Ifugao province has formally appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to release urgent financial aid to save the UNESCO-protected Batad Rice Terraces from further destruction, months after Super Typhoon Uwan triggered a deadly landslide that ripped apart centuries-old canals and killed two people.
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The Department of Agriculture and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts are urgently tasked to expedite the much-needed rehabilitation, as bureaucratic delays have slowed down local initiatives to cope up with the calamity. Steps are being taken by villagers to avert more damages before the onset of the rainy season, but an estimated P30 million is needed for full restoration.
If the national government fails to intervene before the next torrential downpour, which experts predict could be extreme due to El Niño, much worse destruction would be experienced by the agricultural community, unless prompt and decisive action is implemented by the agencies involved. Disfigurements were found across the paddies, where over 2ha were destroyed and one hundred fifty farmers were affected in what residents consider the worst calamity in recent memory.
Following the disaster last November, locals held communal works and gathered private fundings. Ifugao Gov. Jerry Dalipog announced a P2 million aid during the Tinawon Rice Harvest Festival held from May 29 to 31. Rising 1100m above sea level, Batad is one of the five networks of terraces in the province that possess intact stone walls.
In 2011, after a major landslide struck Batad, former president Benigno Aquino III ordered the release of P20 million from the department. A similar allocation was approved by former president Rodrigo Duterte in 2018 for further restoration. Dalipog said he hopes President Marcos would approve an equivalent grant, emphasizing that it was former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who declared the terraces as a national treasure in the 1970s.
Official assessments would be conducted when Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. visits the site on June 26 to report to the Philippine president. Rehabilitation must be carried out immediately, , e.g., clearing loose soils and reinforcing structures, before the next typhoon results to more erosion.
However, delays continue to plague the recovery. The Department of Social Welfare and Development employed one hundred twenty villagers under a food for work program in April, but the promised food packs have not been distributed. Additionally, a P3.5 million grant from the commission remains tied up. Allegations were made regarding frustrating delays after the municipal government was repeatedly asked to submit compliance documents for an earlier 2024 landslide.
Later this month, one hundred twenty workers would receive P505 in daily compensation for 20 days under the Department of Labor and Employment. In the meantime, farmers are cutting rocks, hauling mud and rebuilding the collapsed stone walls. Lawyer Marlon Martin of the Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement emphasized that the locals need an annual subsidy that encourages heritage protection, sustains the farmers and helps educate their children.
