IDPs in Southern Philippines: More Scared for Life than Hungry for Food

by Nina Somera, Isis International

As the armed conflict between Philippine soldiers and the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) continues, residents are not only worrying where to get their next meal. They now wonder who could be taken next.

On the morning of 7 May 2009, five “bakwits” or internally displaced persons were abducted my men in military uniforms. The five were walking along a highway in Pagatin village as they wait for the distribution of relief goods by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Two of the five men were released a few hours later. However the other three: Salipudin Zacaria, 24, Sahid Mahmod, 33 and Kaharudin Kusain, 26 remain missing. According to the local humanitarian and human rights group, the families have already verified the three men in the major military installations in the towns of Datu Piang and Datu Saudi but failed to locate them. “On 11 May 2009, there were two bodies recovered at the river of Duaminanga in Datu Piang. The families of the victims believed that the said bodies are of the two from the three,” she said.

Meanwhile the IDPs also echoed the fears due to the greater restrictions imposed by the military and the apparent indiscriminate attacks. Civil society groups including the ICRC and the World Food Programme (WFP) as well as the media have not been granted entry in the evacuation centres in affected towns in Maguindanao. But then residents are also unsafe even in otherwise conflict-free areas.

On 11 May 2009, IDPs housed at the Dapiawan relocation site were roused from sleep bombs were dropped just 100 metres away. A month before on 20 April 2009, teacher Ustadz Ayub Guiamlod, 53, just fell on the ground in front of his students at the Jaatul Jabar Madrasah, near an evacuation centre.

As refugee Akmad Ismael lamented, “We don't know anymore what to do because even though we are already in an evacuation centre, we are still affected by the bombings. And yet we cannot go back to the village because the military will abduct us, accusing that we are members of the MILF.”

A possible protection could have been the possession of a community residence certificate. Such certificate is said to have become a requirement in availing of relief goods. But towns are already running out of certificates.

As of 13 May 2009, Datu Piang has 30,335 IDPs from 5,513 families. Datu Piang has been the concentration of the armed conflict between the military and the MILF since the town is believed to be a stronghold of MILF rebel Ameril Ombra Kato.

Sources:

Olaya, Yul “Adil.” (17 May 2009). “Mindanao folk turned gov’t aid dependents.” URL: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20090517-205469/Mindanao-folk-turned-govt-aid-dependents

E-mail correspondence with Fairdudz “Rose” Ibrahim Ebus of Mindanao Tulong Bakwet (MTB) and Mindanao Emergency Response Network (MERN) (Updates on 5 and 13 May 2009).

(This article first appeared in the May 2009, Issue 1 edition of We! , a bi-monthly newsletter of Isis International .)