From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 27, 2020): Military helps Sulu IDPs return home (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)
Google map of Patikul town, Sulu province.
Preparations by the military and the municipality of Patikul, Sulu, are in full swing to ensure the safe return next month of families displaced by skirmishes between government troops and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits.
Lt. Col. Alaric Avelino Delos Santos, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) spokesperson, said Tuesday that some 209 families in Barangay Maligay are set to return home on November 5, and at least 224 families in Barangay Kabbon Takas.
Delos Santos said they are among the 1,078 families from seven barangays of Patikul that fled their homes at the height of the offensive against the ASG bandits in recent years.
The offensive against the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, which Delos Santos described as the “center of gravity of the ASG,” started in 2016.
Currently, the Army official said only Patikul is known to have an ASG presence.
Patikul is the biggest town among the 19 municipalities of Sulu. It is a third-class town comprising 30 barangays with a population of 62,287 based on the 2015 census.
Local officials and Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the 11th Infantry Division, initiated the “Balik Barangay Program” and enlisted other government agencies' assistance to ensure the safe return of displaced families.
Aside from building houses, the municipal government of Patikul, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and other government agencies under the Municipal Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict (MTF-ELAC) also built a water system and other basic needs of a community.
Ahajuli Ahajani, the chairperson of Barangay Kabbon Takas, attributed the villagers' return to the "determination and sacrifice of the soldiers".
“If it’s not with their determination and sacrifices, we could never go back to our place again,” Ahajani said.
The residents of Barangays of Maligay and Kabbon Takas are the fourth and fifth batches of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from seven affected villages to return to their homes since they evacuated in 2017 to nearby areas.
The first three IDP batches are from Barangays Liang, Bungkaong, and Tugas; the other two affected barangays are Panglayahan and Pansul.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1119836
Lt. Col. Alaric Avelino Delos Santos, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) spokesperson, said Tuesday that some 209 families in Barangay Maligay are set to return home on November 5, and at least 224 families in Barangay Kabbon Takas.
Delos Santos said they are among the 1,078 families from seven barangays of Patikul that fled their homes at the height of the offensive against the ASG bandits in recent years.
The offensive against the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, which Delos Santos described as the “center of gravity of the ASG,” started in 2016.
Currently, the Army official said only Patikul is known to have an ASG presence.
Patikul is the biggest town among the 19 municipalities of Sulu. It is a third-class town comprising 30 barangays with a population of 62,287 based on the 2015 census.
Local officials and Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the 11th Infantry Division, initiated the “Balik Barangay Program” and enlisted other government agencies' assistance to ensure the safe return of displaced families.
Aside from building houses, the municipal government of Patikul, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and other government agencies under the Municipal Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict (MTF-ELAC) also built a water system and other basic needs of a community.
Ahajuli Ahajani, the chairperson of Barangay Kabbon Takas, attributed the villagers' return to the "determination and sacrifice of the soldiers".
“If it’s not with their determination and sacrifices, we could never go back to our place again,” Ahajani said.
The residents of Barangays of Maligay and Kabbon Takas are the fourth and fifth batches of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from seven affected villages to return to their homes since they evacuated in 2017 to nearby areas.
The first three IDP batches are from Barangays Liang, Bungkaong, and Tugas; the other two affected barangays are Panglayahan and Pansul.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1119836
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