Maguindanao under state of calamity as floods ravage towns

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines – The provincial board on Friday declared Maguindanao under state of calamity as floodwaters spawned by incessant rains since last week continued spreading through farming enclaves in low-lying areas.

Lawyer Bobby Katambak, a senior member of the provincial board, said he and his colleagues voted unanimously for the approval of the resolution declaring the province under state of calamity.

The resolution, covering 26 of the 36 towns in the province, will hasten the release of funds for relief works in the flooded areas.

Most of the 26 towns are traversed by waterways and dotted with swamps connecting to the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta, a geographical catch basin for dozens of rivers that spring from forested hinterlands in North Cotabato, Bukidnon Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato.

In a statement Friday, the Maguindanao Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the floods affected 30,560 families or a total of 150,476 persons.

Katambak said the office of Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu has been providing the flood victims with food rations since Monday.

“I am thanking the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for acting promptly on the need to declare the flooded towns in Maguindanao under state of calamity,” Mangudadatu told The Star while supervising the repacking of five tons of relief supplies at his office in Buluan town.

A 4-year-old ethnic Teduray, Ranin Toniakao perished last weekend when a landslide hit their shanty beside a hill in Blensong District in North Upi, Maguindanao following two days of heavy downpours

Toniakao’s twin sister, Reina Mae, is still recuperating from a fractured left leg at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center in Cotabato City.

The Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team (HEART) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao donated P10,000 for the child’s medication.

The HEART and the office of North Upi Mayor Ramon Piang helped facilitate the burial of Toniakao, who was buried alive when rocks and mud, loosened by rains, cascaded from a nearby hill and covered their house made only of bamboos and coconut palms. 

Lawyer Kirby Abdullah, ARMM’s assistant secretary for Maguindanao cabinet convergence, said he managed to collect more than P20,000-worth of cash donations from regional officials for the construction of a low-cost core shelter for the Toniakao family.

Piang promised to provide carpenters and augment the amount collected by Abdullah, who is helping ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman oversee the operations of the HEART.

Provincial relief workers, led by Mangudadatu’s budget staff, Lynette Estandarte, will deliver more relief supplies to the flooded towns starting Saturday.

Mangudadatu said he will also mobilize a medical team to help attend to the needs of the flood victims.