War refugees return home after 2 years in poor Mindanao shelters

Some 360 families return to their homes in the village of Pagatin in Datu Salibo town from the refugee evacuation sites in Makir village in Datu Odin Sinsuat and Datu Piang towns in Maguindanao province after authorities assured their safety. The refugees, who escaped the fighting between security and rebel forces, return after two years from miserable conditions in temporary shelters. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Mark Navales)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 21, 2010) – Hundreds of Muslim war refugees have returned to their homes in the restive province of Maguindanao in the southern Philippines after spending two years in miserable life in government shelters in Mindanao, officials said Friday.

Police and military authorities assured the safety of some 360 families. Those who returned homes were also given food packs. Many of them returned to the village of Pagatin in the town of Datu Salibo.

Most of the villagers came from evacuation sites in Datu Odin Sinsuat and Datu Piang towns, all in Maguindanao province, scene of bloody clashes between government forces and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels.

Security officials said the situation had returned to normal allowing the safe return of the refugees to their homes. (Mark Navales)

Mindanao refugee shelters infiltrated by rebels: Military

Muslim refugees lined up for food ration. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 2, 2009) – After displacing tens of thousands of civilians, the Philippine Army now said that Moro rebels have infiltrated refugee shelters in Mindanao.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division, said rebels have posed as refugees and they are the MILF’s reserved force.

He also said that food ration intended by the World Food Programme to refugees were being diverted to the MILF after troops recovered some of the aid from captured rebel bases in Maguindanao province, scene of bloody battle between security forces and guerrillas in recent months.

“Based on the proofs, indications, and observations presented, there seems to be a diversion of relief goods from the supposed ‘IDP’ beneficiaries to the MILF,” he said.

Ponce said there had been increased attacks and bombings near refugee camps, bolstering suspicion that the MILF have been using the evacuation centers as a springboard for military offensive against government forces.

“Terrorist actions are executed within the immediate environs of the IDP (internally displaced people) centers,” he said.

But the MILF denied Ponce’s allegations and branded them as propaganda.

“It is a black propaganda, but nobody believes Ponce’s lies anymore. We have been calling for an independent probe into the killings of many civilians by soldiers and the burning of houses by the military.”

“The military’s campaign to crush the MILF has resulted in a humanitarian tragedy with tens of thousands of Muslims being forced out of their villages by indiscriminate army shelling and human rights violations. The United Nations and the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) and the World Muslim League should look into these carnage,” said Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

The MILF said more than 600,000 have been displaced by the fighting in Mindanao since last year after peace talks collapsed in August. The rebels accused Manila of reneging on a Muslim homeland deal, which the Supreme Court said was unconstitutional.

After the talks collapsed, rebel forces raided several towns and killed and wounded dozens of people in Lanao and North Cotabato provinces. The MILF is the Philippines largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence in the restive, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Military links MILF to mortar attacks in Mindanao province; ties NGO to rebel group

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 26, 2009) – The Philippine Army on Friday has linked Moro rebels on a mortar attack that killed a civilian in Maguindanao province the troubled Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

One woman was also injured in the attack late Wednesday in the village of Binangga, said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division.

A report by television network ABS-CBN said the mortar shell landed in a house near the town of Guindulungan where security forces are battling Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels.

The victim, Guiarria Enoc, was killed and her sister Vanessa blamed the military for the attack.

Ponce insisted the attack was launched by rebels to discredit the military ahead of a scheduled fact-finding mission by a group of journalists from June 29-July 2. The mission was organized by various nongovernmental and media organizations for journalists to see the situation and plight of war refugees in Mindanao.

“The mortar round came from the rogue MILF (members) as preparation for the upcoming fact-finding mission of the invited Manila-based journalists to put the blame on the military in order to destroy its image and credibility,” Ponce told the Mindanao Examiner.

The victim’s sister said another mortar shell exploded about four meters away from their house. She said civilians were often victims of human rights violations by government soldiers.

ABS-CBN also said troops prevented their news team from going to other villages where military shelling had been reported.

Ponce said the rebels also launched mortar attacks on the headquarters of the 64th Infantry Battalion in the village of Kabingi in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, also in Maguindanao, but there were no military casualties.

“At the same night, at about 242230, the battalion headquarters of 64 IB …was subjected by enemy mortar fires and 8 rounds coming from 81mm mortar exploded in the camp perimeter with negative casualty and damage of property on the government side,” he said.

