Zamboanga City losses due to clashes reach P5B – mayor

Members of the PNP Special Action Force who engaged in a close encounter killing one MNLF commander at a mangrove area after a brief chase in Barangay Talon Talon, Zamboanga City. INQUIRER file photo / EDWIN BACASMAS

MANILA, Philippines – The Zamboanga City government recorded P5 billion worth of losses to trade and commerce as it entered the 18th day of the armed standoff between government forces and Moro National Liberation Front rebels on Thursday.

“The losses of over 5 billion pesos in 18 days may be great, this may take a while for us to regain but we also want sustainable security to be in place. We all want our normal lives back; this cannot be equated with monetary value,” Mayor Beng Climaco said in a statement.

“We are at a crucial phase of this crisis,” she said, but the government is trying its best to keep the city running.

Life is picking up in Zamboanga as more small stores, fastfood and malls opened since Wednesday. More banks also resumed operations. On Thursday last week, the airport opened to commercial flights after being shut down since the MNLF attack on Sept. 9.

Seaports also opened on Thursday.

Classes also continued for the second day on Thursday in areas outside conflict zones, Climaco noted.

The local official added that “a massive rehabilitation program” is underway and will kick off in the next few days. According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s latest report, there were 18,291 families with 101,259 persons housed in 44 evacuation centers.

About 10,000 houses and buildings were burned and destroyed because of the fighting.

“We will rebuild our city—we will rise from the ashes. Yes, Zamboanga City will not be the same again, because Zamboanga will be a brighter place for our children,” Climaco said.

“This crisis taught us to be faithful, to be patient and to be persevering. Our patience is tested but we need to hold on. We cannot give up, we are not giving up,” she said.

At least a hundred been killed from the gunbattle between the government troops and MNLF. As of 3p.m., 126 of the fatalities were from the MNLF, 23 were from the military and police, and 12 were civilians.

The military was on its 11th day of “clearing operations” and was engaging the MNLF in a “close-quarter combat.”

“Our government forces—the police and military with all their commitment are sacrificing their lives to put an end to this crisis in defense of Zamboanga. Words are not enough to thank them and their families for their selflessness and dedication,” Climaco said.

She also extended her gratitude to President Benigno Aquino III for “personally looking” into the operations, as well as to DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman and her team, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas “who have stayed on from day 1 until today.”