A pre-disaster assistance project implemented by several non-government organizations (NGOs) in the Philippines has helped a flood-prone village in Cotabato City improve their early disaster response. Noria Gapor, secretary of Barangay Tuan-a-Barakat (Tamontaka 4), hailed the Strengthening Urban Preparedness through Pre-emptive Action (SUPPA) project for strengthening the barangay government’s pre-disaster response with the cooperation of the constituents. […]

Hundreds of poor families from several flood-prone villages in Cotabato City now have access to high-tech financial services that are compliant with the Sharia Islamic tradition. These project participants of the Strengthening Urban Preparedness through Pre-emptive Action (SUPPA) have previously been unable to open bank accounts and be part of the formal financial banking system. Now […]

In 2008, massive flooding in Cotabato City forced thousands of residents, including the then pregnant Asmina Salik and her family, to spend almost a month in an evacuation center. At that time, the Rio Grande de Mindanao, the longest river in Mindanao and the second largest river system in the Philippines, swelled due to heavy […]

Sixty-one-year-old Babu Baikan Tumindeg spent at least 10 years working as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Qatar. She was on vacation in her hometown of Cotabato City when fate played a cruel joke on her. In late 2019, she lost her right eye to diabetes, a condition that prevented her from going back to […]