Leyte province residents queue for relief goods outside the totally damaged Tacloban airport, where many died after a storm surge spawned by Supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’ inundated the airport and nearby villages. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao vowed to extend aid to communities in the Visayas battered by the world’s strongest cyclone that left massive loss to lives and properties.
ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa Masuhud-Alamia announced on Monday that various regional offices have agreed to share whatever relief items, including voluntary cash donations, to thousands of survivors from the worst catastrophe to have struck the Philippines.
Alamia said ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman has ordered ARMM officials to mount a swift relief mission to Tacloban City and other affected areas in the Visayas.
He also asked for the holding of an emergency meeting on Monday (Nov. 11) to map out strategy to raise resources to respond to the needs of typhoon victims. Alamia said the governor was considering canceling some festive and extravagant activities in connection with the 24th ARMM Anniversary on November 19 and Shariff Kabunsuan Day in December.
The monthlong celebration that kicked-off with a motorcade parade on Nov. 7 is expected to wind up on Dec. 19 with various sports, cultural, and religious activities. An event commemorating the 4th Anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre on Nov. 23 that left 58 people dead, most of them media practitioners, has also been scheduled.
Alamia said whatever savings the various agencies would incur by having to cancel some programs and activities, may be used in the ARMM relief mission to affected neighbors in the Visayas.
She said each regional office has allocated funds for the many activities.
She recalled that the recent relief operation by the autonomous government in the Zamboanga City siege by members of the Moro National Liberation Front “was a priority concern for humanitarian-sake, despite Zamboanga not being part of ARMM.”
Maguindanao health workers, led by the provincial health officer, Dr. Tahir Sulaik, were also instrumental in alleviating the sufferings of Compostela Valley residents when hurricane Pablo hit land on Dec. 4.
“We will duplicate what ARMM has done to calamity-stricken neighbors, a manifestation of oneness in times of emergency,” said Alamia.
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