Evacuees urged to avail of ARMM assistance
COTABATO CITY (PNA) – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has called on internally displaced persons (IDPs) or evacuees from war-torn Marawi City to register using the Disaster Assistance and Family Access Card (DAFAC) issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa Alamia said Marawi City residents must register for them to avail of all government monetary and material assistance.
“The evacuees should be registered to have access to services and resources we are providing,” Alamia said in a statement.
As of June 22, a total of 40,753 families, or 193,952 individuals, have been displaced since the clashes in Marawi City started over a month ago.
Alamia said the delivery of services to displaced families has become more difficult in recent days as many Marawi residents did not register with DSWD as evacuees.
Alamia was referring to Marawi City residents who fled their homes but did not stay in evacuation centers and temporary shelter areas but to houses of relatives and friends in other towns in Lanao del Sur or elsewhere.
Records of the ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART) disclosed that only 970 families or 4,691 individuals, are in designated evacuation centers, while 39,783 families or 189,261 individuals are home-based or are staying with their relatives.
Some IDPs moved to as far as Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City, Davao City, Gen. Santos City and Cotabato City.
ARMM-HEART has utilized the DAFAC system to ensure equal and timely distribution of relief packs for the evacuees. This system is applied by the DSWD-ARMM to validate the status of families affected by the crisis, which will serve as a reference in the provision of appropriate interventions.
Alamia stressed that DAFAC will also be used in future rehabilitation and recovery programs for Marawi City. She said some evacuees went to Northern Mindanao (Region 10), Socsksargen (Region 12), and Davao (Region 11) while some have gone to as far as the Visayas and Luzon.
She advised Marawi City IDPs to visit the municipal or city social welfare office to register using DAFAC so the ARMM could reach them, especially when rehabilitation starts.
The regional government has already spent about R35 million in urgent assistance to victims of the Marawi crisis.
ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman said the aid is aimed at meeting the growing emergency humanitarian needs of communities struggling with the current situation.
Hataman assured that the regional government still has enough funds to aid the evacuees. The regional government allocated R70 million after the crisis started.
Data from ARMM-HEART showed it has served relief packs to 197,232 evacuees and provided medical services to 5,284 individuals.
An operation center has also been set up in Malabang town in Lanao del Sur, and in Iligan City in Lanao del Norte, to coordinate and manage the region’s response to the ongoing crisis in Marawi City.