The Philippines

CAFOD started working in the Philippines in 1969 when a typhoon struck the country. Afterwards, we began defending human rights at the height of martial law in the 1970s. Much of our recent work has been in response to typhoons that regularly hit the country.

Why CAFOD works in the Philippines

The Philippines is highly prone to natural disasters because of the archipelago's location along the Pacific 'ring of fire' tectonic belt, meaning it is extremely susceptible to seismic and volcanic activity. The Philippines is also hit by dangerous tropical storms, a situation exacerbated by climate change. The country is subject to the world record of typhoons every year.

On 8 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines and tore apart the lives of more than 14 million people. The typhoon was one of the most powerful storms ever to make landfall, and it left more than 5 million people homeless. CAFOD responded to the disaster within hours, providing food, shelter, water, and sanitation and emergency supplies.

In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, we helped to rebuild houses and we worked with parishes, community organisations and local governments to ensure that people were better prepared for typhoons. We also helped communities to develop early warning systems and to create plans for what to do when disaster strikes.

Our work in the Philippines 

In recent years, CAFOD has provided emergency and early recovery assistance to families and communities affected by disasters, supporting the work of its partner Caritas Philippines National Secretariat for Social Action.

• In November 2019, a powerful earthquake struck the province of Cotabato in the southern part of the Philippines. CAFOD supported Caritas Philippines’ response to the earthquake, providing assistance to more than 2,000 families.

• In December 2021, Super Typhoon Rai, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Odette, was a deadly and extremely destructive super typhoon and the second-costliest typhoon in the Philippines' history behind Typhoon Haiyan. It affected 38 provinces in the Philippines. Most of the affected communities were in mountainous and coastal areas, causing enormous damage to homes and livelihoods. Alongside other Caritas agencies, CAFOD provided support to its partner Caritas Philippines for assistance to more than 10,000 families in several dioceses, in the form of transitional shelters, cash assistance and enhanced emergency preparedness capacity.

• In late October 2022, Severe Tropical Storm Nalgae was a very large and deadly tropical cyclone that wreaked havoc across the Philippines. CAFOD provided emergency shelter and livelihood assistance to communities affected by the heavy flood and landslides in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao provinces.

• CAFOD is currently supporting Caritas Philippines’ emergency and early recovery assistance project to communities affected by another tropical storm and heavy flooding in southern and eastern parts of the Philippines in December 2023.