Maguindanao town under state of calamity

COTABATO CITY – A state of calamity has been declared in Datu Montawal town in Maguindanao after floodwater submerged all of its 12 villages due to torrential rains and the swelling of Kabacan River, officials said.

Datu Montawal town Vice Mayor Otto Montawal said the town’s council passed a resolution in an emergency session Saturday to place the entire town under a state of calamity so the local government can use its calamity fund to assist some 6,000 flood victims.

“When Pulangi River overflows, automatically the Kabacan River follows suit as well as Malitubog and Maridagao Rivers in North Cotabato, so we catch the water here,” Montawal told reporters.

Montawal said all 12 public schools were submerged by flood, affecting 4,400 pupils. Classes have been suspended since Friday “until the floodwater totally recedes.”

In Pagalungan town, about 4,200 families in the villages of Layug, Linandangan, Damalasak, Poblacion Pagalungan, Inug-ug, Kudal, Bagoinged, Dalgan, Boliok and Kalbugan have been affected by floods, according to town Mayor Salik Mamasabulod.

He said the town council was preparing to declare the entire town under a calamity state.

In North Cotabato, at least 22 villages have been under water in the towns of Kabacan and Pikit, North Cotabato, two towns sitting side by side with Pagalungan and Maguindanao, all beside the Liguasan marshland.

Four villages in Mlang, also in North Cotabato, were under water.

The Kabacan River, which gets water from Pulangi River in Bukidnon, overflowed Thursday and Friday, submerging communities nearby before the water goes to Liguasan marshland.

Arnulfo Villacruz, North Cotabato, acting Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) chairperson, said low-lying villages in North Cotabato experience floods whenever Bukidnon and Agusan provinces are hit by heavy downpour.

Disaster officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), backed by soldiers and fire officers,  on Friday and Saturday nights hauled residents “trapped” in their homes.

Montawal said many residents opted to stay home due to past floods that suddenly subside. “But when the water current appeared to have been accompanied by force or strong current, they agreed to be evacuated,” he said.

Myrna Jo Henry, speaking for ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART), said relief distribution was in progress in Montawal and Pagalungan towns./rga