DAVAO CITY—Sanitation facilities would be rushed up in at least three evacuation centers in Lanao del Sur to ease up conditions in the centers, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said.
ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said the unfavorable conditions in evacuation camps “expose individuals staying there, especially the children, to potential health risks”.
He said the majority of the almost 46,000 families displaced by the armed conflict in Marawi City have sought shelter in their relatives’ houses, but many families were forced to crowd into evacuation camps.
He led a team of ARMM officials to inspect evacuation sites in the town of Saguiaran in Lanao del Sur last Saturday and said the sanitation facilities were needed in at least three evacuation sites in Lanao del Sur—two in the town of Saguiaran and onein Malabang.
He said the ARMM’s Department of Public Works and Highways would construct 20 toilets in two evacuation camps in Saguiaran and 10 toilets in Malabang. The facilities would also include washing and bathing facilities and water tanks.
The facilities, which separate the male and the female, would cater to at least 500 families.
Hataman said it will help improve conditions in the evacuation camps and reduce the risk of health problems.
The ARMM has coordinated relief and disaster responses with national government agencies for Marawi City. It has utilized its Disaster Assistance and Family Access Card system to ensure efficient relief distribution and to evaluate the status and appropriate needs of affected families.
In addition to its Crisis Management Committee based in Cotabato City, the ARMM has established operation centers in Iligan City and the town of Malabang to facilitate the coordination of its humanitarian response, which include relief and medical aids and rescue and retrieval operation of trapped civilians.
Hataman said the ARMM would transfer its operation center in Iligan City to Marawi City to improve relief efforts and other humanitarian interventions to families who have evacuated to different towns in Lanao del Sur.