Remains of 28 civilians, Maute men buried

From Malay Business Insight (Sep 6): Remains of 28 civilians, Maute men buried

AUTHORITIES yesterday buried the remains of 22 civilians and six Maute Group members who were among those slain in the armed conflict in Marawi City that broke out last May 23.

The remains of the unidentified people were interred at the Makbarah Public Cemetery in Barangay Papandayan in Marawi City after post-mortem examinations on them were completed.

Tong Pacasum, head of the retrieval team at the Lanao del Sur provincial disaster risk reduction and management office, said some of the fatalities had only skeletal remains left.

Pacasum said 27 other remains were interred at the same cemetery last month. He said seven recently-recovered cadavers are also due for burial, pending the conduct of similar procedures at a hospital.

Zia Alonto Adiong, a member of the regional assembly of ARRM representing the first district of Lanao del Sur and concurrent spokesman of the Provincial Crisis Management Committee, said the remains were retrieved during the early days of the fighting.

“We appeal to the public especially those who have relatives and kin that are still missing to approach the Provincial Crisis Management Committee or the Missing Persons Center in Iligan City and submit swab samples for the ante-mortem procedure,” said Adiong.

Adiong said those who may have difficulty reaching the PCMC in the provincial capitol in Marawi City may coordinate with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The fighting has already resulted in the death of 639 Maute members, 145 soldiers, and policemen and 45 civilians.

On Monday, Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año said the fighting would not last beyond his retirement on October 26. He said the operations are already in the final phase or finishing touches.

The United States government is providing P730 million in additional assistance for relief operations and rehabilitation of Marawi City.

US ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said P577 million of the assistance package, made through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will be for “early recovery, stabilization and rehabilitation of Marawi and surrounding area.”

The rest is in the form of humanitarian assistance or for the delivery of “critical relief supplies such as safe drinking water, hygiene kits, shelter materials for evacuation centers, and for programs to protect displaced women and children.”

Kim said the P730 million assistance is on top of the earlier assistance provided by the USAID in Marawi, including 12,000 water containers and nearly 100,000 chlorine tablets to evacuees, and 6,500 desks for temporary schools and psycho-social support for teachers and students.

Also, Kim said the embassy’s public affairs section will also be providing P22 million for educational and information programs “that bring together students and women leaders to explore innovative ways to address the challenges facing Marawi residents.”

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/remains-28-civilians-maute-men-buried