‘Kambisita’ program ‘generally successful’

MARAWI CITY – As the last of this city’s displaced residents finally left to make way for its rehabilitation, Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Assistant Secretary Felix Castro Jr. said the “Kambisita” program, which allowed displaced residents to visit their homes briefly, was “generally successful.”

“Kambisita” was aimed at allowing the internally displaced persons (IDPs), mainly those residing in the Most Affected Area (MAA) during the Marawi siege last year, to visit their homes and retrieve whatever they can before the city was closed anew.

With the visits divided into sectors, “Kambisita” started on April 1 and ended May 10. These affected areas included Barangays Lumbac Marinaut, Marinaut West, Datu Naga, Dansalan, and Datu sa Dansalan.

“Generally, nakikita natin na successful naman siya, wala namang problema, lahat ng gustong pumasok, nakapasok,” Castro said.

He added that an extension of one week may be granted to those who have sought passage to retrieve things from schools and hospitals, and those who have failed to make the May 10 deadline because they were relocated in far-away places like Manila.

“Titingnan natin iyong request kung papaano ma-accommodate kasi may time pa naman, di pa naman magkakaroon ng debris clearing.” Maybe schedule for another week siguro, iyon lang talagang hindi pa nakapasok”, said Castro.

Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., deputy commander of Joint Task Force Ranao, said most of the IDPs he talked to continued to have a positive attitude towards what had happened to them and their city.

“Maganda pa rin iyong attitude nila, which is a good sign na iyong mga talagang faithful kay Allah, naniniwala sila na may purpose iyong nangyari na iyon,” Brawner said.

Meanwhile, more Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) were recovered after residents reported their whereabouts to authorities.

From November 15, 2017 to May 9 this year, there about 1,317 UXO and 331 IEDs have been reported.