Zambo city hall reopens

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines   â€“ Three weeks after shutting down, the city hall here resumed operations yesterday.

At the morning flag ceremony, the Philippine flag flew at half-mast as local officials and employees mourned the people killed and wounded in 22 days of clashes between government forces and members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

“Today we have set our minds in city hall to conquer our fear, to fight with all the might we have to rebuild the city of Zamboanga toward what it should be for the children,” said Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar.

“Today, we fly our flag at half-mast to honor those who sacrificed their lives. We will continue going back to work … I ask everyone that with courage we will continue to protect our flag and our city of Zamboanga,” Salazar told the people gathered at city hall where the MNLF-Nur Misuari faction planned to raise the rebel flag but were repulsed by security forces.

Some 24 government troops were killed and 194 soldiers and policemen were wounded.

Twelve civilians were killed and 72 others were wounded as the pursuit operations continued yesterday against remnants of the MNLF rebels led by Habier Malik.

Authorities said 189 MNLF members were killed with 292 others captured since the clashes started last Sept. 9 when close to 500 rebels attacked barangays Sta. Catalina and Sta. Barbara just 300 meters away from city hall.

About a dozen more rebels continue to elude government troops and are believed to still be hiding in the vast mangrove area in the coastal villages of Mariki and Talon-Talon.

As the city government resumed operations, checkpoints leading to the city hall remained and soldiers and police officers strictly inspected those entering the premises.

Some of the employees were still reluctant to return to work, with their offices just across Sta. Barbara area where government pursuit operations have been continuing.

The mayor said the presence of the government workers was a symbolic gesture that showed that the city is returning to normal, although some of the city offices in critical areas are still closed.

Salazar also commended the civilian security unit of the city hall who did not abandon the seat of government and prevented the rebels from hoisting the rebel flag.

“That is the message we would like to show. They never conquered Zamboanga but we were able to remain as one with the Philippines,” Salazar said. “It is really a victory for the people, a victory of gratitude, we realized now the importance and value of what it means to have the Philippine flag hoisted in our city.”

Salazar said although the standoff is over, the humanitarian crisis continued and “this is day one for us in the fight of rehabilitation.”

“A lot of work has to be done. And today we have set our mind in city hall to conquer our fear to fight with all the might we have to rebuild the city of Zamboanga towards what it should be for the children,” Salazar said.

The reopening of city hall signaled the start of the second phase of clearing operations, which will take two to three weeks covering about 30 to 40 hectares of debris of burned houses and buildings with possible unexploded mortar shells, improvised explosive device (IED) and ammunition left behind by the retreating rebels.

Police explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) units recovered dozens of unexploded fragmentation shells and 40 mm rifle grenades at Lustre Drive in Sta. Catalina yesterday.

The EOD teams have already penetrated the interior of Lustre Drive where they initially recovered an unexploded 40 mm shell and a M203 shell inside the compound of Zamboanga City Medical Center.

Police Superintendent Kenneth Mission, sector 1 commander of the clearing operation, said at least 33 rounds of M203 and 40 mm and 15 hand grenades were recovered in the area.

The local crisis management committee (CMC) had requested police and military authorities to tighten security in all vital installations while a task force is mandated to work on the rehabilitation, according to Salazar.

The CMC had also shortened the curfew hours outside the critical area following the appeal of the business sector as the situation normalized after 22 days of standoff.

Salazar, head of the CMC, said the curfew was moved to 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. starting Sunday but only outside the critical areas, while the 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew hours remained in the critical areas as advised by the military and police.

The critical areas include Zone 4, Sta. Catalina, Sta. Barbara, Rio Hondo, Mariki, Kasanyangan, Talon-Talon, the site of intense gunbattles, and Mampang, Arena Blanco and Tugbungan. Pocholo Soliven, Zamboanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZCCI) president, said the earlier curfew schedule was not economically viable for the business sector.

“If we have to follow the schedule, our workers have to do the early accounting in the early afternoon because they have to go home early because of the 8 p.m. curfew,” Soliven said.

The authorities have not yet issued a clearance to evacuees to return to their residences located in critical areas, Salazar said.

She said classes in schools outside the critical areas or 5 to 7 kilometers away will continue Monday while officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) have been coordinating with barangay officials to secure the schools.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and officials of local colleges have met to prepare for the resumption of classes because most of the schools are located in the areas of concern.

Other government offices and private establishments outside the critical areas were encouraged to resume operations.

The opening of business establishments in the central business district wwill be decided on a case-to-case basis.

Salazar said the Philippine Coast guard (PCG) and the Philippines Ports Authority (PPA) have ordered restrictions on the operation of all private ports in the city.

Courts remain closed

The Hall of Justice in the city remained closed yesterday even as other government offices already opened.

Supreme Court administrator Midas Marquez said power had not yet been restored in the local courtrooms. With Edu Punay, EvelynMacairan