More evacuees receive relief goods in Ramain Lanao del Sur

 By Jong Cadion

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (July 28, 2017) - Marawi evacuees in Ramain, Lanao del Sur were very jubilant to receive food packs on Wednesday (July 26), military official said.

Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) information officer Cpt Jo-Ann D. Petinglay disclosed that Ramain which is suppose to be the nearest municipality from Marawi, became the farthest after the route towards the areas was cut when fighting started between the Government forces and the Daesh-inspired group last May. Nine truckloads of goods that were transported by personnel of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development, Lanao del Sur and the soldiers under Task Group Ranao led by Brigadier General Ramiro Rey and the soldiers of 103rd Brigade led by Colonel Gene Ponio, reached the hands of 2, 772 internally displaced families in DitsaanRamain Municipality in Lanao del Sur.

Cpt Petinglay said that each family received a half-sack of rice, some canned goods and other commodities through the courtesy of the World Food Program, a humanitarian organization of the United Nations.

Abedin Bala Maunte, 37, married with four kids, whose children are temporarily attending school near Ramain, said: “Gusto naming magpasalamat sa gobyerno at sa mga taong tumulong sa amin sa gitna ng sagupaan ng militar at mga terorista.” (“We want to thank the government and those who extended their assistance amid the gun battle between the military and the terrorists.”)

Before the terrorist attacked Marawi, Maunte and his family live in Lilod, Saduc, Marawi City, where the patriarch works as a welder. They are among the thousand families temporarily sheltered in Barangay Buada Babay, Disaan, Ramain in Lanao del Sur.

“Nagagalak po kami sa mga tulong na aming natatanggap mula sa gobyerno at iba pang tao, ngunit nanawagan rin po kami sa mahal na Presidente na sana ay madagdagan pa ang tulong na pinansyal, pagkain, at kadamitan para sa aming araw-araw na pamumuhay (We are elated with the help that we are receiving from the government and the people; however, we are calling on the President to help us as we need more assistance in terms of money, food, and clothes to sustain our living),” said CaironisaSaro, 26, married to a former farmer with 6 children, whose family is among the refugees in Ramain.

Engineer Mustapha Salic, the municipal planning and development coordinator of Ramain, said this is the fourth set of relief goods that were distributed by the government to the evacuees.

Personnel of the Provincial Social Welfare Office of Lanao del Sur, and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, assisted in the delivery of goods while the LGU Ramain supervised the distribution. The evacuees received kitchen utensils, food packs, and hygiene kits from various benefactors.

Ramain Municipal Mayor Saidamen “Axel H. Amer Adiong also expressed his gratitude to the government, through the different offices and agencies, including the provincial government, for “the delivery of goods today.”

“We want to thank you for heeding to the cry of Maranaos and for delivering more assistance to the refugees,” said Adiong. “I also commend the armed forces for allowing our fishermen from 14 barangays in Ramain to continue fishing in Lanao Lake for their sustenance," added Adiong.

Representatives of the DTI- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were also present to monitor the prices of basic commodities in the municipalities hosting evacuees, including Saguiaran, Pantar, and Ramain.

Nasser Repors, chief admin of the Lanao del Sur Provincial Office of the ARMM, said, “The slight increase in the prices is tolerable, taking into consideration the transportation expenses incurred by small-scale entrepreneurs, who are passing a longer route after commuters were denied access on the previous route from Marawi to Ramain and vice versa.”

The agency further recommended to the local government of Ramain the immediate activation of the Local Price Coordinating Council to monitor and regulate the prices of commodities.

“Rolling stores will be coming in with goods the same as with the prices in Iligan City anytime this week,” added Arumpac.

The relief distribution ended around 4 in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Task Group Tabang led by Col Sedano spearheaded the conduct of a poster-making contest as part of its peace-building initiatives in different evacuation centers last Monday (July 24, 2017), Cpt Petinglay added.

Cpt petinglay further said that Maranao children scribbled messages of peace and denounced violent extremism in the City of Marawi. Posters, appealing for the cessation of armed conflicts and the rehabilitation of the besieged city, showed the sentiments of at least 31 Maranao children, who are displaced by the prolonged battle between the Joint Task Force Marawi and the Daesh-inspired group.

"Hangad namin ay kapayapaan, hindi gyera,” cried a Maranao child, while grasping his self-made poster.

More recreational and sports activities are already scheduled for the different evacuation centers this month.

Cpt. Petinglay further added that on that same day, Task Group Tabang also distributed 4,250 food packs in the municipalities of Balo-i and Saguiran. The food packs were donated by the Regional Government of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Governor Mujiv S Hataman. The goods were travelled by the 6th Infantry Kampilan Division thru M35 trucks from Central Mindanao to Marawi over the weekend.

"We wish to give humanitarian efforts the same priority as with our combat operations," said Brigadier General Joselito Bautista, Commander of the Joint Task Force Marawi.

"Civil Military Operations officers and personnel together with humanitarian groups are currently imbedded in different evacuation centers to foster and care for our evacuees and to somehow ease their burdens through the conduct of different recreational activities."

Lieutenant General Carlito G Galvez, Jr, Commander of the Western Mindanao Command also thanked the World Food Organization and the Honorable Governor Mujiv S Hataman for the food packs provided.

The WestMinCom chief vowed to continue supporting all humanitarian activities and make all efforts IDP-centered.