Filipino military pursues offensive against MILF rebels, civilians pay the price
The situation is getting really bad according to a number of eyewitnesses. The arrival of the military has forced to shutdown of the Alternative Learning System for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV) and the Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur. For many years now the two educational institutions have been involved in improving the living conditions of the Lumad indigenous people.
Sister Lydia Lascano, director of the Tandag Social Action Director Tandag Social Action Center, said that an ALCADEV teacher was prevented from bringing unable to flee.
After the military moved in, residents in such outlying areas have had to evacuate their villages and move to the town of Lianga, some seven hours away on foot, finding shelter in a local gym.
Appeals for peace by Mgr Nereo P. Odchimar, bishop of Tandag, have so far fallen on deaf ears.
“This is the third time in five years that an evacuation has occurred,” Sister Lydia said. “Militarisation is a perennial problem in the area. When soldiers enter a community and visit people’s houses, the people become too scared to farm,” she explained.
The situation is the same throughout Mindanao and in some areas the refugee situation is at a boiling point.
Warren Adhulmagnid, an internally displaced person from Barangay (Maguindanao), said that “life inside the evacuation centre is difficult. We have nothing to do. Our movements are limited for fear that the military will suspect us as supporters of the rebels. The government promised to help us in our food but it seems that this is a forgotten promise.”
Fr Eduardo Vasquez, parish priest at Sta. Teresita Parish in Datu Piang, said that refugees in the evacuation centres have nothing to eat because of the military’s imposed food blockade.
Donations and assistance by non-government organizations are not sufficient to feed the increasing number of evacuees.
Currently, more than 37,000 people are languishing in Maguindanao evacuation centres
This year’s report by the Norwegian Refugee Council describes the Philippines as the country with the largest number of internally displaced persons, more than 600,000 forced to live, some for years, in refugee camps in their own country.
Despite the tragic situation efforts continue in view of finding a peaceful solution between the Filipino government and the Muslim rebels.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has indicated that is still open for peace talks with the government.
“We don’t want to discount the strong possibility that peace is still the solution to the centuries-old problem of the Bangsamoro in Mindanao,” MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said.
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