Ponce also linked the organizer of the media fact-finding mission to the MILF

“The mortar round that exploded in the village of Binangga was deliberately done by the rogue MILF. An NGO identified with the MILF invited media from Manila paying all expenses and pocket money,” Ponce said.

Ponce did not identify the NGO, but the mission was organized by independent and credible groups - the Mindanao ComStrat and Policy Alternatives, MindaNews, Center for Community Journalism and Development, National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, Peace and Conflict Journalism Network, the Institute of War and Peace Reporting and the Oblate Media’s I –Watch.

The MILF has previously accused the military of shelling civilian targets on suspicion rebels were hiding in the area. It also charged army of widespread human rights violations in the Muslim autonomous region where soldiers looted and torched civilian houses.

Some 31,000 people are in different refugee shelters in Maguindanao’s Datu Piang town alone and that at least 95 civilians, many of them children, had been killed since fighting between military and rebel forces began last year.

“The world's largest new displacement last year happened when 600,000 people fled fighting between the Army and rebel groups in the southern region of Maguindanao,” reported the Oslo-based Norwegian Refugee Council.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines also reported that representatives of nongovernmental and humanitarian organizations were being prohibited by the military from going to evacuation centers in the guise of protecting humanitarian workers from being caught in the crossfire.

Ponce denied all the accusations against the army and branded them as propaganda. (Mindanao Examiner)

Bentahan ng food ration, talamak sa ARMM

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / June 4, 2009) – Talamak diumano ang bentahan ng mga food rations sa ibat-ibang refugee shelters sa Maguindanao, isa sa limang lalawigan ng magulong Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Napipilitan umanong ibenta ng mga refugees ang kanilang mga bigas, noodles at mga de-lata upang makabili ng mas disenteng pagkain tulad ng isda at gatas sa mga bata. Sawa-sawang na umano ang mga ito sa paulit-ulit na kinakain sa loob ng maraming buwan na panantili sa mga shelters.

Karamihan sa mga food aid ay galing sa International Committee of the Red Cross at World Food Program. Sinasamantala naman ng mga negosyante ang sitwasyon ng mga refugee at binibili ng mga ito ang mga supplies sa murang halaga at saka naman ibibenta sa ibang lugar na halos ka-presyo na ng mabibili sa supermarket.

Malakas rin ang ugong na may mga grupong nagbebenta ng mga food aid at ni hindi na umano ito nakakarating sa mga refugees. Ilang ulit rin na nabalitang nahaharang ng mga armado ang mga truck ng bigas mula sa ICRC at WFP at nabebenta rin at ang iba naman ay napupunta sa mga rebeldeng Moro sa lalawigan.

May mga kaso rin ng mga refugee na nagbabayad ng kanilang food ration o kaya ay ginagamit itong kolateral sa mga bayaran sa pagamutan sa tuwing magkakasakit ang kanilang mga anak.

Naunang sinabi ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front na mahigit sa 600,000 katao ang apektado ng opensiba ng militar sa Mindanao at karamihan sa mga ito ay nasa mga refugee shelters sa Maguindanao at ibang bahagi ng ARMM.

Sinisi naman ni MILF leader Eid Kabalu ang pamunuan ng ARMM dahil sa lumalalang sitwasyon ng kahirapan sa Maguindanao at sa patuloy na kaguluhan doon.

“Ni hindi nga makausap o makita ng mga tao si ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan. Ni hindi nga nagpupunta sa mga refugee shelters si Ampatuan at madalas eh nasa Maynila o kaya ay nasa abroad. Ganoon rin yun kapatid na gobernador ng Maguindanao, si Andal Jr. at hindi rin makausap ng mga kawawang mga refugees,” ani Kabalu.

Ayon naman sa mga press statement ng ARMM ay hindi nagkukulang ng atensyon ang mga refugees at nabibigyan naman ng tulong mula kay Ampatuan. (May dagdag na ulat si Ferdinandh Cabrera)

Lack of food, medicines hound Mindanao refugees

Evacuees in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 26, 2009) - Imagine if you used to eating canned sardines the whole week, perhaps the entire month without feeling satiated or if you have nothing else for dinner, but rice and salt. And imagine a food ration card used as collateral to pay for hospital bills.

This is now the dilemma of refugees now housed in temporary shelters in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region and they are left with no choice, but depend on food rations by the World Food Program and International Committee of the Red Cross.

Worse, many have resorted to selling their food rations. They sold everything - cooking oil, sardines, noodles and even coffee for half of its original price - to buy a descent food for the family and children.

