Gov’t addressing needs of 70,000 evacuees from Marawi City: DILG

June 7, 2017

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Wednesday said the government is carrying out measures to address the needs of around 70,000 people who have fled from Marawi City towards the adjacent provinces of Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Norte, following the attack of the Maute Group on May 23. In a report to DILG Officer-in-Charge Catalino Cuy, DILG Northern Mindanao Regional Director Arnel M. Agabe said there are 36,423 evacuees in Lanao del Norte, 25,506 in Iligan City, 4,761 in Cagayan de Oro (CDO) City, 1,320 in Bukidnon, 1,652 in Misamis Oriental, and 109 in Misamis Occidental. In Iligan City, almost 38 kilometers proximate to Marawi, the Regional Command Coordinating Center (RCCC) at Barangay Tomas Cabili Multi-Purpose Gymnasium has been established in profiling of evacuees, monitor and coordinate relief efforts, and ensure the welfare of the evacuees. The RCCC is headed by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD). Agabe said there is sufficient supply of food and non-food items for evacuees in Lanao del Norte as donations and support have been coming from other areas. “IDPs have been revalidated to avoid duplication. They are registered at Municipal Social Welfare and Development Offices (MSWDOs) such as in Pantar and Baloi in Lanao del Norte since some would opt to stay with relatives,” he said. He also reported DILG-Iligan City, as in-charge of the Management of the Dead and Missing (MDM) Cluster, has coordinated with its counterparts from DILG-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and DILG-Lanao del Sur to retrieve and identify  dead bodies. According to Agabe, peace and order councils at all levels in Region 10 have met and came up with contingency measures in response to the crisis. “We are focusing on strengthening security measures to avert spillovers on the Marawi siege and on monitoring the movements of the Local Terrorist Groups (LTGs),” he said. DMS