MANILA, Philippines— As the fighting in Zamboanga City continues, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have scaled up their joint relief efforts to help the tens of thousands of evacuees from the war-torn city, a PRC official said Friday.
PRC secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said the two organizations zeroed in on the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex, the biggest evacuation center for residents caught in the crossfire between government troops and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels.
Pang said they distributed hot meals for an average of 10,000 displaced people daily while providing items such as kitchen utensils, jerrycans, basins, towels and bath and laundry soap to 33,000 people.
“A total of 31 communal tents made of tarpaulins provided by the ICRC have so far been erected by 120 evacuees participating in a cash-for-work scheme. The tents can shelter more than 2,500 persons,” she said.
“At the Philippine Red Cross emergency health station, two doctors, six nurses and two Philippine Red Cross staff members have so far provided consultations,” Pang added.
The ICRC also provided medical supplies for the treatment of 50 patients with weapon-related injuries and for the general care of up to 1,000 other patients at the temporary hospital set up in Western Mindanao University, Pang said.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), for its part, is ready to provide emergency employment to workers in Zamboanga City who were displaced as a result of the armed conflict.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has already ordered the DOLE regional office in Zamboanga to start profiling and monitoring workers in the informal and formal sectors who were affected by the crisis, or who may have been displaced from their jobs and occupations.
She also instructed Sisinio Cano, regional director of DOLE Regional Office No. 9, to convene the Industry Tripartite Councils (ITCs) of the affected industry sectors in Zamboanga City to firm up collaborative efforts toward preserving employment in their sectors.