“Every day and every meal are the same – sardines, noodles, etc. That’s the reason why we sell our ration so we can buy fresh eggs or fish at the market for the children. What are we going to do with cooking oil if we can’t even buy an egg or fish,” one refugee told the Mindanao Examiner.
The situation in refugee shelters is getting worse, they said. “With no support from local governments or no medicines for the children, how can we survive here and we cannot go back to our village because of the fighting between rebels and soldiers,” another refugee said.

Many traders, some from as far as Sultan Kudarat province, have taken advantage of the situation, buying food rations distributed to refugees at bargain prices. And these rations find its way to small stores; their labels peeled off or painted to hide markings that they are not for sale and they sell at grocery prices.

One refugee rushed their malnourished child to hospital and was forced to use their food ration card as collateral for the medical bills. Tens of thousands of refugees are still in different evacuation shelters in Datu Piang.

The MILF said some 600,000 people were displaced by the war in Mindanao. (Ferdinandh Cabrera)

Mindanao Refugees Still Scared To Go Back Home

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 08, 2009) - Filipino war refugees who returned to their homes last week now said they want to go back to the evacuation centers because of fears of renewed clashes between the military and Moro rebels.

"The internally-displaced persons are afraid of the presence of soldiers who continued to stay in their villages, some even sleeping right inside the houses of residents," said Teren Talusan, a councilor from the village of Masigay in Datu Piang town.

For them to be able to return home safely, the IDPs are demanding a complete pull-out of the military in their villages. They are also calling for the resumption of the peace talks between the Arroyo government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and that ceasefire mechanisms be restored as soon as possible.

These calls were reiterated by local civil society organizations, including the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society-Kutawato Regional Management Committee (CBCS-KRMC), Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace (BCJP) and the United Youth for Peace and Development (UNYPAD).

The IDPs also urged the strict observance of the UN Guiding Principles for Internal Displacement, citing several principles that ensure protection and safety of IDPs including Principle 28.

Principle 28 states that it is the primary duty and responsibility of authorities to first establish the conditions and the means allowing IDPs to return to their homes in safety and with dignity.

About 60 families from the village of Masigay returned to their homes late last month upon the advice of Datu Piang town officials who had declared their area safe, Talusan said.

Many, however, left some of their children behind the evacuation centers as they still fear for their safety.

Musib Uy Tan, executive assistant to the town mayor, said they the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC) declared it safe for the refugees to return home.

The MPOC also declared safe the villages of Dado, Liong, Masigay Alonganen, Balanaken and Butilen.

Tan clarified that the evacuees were never forced to return. "Their safety is our utmost concern. We will never allow them to be put in danger," he said.

The IDPs said they saw soldiers in their villages and their presence raised fears that if fighting erupts they could be trapped or caught in the crossfire.

"With soldiers around, you could not tell when there would be attacks," said Syrianbai Sangcupan, a resident of Dado village. "We pray that the military will leave so that we will have normal lives again."

The number of IDPs in Datu Piang is now estimated to be more than 5,200 families, down from 9,225 families at the height of the fighting in October last year.

More than half a million people were displaced in Central Mindanao due to fighting between Philippine government forces and the MILF following the collapse of the peace talks in July last year. (Suara nu Maginged Media Services)

2 wounded in rebel attacks in Mindanao

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Thousands Attend Serviamus Assembly In Mindanao; Army Brigadier Seeks Help For Refugees

The Serviamus Foundation is headed by Bishop Elenito Galido of the Diocese of Iligan City and Norma Gejon, the President and Executive Director. Also in the photo is Army Col. Benito de Leon.

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 1, 2008) – Some 3,000 people gathered in Iligan City in Lanao del Norte province in the southern Philippines for the 11th General Assembly of the Serviamus Foundation Inc.

The weekend assembly, held at the gymnasium of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, was successful with Serviamus vowing to continue its micro-financing programs to uplift and strengthen socio-economic condition of poor households in Mindanao through a quality innovative financial and other development services.

The foundation is headed by Bishop Elenito Galido of the Diocese of Iligan City and Norma Gejon, the President and Executive Director. The assembly highlighted the various local products from the Small Enterprise Development Program Project. Government and military officials and

Col. Benito de Leon, commander of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade, asked the Serviamus Foundation Inc., to also help the internally displaced persons (IDPS), particularly the Muslims, as a result of the August 18 attacks by Moro rebels in Lanao del Norte province.

