

3.3

4.3

- 13 Standard of living The ownership and size of the farm are the basic factors influencing the standard of living of farmers. To get a better picture twenty more variables were studied. When we consider the assistance provided by the government to the settlers in the projects and the fact that the SP settlers get no help, we would expect the standard of living of the GS settlers to be higher. However, when we compared the actual conditions of life of both groups r epresented in our survey, the results were not exactly as expected, for example, housing. The GS settlers usually move into a house built for them in the project, and sometimes, not very often, they are given temporary housing in so-called bunkhouses and are provid ed with material for construction of a house as soon as they are ready to build it. The SP settlers usually move temporarily into the house of their relatives or friends in the new place and when they get land or at least a houselot, they build their own house. This was also the case with our respondents. Llthough the beginnings of both groups in the new place were different, yet after 2-3 years of residence both showed nearly the same degree of progress, if the quality of accommodation of individual families before and after migration was used as a basis for comparison. The household he ads from the SP group reported better or same accommodation in about 84 per cent of the cases and the GS respondents in about 80 per cent. But there was a striking difference in the furnishing of the households. Only about 15 per cent of the SP interviewees considered their furnishing worse than they had before migration, while the percentage among the GS respondents was 40. In terms of cooking facilities, these were. worse for 14 per cent of the SP househol~and for 28 per cent of the GS ones. The disparity between the two groups in the new place was even more vividly illustrat ed when a comparison of bathing facilities was made. While the conditions of SP households worsened in 16 per cent of the cases, for GS settlers there was a decline in 40% of the cases. The reason for the deterioration in bathing facilities among the GS households is probably due to the nature of the water supply in the new communities. When toilet facilities were compared, the stand ard was found almost identical for both groups. Over 80 per cent of all respondents answered that these facilities in the new place were "better" or "same" and about 10 per cent answered "worse." The five variables discussed above reveal that housing improved at least in 4 items for 37 per cent of the SP households but only for 22 per cent of the GS ones.

- 14 Table VIII.

Housing ~fter Migration as Reported by the Household Heads in the SP and the GS Groups(%) SP Settlers GS Settlers Better in 4 Items at Least

37

22

Better or Same in 4 Items at Least

80

57

(51)

(72)

No. Cases

The other 14 variables related to the standard of living studied in this survey were shopping facilities, market, health care, water supply, elementary and secondary schools, churches, roads, transport services, peace and order, postal services, sport facilities, opportunity of seeing films, and availability of newspapers. In all these items the GS respondents scored less well than the SP ones. This is not to say that there were no improvements for individual GS households, but when compared with the improvements for the SP households the former did not fare that well. L.s far as living costs are concerned, the new places were considered worse by 22 per cent of the SP respondents and by 47 per cent of the GS ones. Table IX.

Percentage of Better Facilities in the New Communities as Reported by the Household Heads in the SP and the GS Groups. SP Settlers GS Settlers Better in 1-6 Items

49

87

Better in 7-14 Items

51

13

(51)

(72)

No. Cases

- 15 Table X.

Percentag e of Better or Same Facilitie s in the New Communiti es as Reported by the Household Heads in the SP and the GS Groups. SP Settlers

GS Settlers

- Better or Same in 1-6 Items

18

60

Better or Same in 7-14 Items

82

40

(51)

(72)

No. Cases

From these facts it can be c0ncluded that after migration the life of the families of the interviewe d SP responden ts became better in terms of housing and facilitie s available in their new communiti es but wors e in regard to ownership and size of the farm. For the families of the GS responden ts housing and community facilitie s became worse but in ownership and size of the farm their situation improved. ~t this moment, however, they cannot yet b enefit much from this advantage because more than two thirds of them were allotted forested land and about one third got a farmlot only partly cleared. By the time of this survey the responden ts had been able to clear for cultivatio n only 1-2 hectares. Most of them had planted a few temporary crops for immediate household consumpti on. The difficulti es with clearing the land influenced adversely the rate of improveme nt in the standard of living of the GS settlers. The SP settlers usually movEdto older, establishe d communitie s or settle near them so that they did not face the problems of clearing the forest. If we examine the life of the settlers at the present time, those who belong to the GS group live undoubted ly worse than those from the SP group. But the former will b e able to live better in the n e ar future if the government can protect them from land-grab bers and money-len ders. For the SP settlers included in this survey the future under the present situation does not seem too bright. There is not much land available in places where they settle, they do not get enough legal protectio n because they seldom secure titles to the land they cultivate and there are few job opportun ities for those who cannot find free land. Their lot most probably can be improved only by the full implement ion of the Land Reform Code all over the Philippin es.

