Travel restrictions which Duterte arbitrarily imposed in the name of fighting the pandemic is having a huge impact on the lives of farmers. Among those affected are farmers in Bicol who are yet to recover from the devastation wrought by the typhoon Tisoy last year. To help them get by, revolutionary peasant organizations in the area launched various initiative in their respective barangays.

With the help of units of the New People’s Army, the farmers of barangay consolidated their “grutuls” or mutual aid groups in production. Due to the restrictions, farmers could not easily sell their produce. Although some are able to sneak through checkpoints to sell their produce, their produce are bought at extremely low prices. Each sack of dried palay and rice are only sold for ₱600 and ₱1,500, respectively. To make ends meet, the mutual aid groups planted crops which grow quickly for their consumption.

In Barangay Narra, the local Party branch in the village organized a relief operation wherein 700 families received a rice aid of 5 kilos each. The peasant organization also conducted a feeding program. Simultaneously, the Party branch members also distributed leaflets to educate residents about Covid-19.

In Barangay Lawaan, the residents launched their information campaign on Covid-19 through cultural presentations. The farmers produced several short plays, songs, raps, dances and jingles about the current health situation. They utilize these during the conduct of medical trainings, mass clinics and meetings.

In all areas, the Red army is striving to improve residents’ knowledge on alternative medicine such as acupuncture and medicinal herbs to enable them to care for their health and avoid Covid-19 infections among other diseases.

The activities were conducted amid the AFP’s sustained combat operation in their communities. Because of their determination and full support to the people’s army, they ensured the secrecy of their acti­vi­ties by organizing meetings and passing information to the NPA.