In his speech before the assembly, De Leon said his soldiers are now also much involved in the return, resettlement, and reintegration of the IDPs in the province consistent with the International Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement as well as the implementing instructions of government leaders.

He noted, however, that many of the IDPs have lost the drive and the capacity to recover economically. He suggested a similar Small Enterprise Development Program be made by Serviamus to also benefit the IDPs.

“In being able to also extend your service to the IDPs, especially to the Muslims, this Foundation would have demonstrated firmly its full transformation from being church-based into a true NGO,” he said. (With a report from Merlyn Manos)

Defense Chief Orders Military To Help Refugees Return Home In Mindanao

Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro, Maj. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito and Col. Benito de Leon in Lanao del Norte province in southern Philippines on Sunday, November 16, 2008.

LANAO DEL NORTE, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 16, 2008) – Filipino Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro has ordered the military Sunday to hasten the return to normalcy of the communities affected by the deadly rampage of Moro rebels in Lanao del Norte province.

Rebels, led by Abdullah Macapaar, launched simultaneous attacks August 18 after the failed signing of the ancestral domain deal between the MILF and government peace negotiators that would have granted more than a separate homeland for more than four million Muslims in Mindanao.

Teodoro, accompanied by army commanders, made surprise visits at refugee shelters in the towns Munai and Poona Piagapo, all in Lanao del Norte, to check on the conditions of the refugees.

Teodoro took time to find out the concerns of the refugees and spoke with them about their plight and vowed to bring these to the attention of concerned government agencies. Among the problems in refugee shelters were the lack of medicines, food and potable water system.

Teodoro also noticed the poor road conditions, inadequate schools and security assurances during military operations against lawless groups. He also assured the locals that authorities would similarly run after groups that threaten their safety in the same manner the military is now hunting down Macapaar.

"We are here to protect all of you," he told the refugees, who cheered Teodoro.
Maj. Gen Nehemias Pajarito, commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, who accompanied Teodoro, instructed Col. Benito de Leon, of the 104th Infantry Brigade, to help the refugees return to their homes.

Pajarito also appealed to the locals to help authorities in maintaining peace and order by reporting the presence of lawless groups. “This is important to ensure the safety and the restoration of peace in the communities,” Pajarito said.

De Leon said the communities are now secured from the lawless MILF groups after noting the absence of any atrocity for quite sometime as well as the successful conduct of special events and the smooth trips of visiting dignitaries.

Arroyo recently inspected a road project in the hinterland town of Nunungan. (With a report from Merlyn Manos)

5 Civilians Wounded In Military Offensives In Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 4, 2008) – Four civilians were wounded in a series of military bombardment in the southern Philippines, where troops are battling Moro rebels after the peace talks collapsed in August.

Another victim said he escaped from a military assault, but was wounded after he was shot by a soldier in Maguindanao, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

Mindanao Tulong Bakwet, a Filipino relief organization, said four of those wounded were hit by shrapnel fired by soldiers from howitzer cannons since Friday.

Fighting between troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels the past months have displaced more than half a million people in the Muslim autonomous region and surrounding provinces in central Mindanao.

Fairuds Ebus, MTB executive director, said all the victims were Muslims. She said Abdulrahman Gandawali, 40, a war refugee, was hit by shrapnel Oct. 31 near a market in the village of Libutan in Mamasapano town.

On Nov. 01, troops also fired cannons towards MILF positions, but a farmer, Muslim Lumban, 80, was hit by shrapnel while fixing rice bags in the village of Kalipapa in Datu Piang town.

A 55-year old Saguira Ibrahim was also wounded while crossing a highway Nov. 2 in the village of Sakbu in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town. And Morsid Guino, 25, was hit by shrapnel Nov. 3 outside a refugee shelter in nearby Dapiawan village.

Relief workers were also forced to stop their operations in Dapiawan village on Monday after cannon hit a water source just 20 meters from the refugee shelter.

“We have to stop the issuance of food tickets because the refugees were so afraid,” said Aldan Agom, head of the MTB relief team.

The MTB said another refugee, Esmael Adam, was shot by soldiers, but survived to tell his tale about how he escaped from certain death. Adam, who was reported missing since Oct. 21, was rescued near a swamp a week later by villagers in Datu Saudi Ampatuan.

Adam said army soldiers, who were searching for MILF leader Ameril Kato, opened fire on his house in Dapiawan village.

Ebus said seven children were also hurt when a bomb exploded Sept. 26 near the Datu Gumbay Elementary School, which served as a temporary refugee shelter in the town.

