PHILIPPINES:PEOPLE IN DROUGHT STRIKEN AREAS OF PHILIPPINES HAVE TAKEN TO EATING POTENTIALLY LETHAL YAMS RATHER THAN STARVE

Record ID: 342143

  • Title: PHILIPPINES:PEOPLE IN DROUGHT STRIKEN AREAS OF PHILIPPINES HAVE TAKEN TO EATING POTENTIALLY LETHAL YAMS RATHER THAN STARVE
  • Date: 18th April 1998
  • Summary: MAGUINDANAO, PHILIPPINES (APRIL 16, 1998) (RTV) 1. GV WITHERED RICE FIELD 0.09 2. SV NOTICE ABOUT DROUGHT 0.15 3. SCU VARIOUS OF PARCHED LAND 0.30 4. SLV CHILDREN RIDING CARABAO CARRYING DRUM CONTAINING WATER 0.44 5. SCU SILVERIO PANGKUBILA, VILLAGER, SAYING "PEOPLE ARE PRAYING FOR RAIN, BECAUSE THEIR LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON RAIN" (VISAYAN) 1.02 6. SLV HUT IN VILLAGE/ VARIOUS OF VILLAGERS 1.08 7. SV VILLAGER, RODEO, HARVESTING ROOT CROP/ VARIOUS OF RODEO PEELING AND CHOPPING ROOT CROP (4 SHOTS) 1.33 8. SCU VILLAGER, RODEO, SAYING "MOST OF US, SOMETIMES WE EATONLY ONCE A DAY" (TAGALOG) 1.38 9. SLV RED CROSS TRUCK ARRIVING/ VILLAGERS WAITING IN LINE FOR RICE TO BE DISTRIBUTED 1.45 10. S.LV VARIOUS OF RICE BEING DISTRIBUTED(3 SHOTS) 2.16 11. SCU DOCTOR SULAIK TAHIR, PROVINCIAL HEALTH OFFICER, SAYING "IN AS MUCH AS THEY HAVE NOTHING TO EAT. SO PEOPLE ARE NOW THRIVING ON WILD YAMS OR THE CRUDE IN OUR VERNACULAR, SO THIS HAS BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION A TOTALOF TWELVE DEATHS." (ENGLISH) 2.32 MANILA, PHILIPPINES (APRIL 17, 1998) (RTV) 12. SV/VARIOUS OF PICKET AT DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 2.40 13. SCU PROTEST LEADER SAYING "HUNGER IS BEING FELT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND THE CONTINUOUS DENIAL OF THE(PRESIDENT FIDEL) RAMOS ADMINISTRATION OF SUCH, THE MOST VOCAL AGRICULTURE SECRETARY SALVADOR ESCUDERO PROVES THAT INDEED THE GOVERNMENT IS DETACHED FROM THE REALITY IN THE COUNTRYSIDE." (ENGLISH) 2.59 14. SLV VARIOUS OF PROTEST 3.01 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 3rd May 1998 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MAGUINDANAO AND MANILA, PHILIPPINES
  • City:
  • Country: Phillippines
  • Reuters ID: LVA6UJTARBGP7LP7BJ7UH62DJMUF
  • Story Text: People living in drought-stricken areas of the Philippines have taken to eating potentially lethal yams rather than starve.

    In this remote corner of the Philippines, the fields are empty.There is little but parched lands where villagers usually reap an abundant harvest.

    Instead of rice and corn stalks sprouting, large areas have been turned into expanses of dried mud by the scorching sun and lack of rainfall since December 1997.

    People are so hungry they are willing to risk their lives for a morsel of food in an attempt to survive one of the worst droughts to hit the Philippines in a decade.

    Silverio Pangkubila, 80, said most people in the region have been praying for rain.Without the rains the villagers have taken to eating potentially deadly yams so they won't starve.

    The wild yam, which grows abundantly in the mountains, at least eases the hunger of Rodeo, her 11 children and other highlanders beyond the reach of government relief agencies.

    The yams must be peeled, cleansed thoroughly, sun-dried, soaked and re-dried for at least five days making them safe for consumption.Many people are so hungry they cannot wait.

    "A little more forbearance.Sometimes we eat only once a day," she told Reuters.

    Official statistics show more than 350,000 families, roughly 1.7 million people, have been affected by the drought and health officials warn of a serious increase in the malnutrition rate.

    The local Red Cross has distributed 8 to 15 kilos (18 to 33 lbs) of rice to starving families it can reach in the region.

    But Maguindanao's provincial health officer, Doctor Sulaik Tahir, said there had already been 12 deaths in the region, some from eating the toxic yams.

    Meteorologists say little relief is in sight.They say the dry spell will not peak until the second quarter of the year.

    On Friday, a radical farmers' organisation called "Akbayan" picketed the Department of Agriculture in the Philippines capital Manila after Agriculture Secretary Salvador Escudero admonished local media for calling the food situation in Mindanao a "famine".

    The protesters demanded the government admits there is a food shortage and takes measures to address the problem, such as granting a "rice loan" to all affected families and ensuring distribution of relief goods.


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