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'Tent cities' eyed for Marawi evacuees

June 15, 2017 | 7:00am

In this Friday, June 9, 2017, photo, evacuees stay at a crowded evacuation center on the outskirts of Marawi city, southern Philippines. Nearly every day for the past three weeks, the Philippine military has pounded the lakeside town of Marawi with rockets and bombs as it tries to wipe out militants linked to the Islamic State group in some of the most protracted urban combat to hit this volatile region in decades. AP/Aaron Favila

MANILA, Philippines — The government is eyeing to set up "tent cities" in the event that the number of evacuees from Marawi City, about 324,400 so far, increases.

As of Wednesday, about 66,738 families or 324,406 individuals were displaced from Marawi City and from the municipality of Marantao in Lanao del Sur following an armed conflict between government forces and local terror groups.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that only five percent of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) stay in evacuation centers spread out in Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Cagayan de Oro City.

"We are also looking at, if the number of IDPs will really swell, setting up of tent cities, so the national incident management team deployed in the area is now looking at that possibility," NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad said in a televised press briefing at Malacañang.

The remaining 95 percent of IDPs are home-based or are staying with their relatives and friends, according to the agency.

With the Office of Civil Defense as overall coordinator, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Health are the two lead agencies in providing assistance to the IDPs.

"Responding to the needs of the IDPs, the DSWD as lead in the management of evacuation centers as well as in providing food and non-food items, the Department of Health as the lead in providing for water, health and sanitation," Jalad said.

The NDRRMC is focused on responding to the needs of the IDPs in areas affected by the Marawi siege, Jalad said.

"Our record is already about P84 million worth of assistance provided by various agencies," Jalad said.

The Duterte administration has pledged to allocate P10 billion for the rehabilitation of Marawi City and a bill has been filed at the House of Representatives for a 'Tindig Marawi' supplemental budget to help fund the rehabilitation and defense of the city.

Zamboanga City residents displaced by a siege on the city by a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front led by Nur Misuari in 2013 are still being relocated to permanent housing as of this year.

ARMM: P77 million allocated for IDPs

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao government has, meanwhile, spent around P35 million on humanitarian aid for those affected by the Marawi crisis, the regional government's Bureau of Public Information said.

The money has been used for urgent relief for more than 200,000 IDPs.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman has said the regional government has allocated P77 million for Marawi City residents displaced by fighting that has been going on since May 23.

The region's crisis management committee has so far distributed relief packs to 200, 234 IDPs and medical assistance to 4,003.

It maintains a round-the-clock emergency helpline that has helped rescue 5,132 civilians trapped in combat zones in the besieged city. At least 1,079 are still trapped in the city and need to be rescued.

On May 23, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law and suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao after a clash between government troops and the Maute terror group.