- 16 -

Problems of the Settlers and Conclusions !my kind of migration, either external or internal, brings about a lot of problems for the migrant. The household heads usually spoke about financial, housing and farming problems, while some of them mentioned difficulties with social integration and health adjustment. The most common complaint in both groups was difficulties arising from financial hardship. The GS respondents mentioned them in 76 per cent of the cases and the SP ones in 56 per cent. When discussing these problems, the respondents often brought up the subject of food. There was an interesting difference in the way they looked upon this problem. Those who were sponsored by the government often spoke about "lack of food" or even "hunger". On the other hand, those from the SP group (although they had the same probl em) spoke much more often about "money" or "money for food". I believe the difference results from government policy towards the GS settlers. From the very beginning they are provided with the essentials. Money somehow disappears from their lives. They get used to regular and sufficient food rations and have no worries ab out their meals next day. Und er such conditions few people think of the futur e and those who do, seldom fully r ealize that they will have to pay for this kind of loan. More often they realize that one day these rations will be cut off. Yet, inst ead of trying hard to become self-sufficient they apply for an extension of the period with rations. It was notic ed that those who had been given rations for one year asked for an ext ension of three months, those who had been supported for 18 months asked for 3-6 more and there was one settler, provided with rations for 2 years, who suggested that the settlers ought to get rations for 3 years. The settlers somehow passed over the responsibility for their livelihood to the government. In contrast to them the SP respondents seemed to be more practical, relying on themselves or on their relatives and thought much more in terms of money. Apart from the problems of subsistence there were also problems connected with farming activities. More than 25 per cent of the household heads in the SP group claimed they had difficulties in securing land for cultivation. Another 12 per cent of them had problems with irrigation; the problems of constructing an irrigation system were reported also by 24 per cent of the GS respondents. But unlike most of the SP settlers the government supported migrants expected to be able to finish the construction within a year. But, unfortunately, there were amongst them a few settlers whose fiel~could not be irrigated on account

- 17 of their location. These migrants found it very difficult to adjust themselves to the new conditions and were not ready to change their traditional crop. The future of such migrants in the projects is very uncertain. They will hardly be satisfied or successful and most probably on the first opportunity they will move to another place where they will be able to continue the farming routine they were used to in the previous place. Buch migrants regret their decision to migrate because of their unhappy experience. This disappointment can be prevented by closer scrutiny of the applicants for resettlement and by furnishing them with better information about the projects through pictures, slides, short documentary films and by pointing out b oth advantages and disadvantages of the particular project. Although the situation in housing was not favourable for many settlers, yet over 75 p ar cent of the interviewed household heads in the SP group and 80 per cent in the GS group did not mention housing problems at all. Amongst those who did, some SP respondents did not consider their housing adequate and the GS respondents usually spoke about problems related to the development of housing, such as bad feeder roads, unsatisfactory water supply, etc. Health problems appear to exist only in Palawan. Although all modern medication for the cure of malaria are available there, the settlers cannot afford to buy it. With the cost of one pill at 30 centavos, a seven-member family needs ~2J.O a week to pay for this kind of protection; this cost is almost prohibitive for many settlers. Thus regular attacks of malarial fever are common for many people in Palawan and the consequences need not be explained. The success of many settler families depends on eradication of this debilitating disease. The respondents from the mountainous and cool Bacusanon did not report any serious health problems although they spoke about their almost helpless situation in cases of emergency. Inspite of all the complaints of the lack of food, which were in some cases really not without basis, n either the respondents nor their children looked under-nourished. Against all expectations social problems caused by migration were felt by very few respondents. Only one ascertained loneliness as his problem, one found difficulty in communicating with others and two respondents declared that it was not easy to get used to the new place and the new people.

- 18 -

Table XI.

Problems of the Household Heads (%) SP Settlers · GS Settlers · Financial

56

76

Farming

45

40

Housing

23

19

Health

4

13

Social

4

3 (72)

(51)

No. Cases

ft

Social integration of the settlers is made relatively easy by several factors. Since internal migration to Mindanao and Palawan has been continuing for a number of years, many areas are occupied by first, second or even third generation settlers. Native population usually gave way to the migrants and left for further places in the hinterland. Those who stayed on have got used to the in-flow of settlers and the l~~guages and customs of both people have been integrating. Thus migration has helped to reduce cultural differences and the relative isolation of the provinces with low density of population. Other factors facilitating social integration are chain migration or migration in groups. Filipino families seldom move alone or go to a completely unknown place. Most of them either follow relatives or friends who went ahead (chain migration) or if they plan to go to an unknown place, then they persuade relatives or friends to move with them (group migration). In our survey the SP settlers usually followed the pattern of chain migration and the GS ones moved in groups. Table XII.