Seven people, including five children were also killed Sept. 8 after a military plane fired on a civilian boat in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao province.

The military denied all allegations of human rights violations and blamed leftist and militant organizations for what it called black propaganda. “We need to verify all these accounts and other allegations of human rights violations, but as far as the military is concerned, the duty of the soldiers is to protect the lives and properties of civilians,” said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Several Filipino human rights groups have blamed both government soldiers and MILF rebels in the escalation of hostilities and the mounting crisis in Mindanao.

Moro rebels were also being blamed for deadly attacks against civilian targets in Mindanao provinces in August after the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, failed to sign a homeland deal with the government.

Because of the attacks, President Gloria Arroyo scrapped the Muslim ancestral domain deal with the rebels and disbanded the government team negotiating with the MILF. (Mindanao Examiner)

Mindanao refugees too scared to go home

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines (IRIN / October 13, 2008) - Fear is the dominant factor preventing thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) on Mindanao from returning to their homes.

The southern island has witnessed an upsurge in fighting between government forces and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) since 10 August.

"I'm afraid. I don't know what to do," Norodin Benito said outside the Sambulawan evacuation centre, about 60km north of Cotabato city in North Cotabato Province.

The 22-year-old fisherman and his family fled to the Sambulawan elementary school after hearing gunshots outside their home just 1km away, joining 300 families at the camp-like facility.

More than 100 civilians have been killed in the fighting, reported the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) the chief government coordinating body for disaster and rehabilitation operations, with scores more injured.

"Respect for civilians remains a big issue," Ann Kristin Brunborg, a humanitarian affairs officer for the UN in Manila, told IRIN. All parties to the conflict, including armed groups, have a responsibility under international law to minimise the loss of civilian lives, property and infrastructure but so far that is not happening.

Hundreds of homes have been destroyed as whole communities have been caught up in the crossfire and many of the displaced have fled with just the clothes on their backs.
"I want to go home, but only when this war is over," Tabayag Eman, 70, said - despite the dire conditions.

Fluid situation

Clashes between government forces and the 12,000-strong MILF are now in their third month, after the Supreme Court imposed a freeze order on a government deal that would have established a sub-state or homeland known as the Bangsamoro Judicial Entity in Mindanao, including control over 700 towns and villages.

According to the British charity Oxfam, civilians now fear for their lives because of the presence of armed groups in their villages.

Of the 500,000 people affected, almost 400,000 remain displaced, the NDCC says, including around 100,000 living in more than 150 evacuation centres, comprising schools, community centres and makeshift camps, with the rest staying with family and friends.

Access to food, shelter, potable water and healthcare remain key concerns, while thousands of children are unable to attend classes regularly as many of the schools are being used as shelters.
Accessibility problems

According to a September Inter-Agency Standing Committee needs assessment, the pattern of displacement in the island's conflict-affected areas makes it difficult to accurately estimate the number of people displaced, as displacements are often for short periods but repetitive, with many of the IDPs "home based" (staying with families).

At the same time, areas accessible to aid agencies can be restricted from one day to the next due to fighting.

Last week, IRIN was denied access to Datu Piang, the largest evacuation centre, 3km from Sambulawan, where some 8,000 families or 40,000 people have sought shelter; a day later that restriction was lifted.

So fluid is the security situation that it is difficult for residents and aid workers to gauge how best to proceed.

"I wish I could say I know what will happen, but I don't," said one aid worker, who asked not to be identified.

Even if a peaceful resolution between the government and MILF were found, however, it remains unclear whether many of the displaced will return to their places of origin, he said.
Clan violence

In addition to Muslim separatism, large parts of the island are plagued by banditry, an ongoing communist insurgency, as well as clan violence, known as rido, which is a major contributing factor to the crisis.

Deeply rooted in local politics and family relations, rido is often based on land disputes. Many of the displaced may return to their homes and property only to find them looted.

"Rido is part of this conflict and understanding that fact is crucial," Perry Proellochs, acting head of office for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Cotabato, told IRIN, warning: "There will be no solution to the conflict outside the solution on how to deal with rido." (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks)

Troops raid refugee camp, seize 3 Muslims in Mindanao, MILF rebels say

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Christians, Muslims Assert Peace Amid War Mongering: Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project

MANILA, Philippines (Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project / Sept. 25, 20080 - The prospect of serious renewed fighting breaking out in Mindanao after the end of Ramadan has got Christian and Muslim organizations trying to work out how best to help keep the peace and kick-start renewed talks while helping out in the huge relief effort needed.

