Filipino evacuees from Sabah reach 3,700

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Friday announced that more than 3,000 Filipinos have evacuated Sabah due to the Malaysian authorities' crackdown on members of the royal army of the Sultanate of Sulu.

DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman said that the latest batch of evacuees, numbering to a total of 249 Filipinos, arrived in Tawi-Tawi on Tuesday.

Solian said that as of Wednesday, a total of 1,319 families composed of 3,704 Filipinos from Sabah have arrived in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu provinces.

She said that the latest batch of evacuee have been given stress debriefing, counseling services, and relief assistance to augment support for their daily basic needs.

“The DSWD was able to provide more than P7.9 million worth of relief assistance to these 1,319 families. The relief goods consist of sacks of rice, boxes of sardines and corned beef, mineral water, boxes of milk, and family food packs,” Soliman said.

The DSWD said that it also provides transportation assistance to facilitate the families’ return to their respective hometowns.

“Those returnees who do not have places to stay yet are housed in the evacuation centers,” Soliman said.