Presence of Relatives or Friends of the Household Heads in the New Place (%) Relatives Friends ..· None

. SP Settlers GS . Settlers

69

.

14

No • Cases

17

(51)

97

(72)

i

3

0

- 19 Table XIII.

Settler Families Migrating with other Families Family of 'Family of None No. Cases Relatives Friends SP Settlers GS Settlers

35

24

(51)

51 ~

56

38

26

(72)

Thus the first problem of getting acquainted with the new place and people was for the SP settlers minimized by the presence of relatives. Even among the GS settlers adjustment did not seem to creat~ any major problems though the settlements were unknown places for most of them. The settlers in the project faced the change as a group. All of them were farmers, they were more or less socially equal and lived in the same conditions. This strengthened them in distress and encouraged friendly relations and willingness to help each other. Living together in the project helped to create the typical barrio atmosphere of their previous places with its group life and close relations. There was, however, one hindering factor - a language problem. The fact that a language problem existed came as quite a surprise because the settlers themselves did not mention it when we discussed difficulties of their lives. Moreover, the interviewed household heads were able to speak an average of 2.3 other dialects besides their mother tongue. Yet when asked about the life among people speaking different dialects, 68 per cent of the GS settlers ·answered "difficult" or "very difficult". The SP settlers seemed to be better adjusted because multi-+ingual surroundings were difficult for only 29 per cent. The percentage in respect of the GS respondents may seem rather high but the actual situation in fact is not unbearable. Thus far they have taken it in good humour, and since Filipinos pick up languages easily, it is just a matter of time to overcome this difficulty. Resettlement certainly helps Philippine integration and nation building. Having examined all these aspects of the settler's life one would expect a different degree of satisfaction between the two groups. But the conclusion derived from the answers of the household heads sounds almost paradoxical. The percentage of the "satisfied" settlers in our survey was in both groups almost the same (71 for the GS and 69 for the SP settlers) and the percentage of the "dissatisfied" was also about the same (15 for the GS and 18 for the SP settlers).

- 20 -

Table XIV.

Satisfaction of the Household Heads in the New Places (%). SP Settlers

GS Settlers

Satisfied

69

71

Dissatisfied

18

15

Undecided

13

14

No. Cases

(51)

(72)

This, however, should not be interpreted as evidence that the GS settlers could do without assistence. On the contrary, greater efforts must be expended to make their migration and resettlement more successful. One must bear in mind that the conditions of life penetrating into forest is often much harder than in the established communities. But the nature of the government help provided to the settlers might be reconsidered. It appears that some of the assistance helps to solve only immediate problems. The food rations on loan are necessary at the beginning but at the same time the settlers should be encouraged to become independent of them. The period of rations could be shortened if, apart from foodstuffs, the settlers were given chicken, goslings and other animals, vegetable seeds and plants of fruit trees on loan immediately on arrival. Consequently the rations could gradually be reduced and stopped after a period of time when the settlers should have become self-sufficient. Thus far there is not enough encouragement to plant vegetables and fruits in the gardens. The settlers do not realize that a surplus of products from the garden can be one source of badly needed money. All teenagers, wives and children, led by both parents and teachers, should be mobilized to reach self-sufficiency as soon as possible. Over 70 per cent of the GS household headsrequested an extension of a period with the rations or a loan either in kind or money. Since the rations do not encourage them in the effort to become independent of the government help and since the settlers rely on possibility of an extension of the period with rations, an experioent could be made with loans. These could be provided partly for livelihood but mainly for buying some means of production which would ensure the settlers at least some regular income. Such means of production could be a sowing machine, tools for a carpenter, locksmith, barber, baker,

- 21 equipment for a workshop for repair of tools and farm implements, for an eating place, for opening a plant nursery, etc. These loans should be granted under a guidance and counselling service of the resettlement agency. This would not only speed up the development of the place but would also provide employment for some members of the families. The GS settlers are allotted 6-8 hectares of land. According to the present policy of the Land Authority this is an economic family size farm. But 68 per cent of the interviewed GS household heads did not consider this £ize sufficient because they thought of their growing children. If job opportunitie s are not developed, an over population of the resettlement areas is a matter of less than one generation. Another effective form of aEsistance to the settlers would be the cutting and the removal of trees from forested farmlots. There is not enough machines for this work in the projects and the burning of trees is economically wasteful and far from successful because the trees do not burn completely. Contracts with logging companies could bring better results. A big problem in the resettlement areas is roads. Major road communicatio ns should be built before the projects are open and feeder roads can be built later with the assistance of the settlers. If the hardest work of cl eaning the field is done before the allocation of the land, there would be some labour force available for at least part time work on road construction . This would be another source of income for the settlers. Those who did farming previously, usually had a secondary exployment providing a regular income. After migration, when the financial situation of the settlers becomes almost critical, an opportunity of earning some money would help them overcome frustrations and would also be a psychologica l safeguard for those who fear failure in starting life in the new place. A great help to the settlers - and not only in the projects but also for the SP settlers - would be "a rent a hand tractor" service.

