PAGALUNGAN, Maguindanao -- The armed conflict
between warring Moro rebels and bandit groups in the border of Maguindanao and North Cotabato have also caused suspension of classes in
several public elementary and high schools.
Reports gathered by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART) showed that since
Monday, classes have been suspended in villages of Pagalungan, Maguindanao when
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
(BIFF) clashed in the village
of Kalbugan
Classes were suspended in Sapakan
Elementary School , Buliok Elementary School ,
Kalbugan Elementary
School , Balongis Elementary School , Buliok
National High
School and Balongis
National High
School
Even classes in the Poblacion of Pagalungan were suspended
as schools were turned into evacuation centers of more than 15,000 individuals
coming from four outskirt villages.
In nearby Pikit, North Cotabato, classes were also suspended
in Kabasalan Elementary
School , Bulol
Elementary School
ARMM-HEART personnel are now busy attending to the needs of
displaced families while personnel from North Cotabato Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Council (PDRRMC) have conducted separate relief operations in at
least six evacuation centers in Pagalungan and Pikit, respectively.
The local governments of Pagalungan has initially
distributed relief goods to some 1,200 families. Each family received rice,
noodles, canned goods and relief items.
About 1,780 families or more than 9,000 individuals from
Pikit villages have been given relief items from the North
Cotabato provincial government, according to PDRRMC chair Cynthia
Ortega.
IDPs from Pikit's eight villages situated in the borders
with Maguidnanao are now housed in Mahad
School and Fort Pikit
MILF and BIFF clashes erupted Saturday last week due to long
standing family feud involving MILF Commander Jack Abas and BIFF leader Kagi
Karialan.
Four MILF, including Commander Falcon were killed while
another two BIFF members also died in the sporadic skirmishes in the Maguindanao
marshland.
Fearing large scale war between warring armed groups,
thousands of civilians fled since Sunday.
Capt. Joanne Petinglay, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson,
said the Army secured the civilians but did not interfere in the armed conflict.
As the number of displaced families continue to rise, the
Maguindanao provincial health office (IPHO) immediately conducted psycho-social
debriefing to children IDPs in Pagalungan.
Dr. Tahir Sulaik, Maguindanao health chief, said his office
has prioritized the children "because they are the most vulnerable during
war and armed conflict" even as other health personnel conduct medical
outreach program in evacuation centers.
"Children easily traumatized by wars, sounds of
gunshots would quickly create fear among children in conflict areas,"
Sulaik said.
"Our health workers and psychologists are talking to
children in evacuation centers, asking them to tell stories, how they feel and
what they want," Sulaik said, adding that it aims to unburden the children
of fear and anxiety.
Sulaik said of the almost 9,000 individuals displaced in
Pagalungan, about 60 percent were children.
Sulaik also explained that children as young as 5 and below
do not understand what was happening and why they are in evacuation sites and
not in schools or their homes.
"It is difficult to explain to these children the event
happening around them. Their parents have more things to do that to carefully
explain to their children what is happening around and why they are fleeing.
So, our staff will tell stories for their children," Sulaik said.
Sulaik's team also distributed toothbruses, toothpaste and
sanitary kits to each families as they are vulnerable to health problems in a
filled, overcrowded and unsanitary environment in evacuation center.
"Our medical mission is continuing because we want to
show to these people that government exists and ready to help them in times
like these," Sulaik told reporters.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=736755
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