According to Bernie Aquino, secretariat member of the Peace for Life, a global solidarity interfaith network of peace advocates and the National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP), the biggest federation of Protestant churches in the Philippines, her group will visit the conflict affected areas in the coming days.

Members of the Bantay Ceasefire (Ceasefire Watch) worry what the coming weeks may bring. The group was formed in 2003 after the last crisis in Mindanao to help monitor and facilitate relations between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

They consider their work up until now to have been a great success. “We have created a space for peace,” insists Omar Unggui, barangay (village) captain of Dalingaoen in Pikit, North Cotabato. The five-year-old initiative started in the adjacent barangay of Nalapaan, eventually attracting six other neighboring villages in Mindanao.

Through the group, the communities maintained a continual dialogue throughout the past five years with both the military and the MILF leaders to avoid renewed clashes.

An uneasy truce held until the recent clashes in August. Now Unggui’s message to government and all concerned parties: “Don’t give us food, give us peace.”

But it will be a tough call. Pikit is hemmed in by many MILF camps, foremost among them Camp Buliok and Camp Raja Muda, both of which are now army targets.

Renewed hostilities after the government’s botched signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) has already killed 83 people and injured 101 people, according to the government’s National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). The real figure though could be higher.

Dialogue with the President

Representatives of the more than half a million evacuees in Mindanao have traveled to Manila in mid-September to meet and petition President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Manila to order a halt to the military operations pursue new round of peace talks.

They included representatives of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC), a tri-people alliance of Christians, Muslims and Lumads (indigenous peoples).

“We fully supported the process that was designed to bring peace to Mindanao. However, some were not ready and some were not consulted,” said lawyer Mary Ann Arnado, MPC coordinator. “The situation calls for a deeper reflection on our peace advocacy,”

Ironically, many evacuees in the 17-man delegation who met with the President had visited her earlier after the last crisis in Mindanao in 2003. Many maintain it was this meeting that helped Arroyo decide to call a ceasefire that led to peace talks and ultimately the failed MOA-AD.
Their positive experience in 2003 explains the evacuees’ high spirits, even while noting that President Arroyo claimed the number of evacuees from this fighting to be a tenth of the number the NDCC is reporting.

The group also expressed concern and apprehension over the military’s denial late last week that the president directed a halt to the air raids amid Ramadan.

Father Edward Vazquez, one of the delegation members from Pikit raised the issue of the evacuees’ mental and physical well-being.

His own congregation had already donated more than PhP 100,000 (USD 2,174) worth of relief goods and is now mobilizing other parishes to support the displaced.

“We are still preparing for what might happen after the end of Ramadan,” he told the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project.

NDCC data indicates that the fighting between government soldiers and the MILF that started in some 15 villages in four towns in North Cotabato has spread to over 68 municipalities and five cities in 11 provinces across Central Mindanao.

In an update, NDCC administrator Glenn J. Rabonza, reported that internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 123 official evacuation centers had already reached 528,053 during the peak of evacuations. But by September 21, the number of IDPs here had reportedly decreased to 14,048 families or 69,450 IDPs.

“Many of the displaced took the risk of either returning to their communities or moving into the interior areas to stay with relatives. With homes, schools, mosques and chapels burned, those who cannot be accommodated in the formal evacuation centers set up informal, makeshift or house-based evacuation sites outside the formal evacuation centers,” said Dakila Aquino, a staff of the Citizen’s Disaster Response Center, a non-government organization that joined a government-NGO relief mission in August and September.

Some 51,258 families or 253,255 persons were staying outside evacuation centers as of September 21, according to NDCC. This was an increase from the 48,601 IDP families, or 239,979 persons, registered on September 17.

The increase in the number is parallel to increase in the number of evacuation centers from 107 to 123 due to newly opened evacuation centers in the towns of Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Datu Piang, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Shariff Aguak and Talayan in Maguindanao.

The IDPs now face problems of high morbidity and mortality brought by inaccessibility of areas due to safety and security reasons, congested evacuation centers and lack of medical services.
NDCC figures showed the total cost of damage to now stand at PhP 121.5 (USD 2.6 million). Of this figure, PhP 38.5 (USD 836,956) are in infrastructure and PhP 83 million (USD 1.8 million) in agriculture. Some 275 houses are listed as totally or partially destroyed.

