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Maguindanao ‘bakwits’ flee once more

September 26, 2008
Sittie Sundang/MindaNews contributor   
Thursday, 25 September 2008 15:42

TALAYAN, Maguindanao (MindaNews/24 Sep) — They left their homes when clashes erupted last month, were forced to go back to their homes and farms for economic reasons, but were once again forced to flee as skirmishes between the military and Moro rebels continued.

Such is life for the internally displaced persons (IDPs), more commonly known as “bakwits,” from the municipalities of Talayan, Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Datu Piang, and Datu Saudi in Maguindanao.

In Talayan, residents started evacuating at the height of fighting noon of Tuesday. Some of them arrived at the evacuation centers in the poblacion area only this morning.

The barangays affected are Barrio Muslim, Tulunan, Nunangen, Damablak, North Binangga, Linamunan and Katibpuan.

According to Omar Salic, barangay chair of Tulunan in Datu Anggal Midtimbang, over 100 soldiers believed to be from the Army’s 46 Infantry Battalion arrived in their area around noon. A few minutes later, aerial bombardments began and firefights flared up.

Salic immediately instructed his constituents to leave the barangay. “We all left the place together because we were afraid to be hit in the crossfire,” he said.

He said the recent evacuation is the worst since the fighting in Maguindanao started on August 19.

Bainot Alamada, 36, a resident of Damablac in Talayan, hiked with her six children for two hours to get to the Manggahan evacuation center around 9:00 in the evening. They left behind their five bags of palay and three goats. “We just can’t carry the palay and the goats anymore because we walked all the way,” she added.

Alamada’s family was displaced when war erupted last month. But they returned home for economic reasons. “We’d rather go home and farm to have food because we cannot rely on the daily rations at the evacuation center,” she said.

In Datu Piang, Musib Uy Tan, the mayor’s executive assistant, said there was also firefight in Barangay Andavit 10 a.m. on Tuesday. It lasted until 5:30 p.m., triggering another round of displacement.

Tan said he was approached by the barangay chair of Andavit this morning to find space for his constituents considering that IDPs are now crowding makeshift evacuation centers.

Tan has appealed to all concerned groups and agencies to donate more food for the evacuees as their number continues to increase.

In Datu Saudi Ampatuan, IDPs from Gawang and in some parts of Ilian and Madia left their homes and farmlands to go back to evacuation centers to escape the fighting that started 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The same evacuees reportedly returned to their homes only three days ago, believing that there will be no encounters and air strikes again.

Elsie Amil, the municipal social welfare development officer, said they do not know yet the exact figure on the number of IDPs because they are still consolidating the data they have gathered this morning.

Meanwhile, in a meeting this morning, the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-ARMM) called on all concerned groups and agencies to supply viand as partner for the rice rations from the World Food Program (WFP) and other non-government organizations. (Sittie Sundang is a member of the Mindanao Emergency Response Network)
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