The most effective help to the BP settlers seems to be a complete implementati on of land r eform measures. There are so far too many negative factors influencing s elfpropelled migration and hence it should not be encouraged as long as the settlers cannot be assured of a better futureo On the b~sis of research which examined resettlement in Venezuela where settlers are faced with adverse circumstance s as discussed before, only government sponsored resettlement and land development policies was found feasible.

- 22 The question which arises is how big a resettlement program the Philippine government can afford? In 19641969 the Land Authority resettled 4;127 families and already this is considered a very expensive undertaking. But even if there are sufficient funds for a substantial increase so that the out-migration relieves pressure in the over populated provinces, will it be worth while to expose land to erosion by merciless ·cutting the forest (which is already done by some logging companies)? Some resettlement and unguided migration will certainly continue as long as there is still some agricultural land that has not been exploited, and as long as the population explosion continues in the Philippines. But much more effort should be exerted on implementing land reform, modernizing agriculture and creating job opportunities in the out-migration areas.

/pl.

- 23 FOOTNOTES

1.

BALEIN, Jose c., "Endless Search for the Promised Better Land", This Week, May 27, 1956.

2.

The place is named after the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration, (NARRA), a predecesor of the Land Authority in 1954-1963.

3.

In the Philippine educational system high school offers 4 year instruction to students who finish elementary school which has six grades.

4.

HILL, G.W.; BELTRAN, G., Land Settlement in Venezuela: With special reference to the Turen Project, Rural Sociology, Vol. 17, September 1952, pp. 229-236. BIBLIOGRAPHY

BALEIN, Jose C. "Endless Search for the Promised Better Land," This Week, Vol. 11, May 27, 1956. BORRIE, W.D., The Cultural Integration of Immigrants, Paris,

1959.

BRIDGER, G.A. '!Planning Land Settlement Schemes," Agricultural Economic Bulletin for Africa 1, September 1962, pp. 21-54. CASES, Manuel T., "Greed and Hunger," Manila, 1967. COCKING, W.P.; R.F. LORD, "The Tanganyika Agricultural Corporation's Farming Settlement Scheme," Tropical Agriculture, Vol. 35, April 1958, pp. 85-101. D.ALISAY, Amando M., "Development of Economic Policy in Philippine Agriculture," Manila, 1959. ESTRELLA, Conrado F., "Democratic Answer to the Philippine Agrarian Problem," Solidaridad, Manila, 1969. HILL, G.W.; BELTR.tl.N, G., "Land Settlement in Venezuela: With special reference to the Turen Project," Rural Sociology, Vol. 17, September 1952, pp. 229-236. JAVIER, Ben, "Small Settlers, Minorities Face Explosive Dilemma," Examiner, October 19, 1968.

- 24 -

KIUNISJ..LA, Edward R., "Where the Government is an Enemy," Ph~lippines Free Press, December 1, 1962. Land ! . .u thori ty, "I..nnual Report, " FY 1968/1969. Land Reform Code. LL.NDIS, Paul H.

"Rural Life in Process, 11 New York, 1948.

Ml...DIGAN, Francis C. , S. J. , "The Farmer Said No," University of the Philippines Press, Quezon City, 1968. Mindanao Development .i\.uthori ty, Program. P1..NGANIB1'...N, Antonia G., "School Performance as a Factor in Philippine Rural- Urban Migration," Philippine Sociological Review, Vol. IV, :April-July 1956, Nos. 2-3, PPo 2-15. Philippine Land Reform Program, March 1970, Plans and Programs Office, National Land Reform Council. SANDOVAL, Pedro R., 11 Socio-economic conditions of settlers in Kidapawan, Mindanao," Philippine J..griculturist, Vol. 40, February 1957. WERNSTEDT, Frederick L., "Migrations as a Solution for Demographic Problems, The Digos-Padada Valley, Davao, Proceedings of the First National Colloquium on the ?hilippines, Institute of International and Area Studies, Western Michigan University, 1969.

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