ICRC cuts workshops, seminars overseas training

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday it was not halting its humanitarian assistance programs in the Philippines despite a reduction in its budget.

In a statement e-mailed to the Inquirer, Christoph Sutter, deputy head of the ICRC delegation in the Philippines, said the agency “remains committed to assisting vulnerable people and those detained in relation to armed conflict” in various parts of the country.

But Sutter admitted that the ICRC would have to reduce its spending for humanitarian assistance programs in the country because of the budget cut. He said the Philippine situation was not isolated as the cuts were being implemented worldwide.

“The reduction in funding for humanitarian activities globally due to world economic crisis has forced the ICRC to make some difficult choices in cuts to its budget recently,” he said.

Sutter said the ICRC would shave off P50 million from its regular humanitarian assistance spending in the Philippines.

“We have done everything we can to keep the core of our activities in the country, prioritizing programs directly assisting conflict-affected people and improving conditions in places of detention,” he said.

Sutter said the programs that ill experience budget cuts include initiatives that have long-term objectives of promoting knowledge and respect for international humanitarian law among the national authorities, armed and security forces, the academe and civil society.

“We have decided to reduce the number of workshops and seminars we hold, as well as our support for those we send abroad for training and courses in humanitarian law,” he said.

But Sutter said the reduction of spending for the ICRC program in Central Mindanao, especially in war-torn areas, was not brought about by the budgetary constraints but because of an improvement in the situation with the return of refugees to their homes.

”We are now more involved in early recovery programs with income generating activities or agricultural projects, rather than large-scale distribution of food and essential household items for hundreds of thousands of victims, as  was the case until mid-2010,” he said.

The campaign for the improvement of conditions in the country’s jails would still be strongly pushed by the ICRC, Sutter said.

“We are also dealing with the difficult situation of the infrastructure, which is most of the time old and under pressure from the high rate of overcrowding in jails and prisons, so we support the penitentiary authorities to rehabilitate their infrastructure,” he said.

Sutter said that aside from helping the government deal with jail overcrowding, the ICRC will also continue to assist in the national tuberculosis program inside penitentiaries.