COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Sulu provincial officials have delivered P3.2-million worth of cash and relief supplies to the local government unit of Zamboanga City.
The donations were personally turned over to Zamboanga City Mayor Isabelle Climaco by Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan Jr. and representatives of different provincial offices that helped raise funds and collect food supplies and other relief provisions from residents of the island province.
Tan, who met with Climaco over the weekend, said some of the evacuees dislocated by the hostilities in Zamboanga City are from Sulu, who are transient residents of the villages affected by the conflict between soldiers and followers of Nur Misuari.
Climaco received from Tan, in the presence of local officials, a P1.2 million check, as part of the P3.2 million worth of money and supplies donated by residents of Sulu, a component province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Tan said many Sulu residents have children that either work or study in different schools in Zamboanga City.
The money and supplies for the evacuees were raised largely through the efforts of the Sulu Provincial Women’s Council, local executives in the province, the area’s business and religious communities, and members of the academe.
Tan said he is also grateful to his constituent-religious and political leaders for helping the police and the military prevent any spill over to Sulu of the hostilities in Zamboanga City.
Sulu is a known bastion of the Moro National Liberation Front, but the province remains peaceful amid the ongoing strife in Zamboanga City.
Chief Supt. Noel Delos Reyes, director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police, said the Tans and the mayors in Sulu have actively been helping the provincial police restrain local MNLF forces through diplomatic dialogues.
Delos Reyes said the Sulu provincial leadership also tapped the help of the local Islamic religious community in maintaining law and order in the island province.