Barmm gives aid to storm-affected areas

By Teng Lauban Datu
Cotabato City Bureau Chief .

Cotabato City — The Bangsamoro government has provided relief assistance to the thousands of families affected in the ongoing clash between the military and lawless elements and the effects of tropical storm ‘Hanna’ in Maguindanao.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, minister of interior and local government and head of the region’s Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (Readi), said they distributed about 1,453 relief packs to affected families in Datu Salibo on August 3.

Atty. Sinarimbo has been recently designated as the official spokesperson of Chief Minister Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.

The affected families are from barangays Pandi, Sambulawan, and other villages in Shariff Saydona Mustapha.

Abdulraof Macacua, the focal person for the ministry of public works and minister of environment, natural resources, and energy, joined the disaster response team to check and ask the community leaders on the cause of heavy flood in the area.

“Halos two years ng problema ang malalang pagbaha sa Datu Salibo, so tiningnan natin kung ano ang pwede nating gawin at maibigay na tulong sa kanila,” Naguib said.

Around 826 families in Barangay Ganta and Barangay Bacat in Shariff Saydona Mustapha also received relief packs from the Readi-Barmm last week.

“Ang hindi pa natin na-aaccess ay ang Barangay Dasawao dahil sa ongoing na military operation. But we already talked with the military na baka pwede i-airlift ang tulong,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Readi-Barmm has directed the local government unit in Marogong, Lanao del Sur to give immediate help to the affected families after a strong tornado hit villages in the said municipality.

Official data from Readi-Barmm showed that the tornado destroyed a school building, a Madrasah, a mosque, and 15 residential houses.

“As of now wala pang intervention na galing sa atin. Ang first na magbibigay ng intervention ay ang mga LGUs. So depende sa extent ng damage at kayang itulong LGU saka tayo mag re-assess kung ano ang maitutulong natin.”

Last week, the Bangsamoro government launched a new emergency and disaster response team tagged as Readi-Barmm. It replaces the 24/7 action response team known as the Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team which was established under the Hataman administration.

The Readi-Barmm serves as the disaster risk reduction management operation center and is managed by the MILG-Barmm. (with reports from bpi-barmm)