From the 1990 quake to today, Cordillera farmers keep sharing produce through ‘binnadang’—a mutual-aid culture now supported by coordinated relief efforts.
BAGUIO CITY — When disasters disrupt roads and markets, food often becomes the first casualty. In the Cordillera, farmers respond with a tradition that has long been more than goodwill: “binnadang,” along with other local terms like “alluyon,” “innabuyog,” and “galatis.”
For readers watching the latest waves of typhoons and wider economic strain, Misryoum highlights how this practice has repeatedly moved fresh produce from the highlands to communities that need it most.. The impact is practical and immediate: vegetables shipped or pooled during emergencies can mean the difference between meals and empty plates for families cut off by landslides, flooded farms, or damaged infrastructure.
The “binnadang” spirit has been tested through multiple calamities over the decades.. After the 1990 earthquake, when destruction left many households struggling and food became scarce, local farmers in Baguio City and Benguet pooled what they could salvage.. Even with landslides isolating villages, they managed to send tons of vegetables to provinces where collapsed infrastructure had interrupted access to basic supplies.
Later, during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, volcanic ash and lahar buried large areas of Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.. Central Luzon’s agricultural heartland was effectively stalled, and that nutritional gap drew help from highland growers.. Farmers from Benguet and Baguio City shipped cabbages, potatoes, and chayote to evacuation centers, while residents joined local mobilizations such as “Oplan Sayote” to gather additional harvests from backyard plots.
In these moments, the relief effort also turned more organized over time.. During major typhoons affecting northern and central Luzon, donation drives at the La Trinidad Trading Post—through the League of Associations—have often helped coordinate the flow of vegetables and financial contributions.. Farmers and traders set aside portions of their harvests, sometimes in amounts described as several tons, to distribute to affected communities.
That pattern carried into the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns disrupted movement and broke the usual rhythm of the food supply chain.. With markets in Metro Manila and other parts of the National Capital Region closed, highland farmers faced oversupply of perishable goods.. Instead of letting vegetables spoil, many donated unsold produce to local government units in Baguio City and Benguet, where it was distributed to locked-down barangays and nearby provinces.. The approach spread as other localities replicated the model.
What makes “binnadang” matter beyond any single crisis is how it reflects indigenous mutual aid and community cooperation across Cordilleran groups, particularly those who identify as Igorots.. The tradition gives sharing a cultural backbone—one that frames help not only as charity, but as a social and moral obligation.. For small-scale farmers operating on limited income, contributing what they can also becomes a way of staying connected and useful when others are struggling.
With the country facing fresh economic challenges in 2026, Misryoum notes that the same logic is now being applied to today’s disruptions.. Cordillera farmers have once again demonstrated the habit of pooling produce and coordinating with others as assistance moves toward multiple areas affected by recent typhoons and the broader effects of conflict in the Middle East.. The current flow of aid is described as involving the Department of Agriculture, local government units, police, and other government agencies, alongside local cooperatives.
Still, the generosity does not happen without pressure.. Rising fuel costs, crop damage linked to frost and heavy rains, and the sheer unpredictability of weather can strain farm output.. Yet farmers continue to find ways to extend assistance, turning the logistics challenge into an extension of the tradition itself: harvests are routed, deliveries are coordinated, and help is kept moving even when conditions are difficult.
Looking at the longer arc—from the 1990 earthquake and Pinatubo’s aftermath to pandemic-era donations and current relief distributions—one lesson stands out: when the community has a shared mechanism for helping, crises become less isolating.. For the lowlands, the steady arrival of highland produce has often acted as a stabilizer during periods of scarcity.. For the highlands, it reinforces a sense of solidarity that keeps “binnadang” alive, not as a memory, but as a working system.