‘We decided to stay with the Christians’: policeman

June 14, 2017

MARAWI CITY – A policeman who was among ten persons trapped in Marawi City for three weeks said he and four cops decided to stay with the Christians to protect them. “Those who were with us do not know how to speak Maranao. If the enemy knows they can’t speak Maranao, they will be killed… We decided to stay with the Christians," said  PO1 Lumna Lidasan. Lumna, together with nine other people were able to escape the conflict area here in the city. The group has been trapped in Brgy. Moncado Cadingilan for 21 days. He is with four colleagues, three of which are Maranao Muslim, and five Christians who are construction workers. Lumna reiterated when the clash erupted, their barangay captain invited them to hide inside his house, and they were asked to stay in the basement. Few days later, their barangay captain with his family left but Lumna and the rest were left behind. Peace Corridor volunteers have been communicating with Lumna since 10 June 2017. Called the Joint Coordination, Monitoring, and Assistance Center (JCMAC), the peace volunteers guided the civilians on how they can escape. The center also facilitated coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police regarding their location in the conflict area to spare them from military offensives against the Maute Group. The Peace Corridor was set up by the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as a response to the going conflict in the city. It facilitates safe retrieval of trapped civilians and allow relief operations. Rodel, one of the construction workers, expressed joy and relief after being able to leave. “We were so happy. Our families thought we were dead,”he said. A crying PO3 Ricky Alawi  can't believe they were able to leave. "This is our second life,”he said. Despite the difficulties in bringing the trapped civilians into a safer place, the center was able to rescue 179 trapped women, men, children and elderly during its first attempt in June 4. On its second attempt Thursday, it was able to bring 38 more civilians to safety. From June 11-13, it was able to retrieve 19 more people – making it a total of 236 saved people. DMS