ReliefWeb

ICC Iligan City (29 October) - At least 10 temporary shelters or bunkhouses are needed to house the more or less 700 families from the three (3) barangays (villages) of Munai, LDN who evacuated to the municipal hall due to the series of encounters in the nearby areas.

Thus disclosed Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) Member, Cassan Maquiling of Lanao del Norte (LDN) who said these families are temporarily housed in the gym and some school buildings earlier vacated by the internally displaced persons (IDP) during the Aug. 18 attack of the lawless MILF group (LMG).

Maquiling who heads the SP Committee on Peace and Order presented this problem during the visit of Secretary Esperanza Cabral of the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the area last Saturday, Oct. 25.

He presented to the DSWD Secretary the lack of temporary shelters for the IDP's and requested for additional bunkhouses so the classrooms will be vacated and classes can resume next week.

Asked if the other IDP's are willing to go home, Maquiling said the IDP's have already asked the local government to assist them in going back to their places of origin so they can tend their farms but asked assurance that they be given security and protection by the military.

Meanwhile, he said, the local government unit is always ready to assist the IDP's who want to go home if they ask for it because they understand they cannot stay in the bunkhouses forever.

"So, we are coordinating with DSWD in terms of livelihood projects for the IDP's once they are back in their homes, he added. (OSM - Radyo ng Bayan)