All 42 teachers from Wao rescued in `Marawi siege’

A group of 42 teachers from the Department of Education’s Wao, Lanao del Sur district, were one of the last people to be evacuated from war-torn Marawi City aside from the students and faculty members of nearby Mindanao State University.

They were trapped in Marawi following the firefight between members of a local terror group and government forces since Tuesday afternoon.

They’re now safe in Iligan City, according Roberto M. Quijano of the Pailig Development Foundation Incorporated, after the military rescued them inside the Provincial Capitol of Lanao del Sur.

Mostly women and Visayanspeaking Christians, the local Dep-Ed entourage were having an activity in Marawi’s Noramis Function Hall. The place is located in a remote area, thus isolating them from the rest of the people in the central part of the city when siege broke out.

On May 24 as majority of Marawi’s populace were evacuating, the group was still unable to move from the area for fear of their safety.

Luckily, the group had a Meranao member who guided them to seek help in the neighbourhood. They ended up hiding inside the Provincial Capitol.

The Philippine Red Cross is now conducting stress debriefing on the teachers along with the other evacuees who safely arrived in Iligan city.