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INTERIOR
Secretary Ronaldo Puno on Monday began a two-day visit
to Mindanao to assess the situation in villages attacked
by lawless elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) and discuss measures with local chief executives
on how to restore normalcy in these areas.
Besides
meeting with local officials, Puno also held dialogues
with ulama and Roman Catholic bishops to address the
displacement of tens of thousands of residents in
villages attacked by the MILF.
“We will
discuss ways on how the government can help facilitate
the return of displaced families to their homes, while
we continue to restore peace and order in the affected
areas,” Puno said.
On
behalf of the President, Puno turned over the amount of
P100,000 in financial assistance to the family of Police
Officer 1 Dexter Salvacion, who was among the casualties
of the MILF ambuscades in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte.
Puno
also distributed aid to local governments that are
taking care of displaced residents in Mindanao. He
initially gave P500,000 to Mayor Reynaldo Parohinog of
Ozamis City in Misamis Occidental to help the local
government cope with the rising number of evacuees in
the province.
The
Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the United
States Agency for International Development (USAid) has
provided $35,000 to help the thousands of people
displaced by the recent hostilities between government
forces MILF rebels in Mindanao.
The
assistance was course through Save the Children, a
nonprofit organization.
The US
government is providing an additional $100,000 grant to
Save the Children to supply essential relief goods to
families in need in the provinces of Lanao del Norte,
North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sarangani.
“On
behalf of the President, I will turn over financial aid
to other local governments that are now housing evacuees
from villages attacked by the MILF,” Puno said.
The aid,
which will come from the savings of the Department of
the Interior and Local Government, will be provided to
local governments to help them accommodate more
residents in their evacuation centers, Puno said.
As of
Monday morning, the National Disaster Coordinating
Council said more than 56,000 families or about 272,000
persons have been forced to flee their homes as a result
of the MILF attacks.
In his
visit to Kolambugan, Puno turned over a police vehicle
to the local government and equipment to civilian
volunteer organizations (CVOs) in the town through the
chief of police and barangay officials.
Puno
said selected members of CVOs, after passing a rigid
screening process, will be deputized as police
auxiliaries who will assist the National Police in
securing barangays prone to MILF attacks.
From
Kolambugan, Puno proceeded to Iligan City to take part
in a multisectoral dialogue to be attended by local
officials and representatives of religious groups. He
will also turn over equipment to the chief of police and
barangay officials for the use of CVOs in the city.
The
human-rights group Karapatan, meanwhile, reiterated its
call on the Armed Forces and MILF to stop the
hostilities and resolve the issues on the negotiating
table.
The
group reiterated its call on the two parties to abide by
their obligations to uphold human rights and protect the
lives of civilians at all times in the face of
escalating hostilities that saw innocent and unarmed
civilians being killed.
“In
advancing the legitimate struggle for the right to
self-determination of the Bangsamoro people, the MILF
must accomplish their objectives with utmost respect for
civilians. Attacks on civilians, especially children, is
a deplorable act that will not earn the sympathy of
anyone but only condemnation,” Marie Hilao-Enriquez,
secretary-general of Karapatan, said.
“With
the escalating number of evacuees, the two sides must
stop the hostilities and return to the negotiating table
to resolve the thorny issues. The evacuees’ well-being
must be considered,” Enriquez said. (B. Garcia Jr., J.
Mayuga and J. Perez) |
