Consortium for People's Development - Disaster Response

PALAY LAKAD 2026: ADVOCACY HIKE

This June 6, in celebration of World Environment Day, join Palay Lakad 2026: Advocacy Hike, a meaningful journey that connects environmental protection, disaster resilience, and the fight for food security. 🌾

As Central Luzon faces worsening land conversion, recurring disasters, and deepening challenges among farmers, defending the country’s rice granary becomes more urgent than ever. Through this advocacy hike, participants will learn from communities, engage with the realities on the ground, and stand in solidarity with those who continue to feed the nation despite immense hardship.

EVENT DETAILS
Event Name: Palay Lakad 2026: Advocacy Hike
Location: Mt. 387, Puncan, Carranglan, Nueva Ecija
Date: June 6, 2026 (Saturday)
Duration: 1 Day (5:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
Difficulty Level: Beginner-friendly
Registration Fee: PHP 2,999.00
Inclusions: Transportation and Driver’s Fee, Environmental fees, Tour Guide Fee, Lunch, T-shirt and other merchandise

REGISTER HERE:
https://tinyurl.com/PalayLakad2026
https://tinyurl.com/PalayLakad2026
https://tinyurl.com/PalayLakad2026

More than a hike, Palay Lakad is a call to protect our lands, support our farmers, and defend our future.

CALL FOR DONATIONS: Help rebuild the lives of affected communities affected by Mayon ashfall 🌋

Since January 2026, activity at Mayon Volcano in Albay Province has been intensifying, with DOST-PHIVOLCS keeping Alert Level 3 in place due to sustained unrest. On May 2, the volcano released an ash plume during an eruptive event driven by the collapse of lava deposits. This led to pyroclastic flows and a pyroclastic density current (PDC), sending hot ash and debris down the slopes and affecting nearby communities with ashfall. This is part of a continuing eruption phase, where the main risk is unpredictable intensification.

Communities in Albay Province are struggling as ash from Mayon Volcano continues to fall. Displacement, health concerns, and loss of livelihood are affecting many families. Farmers are among the most impacted. Their crops have been damaged beyond use, and livestock losses are rising. With their main sources of food and income disrupted, urgent support is needed for recovery.

We urgently appeal for donations and support to aid affected communities in their recovery and rebuilding efforts.

INTERNATIONAL WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY | APRIL 28
STATEMENT

On April 28, we remember the lives of workers who have died or been harmed in the pursuit of livelihood, and we continue the fight for those who remain under unsafe and unjust conditions.

In the Philippines, this crisis remains urgent and widespread. The Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development reported that 369 workers died and 516 were injured or permanently disabled in 2025. This translates to an average of one worker dying every day due to unsafe working conditions. These figures reflect not only dangerous workplaces but also the persistent failure to uphold workers’ rights to safety, protection, and humane conditions. Recent incidents lay bare the depth of this injustice. On April 19, a motor taxi rider died while waiting in line for ₱5,000 in government cash aid, forced to endure long hours under unsafe conditions just to access minimal support. This is not an isolated case but a stark reflection of how inhumane conditions have become for many workers where even seeking assistance can cost lives. It exposes a system in which survival itself is a struggle, and those who keep society running are left with the least protection.

Government response continues to fall short. Labor protections remain weakly enforced, social services are inadequate, and disaster and emergency assistance are often inaccessible or delayed. Instead of providing immediate and dignified support, current systems push workers into deeper vulnerability, especially those in the informal sector who are most exposed to risk.

We recognize not only the sacrifices of workers but also their ongoing resistance and collective struggle for safe workplaces, living wages, and dignity in labor. This struggle cuts across sectors, from agricultural and factory workers to transport, delivery, and other informal workers who face daily risks without sufficient protection. For us at the Consortium for People’s Development Disaster Response, defending workers’ rights is inseparable from building disaster-resilient communities. Disaster risk reduction cannot be achieved without addressing unsafe labor conditions, insecure livelihoods, and the systemic inequalities that place workers at risk. Protecting workers is protecting communities.

On May 1, we stand in solidarity with workers across the country and around the world. CPD-DR supports the struggle of workers and joins their calls for a nationwide increase in living wages, the removal of Value-Added Tax and excise taxes on oil, repealing of the oil deregulation law, stronger labor protections, and a system that values life and dignity over profit. 🔨👷

EARTH DAY | APRIL 22
STATEMENT

As we close Earth Month 2026, we affirm that protecting the planet requires defending the land and the people who sustain it and that the climate crisis is deeply tied to landlessness, profit-driven exploitation of nature, and land monopolization disguised as progress or development.

Last April 22, in commemoration of Earth Day, CPD-DR stood in solidarity with farmworkers in Hacienda Luisita, joining them in cultivating the land. This was not merely a symbolic act but a concrete assertion of peasants’ rights to land, livelihood, and food security. To cultivate the land is to reclaim it. For generations, peasants have been denied genuine agrarian reform, leaving them vulnerable to hunger, displacement, and the impacts of climate-related disasters. When agricultural lands are converted for commercial use, it strips farmers of their means of survival and weakens local food systems.

Defending agricultural land in Hacienda Luisita is therefore part of a broader struggle against land monopolization under the guise of development. It is about ensuring that land remains productive for those who till it and for sustaining communities. Strengthening local food production through collective cultivation also builds resilience, reinforcing the capacity of communities to withstand crises.

When we defend agricultural land, we protect not only livelihoods but also ecosystems that sustain life. No land, no life. No planet to defend. 🌏🌱

The Consortium for People’s Development–Disaster Response (CPD-DR) conducted a Fire Prevention Orientation and Relief Distribution for fire victims in Barangay Talaba II, Bacoor, Cavite, on March 23, 2026. The area has been affected by so-called development projects, such as the LRT-1 Cavite Extension, Bacoor Diversion Road Project and Manila Bay reclamation. Residents have been subjected to demolitions and a series of fire breakouts.

The beneficiaries, mostly fishermen, some of whom are members of PAMALAKAYA, an organization of fisherfolk—shared the challenges they face in trying to survive. Many reported difficulty in fishing due to these development projects, as well as rising oil prices.

During the fire prevention orientation, participants noted that many fire incidents were allegedly caused by unattended cooking.

CPD-DR emphasized the importance of vigilance, cooperation, and unity among residents as key factors in preventing fire outbreaks within the community.

A short discussion on oil price hikes was also conducted by PAMALAKAYA Cavite following the welcome remarks of PAMALAKAYA Bacoor, which hosted the activity.

Relief goods were distributed to around 50 fire victims in the barangay. An additional 50 sets of relief goods were provided to recent fire victims in Paliparan, Dasmariñas, Cavite. PAMALAKAYA Cavite and Serve the People Corps - Cavite served as partners of CPD-DR.

CPD-DR underscored that development should not come at the expense of communities, emphasizing that it cannot be considered genuine progress if people are left behind.