MANILA, Philippines - Relief goods, medicines and clothing being distributed to thousands of evacuees affected by the flashfloods and the standoff between the government security forces and Moro National Liberation Front in Zamboanga City are running low, according to a prelate.
Msgr. Cris Manongas, Archdiocese of Zamboanga administrator, also appealed on Wednesday to the public for donation to keep the relief operations to continue.
He said many evacuees, particularly the elderly and children, have gotten ill because of the lack of medicines.
"We need food,clothing and medicines. Marami na ang nagkakasakit sa evacuation centers. Our food supplies are running low. Ang mga evacuees sa war, they cannot return to their homes so we have a longer time to feed them," the prelate said, noting that the lack of supply has been aggravated by the additional 8,000 people affected by the floods.
"The rivers in Zamboanga had not subsided at mataas pa rin ang tubig. Until now, in fact we don’t have any flight from anywhere else kasi inundated din ang runways. That's how it is now," he added.
To date, Manongas has placed the number of evacuees in different temporary shelters at more than 80,000.
"The evacuees have to be evacuated again because flooded ang mga evacuation areas...It is our situation here, another set of people to feed and another set of homes to repair ," he added.
He said that the Archdiocese of Zamboanga has already allocated two hectares of its own property for those displaced by the standoff.
"We already have the place for relocations for those who cannot go back anymore. We will start building, the temporary homes and even permanent homes," Manongas said.