Flood evacuees refuse to return home

COTABATO CITY—At least 5,000 families displaced by last month’s floods here refused to return home despite prodding from the city government, a city official said Thursday.

Ofelia Ibrahim, city social welfare officer, said the displaced residents won’t return to their homes because while the floods have receded, their communities are still under water.

The city mayor, Japal Guiani Jr., ordered village chiefs to monitor water levels and report to him if communities left by residents because of the floods are safe to return to.

“If the situation back home is favorable, the city government will send them home,” said Ibrahim.

Swollen river

Almost all of the city’s 37 villages were flooded when the Rio Grande River swelled last month. The swelling of the river was blamed on large areas of water hyacinths blocking the free flow of water to the sea.

Guiani said the city government would not push the return of evacuees if their villages were still flooded.

But if the villages are already liveable, the families should return home, he said.

Guiani said the city government can assure that evacuees of continued help even if they had returned home.

He said the city social welfare office is preparing food packages good for five days for every family who would agree to return home and leave the evacuation center.

Aid started pouring for residents displaced by floods in Maguindanao following the brouhaha between local officials and President Aquino over whether or not aid from the national government has reached flood victims.

Local governments in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the military, international aid agencies and non-government organizations got their acts together to help the flood victims.

Useful trucks

Military trucks carried sacks of rice, school bags, supplies, armies of health and social workers for victims of the flood, according to Mayor Salaban Diokolano.

The relief operations on Tuesday were conducted by ARMM line agencies, International Labor Organization, World Food Organization and other non-government organizations accredited by the United Nations.

Naguib Sinarimbo, ARMM executive secretary, said the operations were aimed at quickly bringing relief to areas that needed it most.

At least 85 percent of this town alone is under water, according to residents who blamed heavy siltation at the Rio Grande de Mindanao for the flood.

Long term planning is also being done and would include a redesign of school buildings to put them on stilts.

Sinarimbo said at least 5,000 people in different evacuation sites in the town were given packages of food, water, school supplies and social and health services. Edwin Fernandez, Nash B. Maulana and Charlie C. Senase, Inquirer Mindanao