The combined financial assistance provided by government agencies, local and international NGOs, and United Nations agencies now stands at PhP 89.3 million (USD 1.9 million). More than PhP 50 million (USD 1 million) of this has been provided by government agencies, local government units and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

Relief missions

The Council for the Welfare of Children Sub-Committee on Children Affected by Armed Conflict and Displacement (CWC-SC CAACD) called on local NGOs to help out in North Cotabato after fighting broke out there last month.

In their report, the entire team expressed fears that if conflict and displacement continue, the distress and anxiety experienced by children may worsen. The team fears the impact of suspended schooling will force students to drop out of the system for good, affecting their future chances to find jobs and livelihoods.

The group also reported on the voluntary separation of Muslim and Christian evacuees in some centers in Pikit and Aleosan, apparently caused by mutual distrust attributed to the conflict. They noted that some evacuees stayed in their villages during the day but went to the evacuation centers at night for safety reasons.

In Pikit, about 30 percent of IDPs have reportedly now returned home mostly to the villages around Aleosan and Midsayap. Those staying behind are mostly those who have lost their homes to the fighting and those staying with relatives or simply camping rough. (Nora Gamolo, the author is a columnist and former senior desk editor of The Manila Times and was a finalist of the 2007 Jaime V. Ongpin Award for Excellence in Journalism. Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project)

Photo: Southern Philippines Refugees

Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, of the Muslim autonomous region, has released P2 million to the Department of Health headed by Secretary Tahir Sulaik to help war refugees in Maguindanao and Lanao provinces where fighting broke out between troops and MILF rebels. More than 280,000 have been displaced by the hostilities in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

Photo: Villagers Flee Towns Attacked By MILF Rebels In Mindanao

Sporadic fighting between government soldiers and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels have forced thousands of villagers to flee their homes in North Cotabato province in the southern Philippines. Authorities said rebel forces attacked civilian areas and torched dozens of houses since clashes erupted last month. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

Photo: Faces of Hunger In Southern Philippines

Poor Filipinos line up for free food in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato in Maguindanao province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

UN Aid On Its Way To War Refugees In South RP

MANILA – The United Nations World Food Programme announced Thursday that it will provide 85 metric tons of rice (1700 bags) to assist more than 42,000 people displaced by fighting on the restive island of Jolo.

The Philippine military said at least 21 people were killed and over 100 injured in clashes between soldiers and Moro National Liberation Front rebels since last week.

The UN said the hostilities drove some 8,500 families from their homes in seven of 18 towns on the island of Jolo in the Sulu Archipelago, about 950 km south of Manila.

"We hope this support for hungry families will help stabilize the situation in Sulu," said Valerie Guarnieri, WFP Country Director in the Philippines. "The province is one of the most conflict-affected areas of Mindanao, and the World Food Programme will provide assistance to these families in their time of need."

WFP staff will travel to Sulu to plan and oversee the distribution. Guanieri did not say when the rice would arrive.

Despite a 1996 peace accord between the Government and the MNLF, there have been occasional outbreaks of fighting. In March, WFP provided 25 metric tons rice (500 bags) to 6,000 displaced people in Sulu, who have since returned to their homes.

While the relief programme in Sulu involves the direct distribution of free food to displaced families, ongoing WFP-supported activities in Maguindanao, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces also use food to increase school attendance, repair damaged infrastructure, provide nutritional support for mothers and children and promote peace.

Major donors to WFP's emergency assistance programme for people affected by the conflict in Mindanao include: Multilateral funds (US$3.9 million); Japan (US$2.4 million) Australia (US$1.4 million) and Germany (US$985,000). (With a report from Mark Navales and Ely Dumaboc)

Fighting Continue In Jolo Island

Scenes in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, where troops are battling Moro rebels and Abu Sayyaf terrorists in two fronts. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

JOLO ISLAND – President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the Philippine military to pursue Moro National Liberation Front rebels, blamed for a spate of attacks in Jolo island.

Dozens of people were reported killed and injured in a series of mortar attacks by Moro National Liberation Front rebels and suspected Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Filipino island of Jolo, officials said.

Officials said the rebels attacked several military posts in the town of Panamao, Parang and Talipao. One mortar bomb exploded near a government building, killing a child and wounding another villager. But the military said there could be more civilian casualties in the fighting that began last week.

At least 11 government soldiers were allegedly killed and about a dozen more wounded, many seriously, when rebels attacked a military post in the village of Tayungan with mortar bombs and ambushed a military truck transporting troops.

