ARMM calamity relief program gets UN grant

COTABATO CITY, Philippines  – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has extended a $20,000-aid to the calamity relief and mitigation programs of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The initial UNHCR grant is earmarked for the operations of the ARMM’s newly-activated Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team (HEART), which will focus on relief and rescue missions  for the region.

“We in the ARMM government are grateful to the UNHCR,” ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman told The Star Tuesday.

Hataman and a representative of the UNHCR, Arjun Jain, signed an agreement stipulating the agency’s commitment of support for the HEART,  including the initial $20,000-grant.

The UNHCR, which is involved in various humanitarian projects in conflict-stricken areas in Southern Mindanao, is to allocate US$100,000 for the HEART program, apart from the technical support it will provide to the relief outfit.

The UNHCR has also promised to provide the HEART a brand new vehicle for the latter's missions.

Data obtained by the STAR from the UNHCR and the ARMM’s Regional Human Rights Commission showed that at least 54,745 families in ARMM have been displaced either by natural calamities or armed conflicts over the last 18 months.

Of the number, natural disasters were the leading cause of displacements in the ARMM, accounting for 57 percent of total displacements during the period, followed by armed conflict at 20 percent, crimes and violence at 12 percent, and “rido” or clan feuds at 11 percent.

The HEART will also focus on the protection of internally-displaced people in any part of the autonomous region, which covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in mainland Mindanao, the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi. - John Unson