NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - Hundreds of peasant families displaced by last week’s armed conflicts in two North Cotabato towns benefited from the provincial government’s relief operations on Friday.
In an emailed statement, the provincial social welfare and development office (PSWDO) said the evacuees from Barangays Tapudok and Langayen, in Aleosan and Pikit towns, respectively, received food packs containing rice, canned sardines and instant noodles from relief workers dispatched by Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza.
Marchita Capilitan, a senior PSWDO staff, said the beneficiaries of the relief missions were dislocated by hostilities involving big Moro groups and the recent attacks by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
Capilitan said a total of 804 Moro and Christian families were affected by the conflicts in Barangays Tapudok and Langayen.
She said the provincial government also provided the evacuees with tarpaulins they can use as tents in temporary relief sites.
“Gov. Mendoza and the mayors of Aleosan and Pikit are now initiating means to restore normalcy in these two areas so that the displaced villagers can return there soon,” Capilitan said.ax
Relief workers of the provincial government had earlier facilitated the dispersal of food supplies to 271 families in Barangay Dunguan, also in Aleosan, following a series of encounters between rival Moro groups.