Zamboanga City warns pols visiting evacuees

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar still reels from the recent visit of a politician from Luzon to hundreds of families displaced by the 2013 rampage of the followers of Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari to the city.

After taking selfies and shaking hands with the families, called “internally displaced persons” (IDPs), who were transferred to “transitory housing areas” before their permanent relocation, the politician left without actually offering them help and even used a disinfectant after the encounter, Salazar said.

Though she did not identify the visitor, she said, the experience “has become an eye-opener” to the city government.

A total of 3,044 families, or 17,140 persons, are staying in the transitory housing areas, according to city records.

“Politicians seeking to build their political image or those who just wanted personal aggrandizement are now banned from visiting and taking selfies with the IDPs,” Salazar said. They tend to exploit the situation of the evacuees for their political advancement rather than helping them, she noted.

The measure also covers nongovernment organizations to make sure that they were not using the IDPs for financial gain. “We have experienced that there are groups that just come here and they take advantage of the situation of the people of Zamboanga so that they will be granted funds,” Salazar said.

The mayor said “it is not proper for (political) aspirants to come over and capitalize on the state not only of the children but of the women as well, and even of the housing facilities.”

To ensure that those aiming to exploit the IDPs are barred, all visitors and guests seeking to visit the transitory housing areas have to make prior coordination with the city government.

“[They] must have a valid purpose and they will be escorted. They must contribute by either providing education, financial assistance or any item needed inside the transitory sites,” Salazar said.

“They should not just go there and trespass for whatever programs and projects they want to do,” she said.

The mayor called on the city department heads who are involved in humanitarian work “to take action and preserve the dignity of the IDPs against individuals who are trying to capitalize on their plight.”

“We must ensure that they are not taken advantage of, that those who come do not just have their photos taken specifically with vulnerable children. I am very particular about having children’s faces shown because these might be misinterpreted,” Salazar said.

She said the city government would still allow the taking of photos for “legitimate” purposes, such as support for the advocacy for child protection. Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao