Mindanao evacuees hope for better life

COTABATO CITY – Armed conflict evacuees in Central Mindanao are hopeful that their lives will improve, depending on their initiative, sheer determination to survive, and continued assistance of concerned sectors, particularly government.

This was the general sentiment that surfaced during a recent preliminary survey conducted among family members staying at an evacuation center in General Luna, Carmen, North Cotabato.

Numbering over 50 family households, the predominantly Muslim evacuees were originally from Sitio Babulon, some eight kilometers away from the center. Tabulon was one of the battlegrounds during the height of the war between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front last year, from May to November. Most of the residential houses in Tabulon, according to the evacuees, were destroyed during the war.

The optimism was shared by their barangay officials and religious leaders, who expressed confidence that things will improve.

For one, they are hopeful that rice production will start to pick up with the recent inauguration of the Malitubog-Maridagao (Mal-Mar) irrigation project, by no less than President Arroyo.

The first phase of the project — with an initial irrigable area of 3,800 hectares – is now operational after several delays, spanning more than a decade, due to the peace and order problem in Carmen, North Cotabato. By the end of this year, another 2,200 hectares of farmlands will be irrigated, for a total of 6,000 hectares, according to the National Irrigation Administration.

The Mal-Mar project’s second phase, when completed by the end of May 2003, will irrigate an additional 4,840 hectares. Thus two years from now, with a total service area of 10,840 hectares, Cotabato will become Central Mindanao’s major rice producer.

For their part, the women-evacuees said that if their barangay leaders would work as a team – once they go back to Sitio Tabulon and have agreed on the activities to undertake in rebuilding their community then they would expect things will be brighter.

Generally, the preliminary two-day survey showed that the evacuees are looking forward to enjoying basic services again such as electricity and water. For their community in Tabulon – as most houses and barangay infrastructure were destroyed – they want to put up a new barangay health center, a schoolhouse, and a multi-purpose cooperative facility which runs a rice mill.

The two-day pre-test survey conducted during the last week of September was undertaken by three non-govenrmental organizations – MinPhil, Minland and CFSI – as part of a social assessment project (SAP) funded by the World Bank (WB). The results of the SAP will serve as inputs to improving the delivery of services to families and communities adversely affected by armed conflicts in Mindanao.

The pre-test was conducted to refine the survey questionnaires and at the same time come up with a more efficient approach to capture the sentiments and actual needs of the conflict affected victims, according to Dr. Fermin Adriano, WB-SAP project team leader. The survey proper will commence this month.

"We are looking at a period of eight to 10 months to complete the whole process — from the surveys, focus group discussions, local meetings and consultations, to report preparation and completion. Our final SAP report will also contain recommendation and needed interventions to be undertaken by concerned sectors, including the government," Adriano added.

However, in cases where immediate government action is needed, he said they could readily refer these to concerned top officials like Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza and Presidential Adviser for Regional Development Paul Dominguez.

"We don’t want to prolong the agony and sacrifices of the war victims in Mindanao. We have seen enough. If problems surface during the surveys or consultations like lack of relief goods, overcrowded evacuation centers, and existence of communicable diseases, we will immediately coordinate these concerns with the government officials and agencies," noted Adriano, who serves as president of FRIEND, a policy and advocacy foundation.