Two rebels were also killed and many wounded in the weekend clashes.

Army Major Eugene Batara, a regional military spokesman, said the rebels, under Khabir Malik, also rained mortar bombs on the headquarters of the Philippine Marines in the village of Seit last week.

“Malik’s group fired at least 5 rounds (of mortars) at the marine base, but only one exploded inside the (headquarters). The rebels also fired three more rounds toward the Panamao municipal hall (building). Security forces are in control of the situation,” Batara told the Mindanao Examiner newspaper.

Batara said the motive of the attacks were unknown, but troops last week clashed with suspected Abu Sayyaf militants allegedly aided by MNLF rebels in the village of Buanza in Indanan.

He said security forces have occupied a major MNLF camp under Malik in Bitan-ag village in Indanan town, but the rebels said they abandoned the base even before troops could arrive.

“You would be so stupid to stay in the camp that you know would be targeted by military offensive,” one rebel commander said.

Major General Ruben Rafael, the island's military chief, condemned the attacks and said security forces will suppress "this lawlessness perpetrated by this group." He said: "The (exact number of) civilian casualties are still unknown as of this report."

Other reports in Jolo said Abu Sayyaf militants kidnapped at least 8 people, including two soldiers, in Parang town, but this could not be independently confirmed.

The fighting forced thousands of villagers to flee their homes. Many are staying in different refugee shelters in Jolo. Government schools were also converted into temporary shelters.

Hundreds of refugees were also staying in Panglima Mamah Elementary School in Tag-bak village in Indanan town and many of them blamed provincial officials for failing to help them.

“It is so difficult here, as you can see, there is not even clean water here and provincial officials should look into our situation here,” one refugee, Usman bin Abubakar, told the Mindanao Examiner. Fighting erupted last week in Talipao town near a major MNLF stronghold where troops raided a Jemaah Islamiya hideout and captured three local terrorists.

But an Indonesian bomber Umar Patek and a senior Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, had escaped the raiders in the village of Kanlimot. One soldier was also wounded in a separate this month in Bakong village in Patikul town on the other side of the island.

Besides Patek, soldiers were also hunting down Dulmatin and Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir and other Jemaah Islamiya militants hiding on the island under the protection of the Abu Sayyaf. Jakarta tagged both Patek and Dulmatin as behind the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australian holiday-makers.

While Zulkifli bin Hir, an engineer trained in the U.S. allegedly heads the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) terrorist organization and is a member of Jemaah Islamiya central command.

Washington offered as much as $10 million reward for the capture of Dulmatin and $ 5 million for Zulkifli and Hapilon and another $1 million bounty for Patek.

The latest fighting broke out ahead of a planned peace advocacy forum in Jolo island on the government peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group. The MILF, which broke away with the MNLF, is fighting the past three decades for a separate homeland in Mindanao.

The MNLF rebels, under Nur Misuari, signed a peace agreement with Manila in September 1996. After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari, became the governor of the Muslim autonomous region. But despite the agreement, there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted.

Under the peace agreement, Manila would provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the south and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.

Many MNLF members were disgruntled with the peace deal, saying, the Arroyo government failed to comply with some of its provisions and uplift their standards of living. They accused Manila of failing to develop the war-torn areas in the south.

And in November 2001, on the eve of the elections in the Muslim autonomous region, Misuari accused the government of reneging on the peace agreement, and launched a new rebellion in Jolo island and Zamboanga City, where more than 100 people were killed.

Misuari then escaped by boat to Malaysia, but had been arrested and deported to the Philippines. (mindanaoexaminer.com)

Muslim Group Urged North Cotabato To Release Refugee Aid

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / 22 Mar) – A Muslim party list group on Thursday urged the release of funds to help feed thousands of villagers displaced by hostilities between security and rebel forces in the southern Philippines.

The Suara Bangsamoro party said the funds are important to aid the refugees in at least 8 villages in North Cotabato’s Midsayap town, where troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels clashed last month.

The group urged the North Cotabato provincial council to release the funds.

“If the local government has become so helpless in ending the wars in Mindanao, we are, at the least, hoping that they do not, at this point, prolong the agony of the displaced families by coming short in releasing such fund,” Zaynab Ampatuan, who chairs the Suara Bangsamoro party list group, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner newspaper.

Ampatuan appealed to the Provincial Development Coucil of Cotabato to allocate more funds to help the refugees. The province has 120.8 million pesos supplemental budget. (With a report from Mark Navales)