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According to the latest estimate, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) or evacuees as a result of the military offensive against the MILF is put at 300,000 or 60,000 families. This number excludes all those people who braved shelling, bombing, and strafing near or in the vicinity of their dwelling and decided to stay for bad or worse. This number did not stop here as fresh evacuation were lately registered in the towns of Datu Piang, Guindolongan, Talayan, Datu Saudi, and Talitay, all in Maguindanao, due to the continuing skirmishes between MILF mujahideen and government troops.
Hardest hit by the fighting and mass exodus of people is the town of Datu Piang (formerly Dulawan), a prominent place even during the early American colonial period in Mindanao.
With this figure, practically one-third of the people of this province are displaced and in evacuation centers.
This number of IDPs excluded those from other provinces like North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Sarangani, and Sultan Kudarat. At the height of the fighting in August-September last year, the number swelled to more than 600,000.
Available figure said in Lanao del Norte showed that 20,735 families or 100,000 evacuated their homes. But fresh evacuations are taking place in several municipalities particularly near the boundary with Lanao del Sur.
Reports said the condition of the IDPs is steadily worsening due to lack of food and medicines, lack of good supply of water, poor hygiene, and the coming of the rainy season.
The supply of rice from international aid agencies has always been not enough. The shortage is compounded by reported flaw in the supply scheme which gave in to irregularities. On two occasions, the MILF has called the attention of these agencies about the irregularities in the distribution of these supplies which involved “workers or insiders” in their conduit non-government organizations (NGOs), some local government officials, and traders.
The MILF attested to the integrity of these international aid agencies in discharging their duties and functions, but it asked them to validate the reported anomalies and to plug every weak point in the systems of distribution.
Lately, an Army checkpoint in Datu Saudi had intercepted 221 sacks of rice with the marking “World Food Program” being diverted to local traders.
The rice supply was found to be part of the relief assistance intended for the internally displaced persons for the month of May. Local media reports said that some unidentified individuals allegedly in cahoots with local traders bought the rice supply at cheap prices from the refugees and sold them to the markets at regular or higher prices.
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peace & light to displaced brothers and sisters. even sadder news for the women and children.
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