Displaced residents of Basilan balloon to 12,000 – NDCC

By Ronron
August 5, 2007

The number of internally displaced residents in Basilan have ballooned to about 12,000 as armed confrontation looms in the southern Philippine province with the ongoing hunt for Moslem rebels believed responsible for the death of 14 Marine soldiers last July 10.

According to National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Executive Officer Glen Rabonza, the evacuees have sought temporary shelters with their relatives elsewhere in the province or at the municipal hall.

He was not immediately aware, however, if the figure represents Al-Barka town alone or if it includes other nearby towns and cities in the province.

“I will still have to look at it when we meet (Monday) here in Zamboanga City… But these are the people who leave their homes, go to their municipal hall, and then return home later in the day or the following morning, or go their relatives’ houses,” Rabonza said.

“As of now, there is still no established evacuation centers,” he said.

Rabonza said that as directed by National Security Adviser and acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, the NDCC will meet today (Monday) in Zamboanga City with other disaster officials in the region to thresh out humanitarian plans in case the police action in Basilan escalates to something violent.

“This is a coordination meeting in preparation for the humanitarian intervention that the government will do for the evacuees or the possible influx of evacuees,” he said.

The meeting will be attended by provincial disaster officials from Basilan, Sulu and Zamboanga provinces headed by the respective governors, as well as officials from the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Local and Interior Government, Health, and the Philippine National Red Cross.

“The objective of the coordination meeting is to look at the preparations being made, identify the resources available, identify what else needs to be prepared, especially relief goods that will be used in the evacuation centers, what we call as WASH or Water Sanitation Hygiene, and medicines,” Rabonza said.

He assured that should there be a depletion of resources or funds at the provincial, regional or departmental level, the calamity fund from the national budget can always be tapped. There is also the international community where the government can run to if necessary, he said.

The residents of Basilan, especially in Al-Barka, have begun fleeing their homes last July 22 after hearing the government warn of the punitive police action against members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) suspected involved in the killing of the 14 soldiers.

Officials said that while there is no advisory for the people to vacate their houses, the residents themselves leave on their own out of fear that they will be caught in possible crossfire./DMS