Arya News - In the Bangsamoro autonomous region, aid must come fast to affected localities to avoid rekindling poll-related violence and a ‘full-blown humanitarian crisis,’ group warns
COTABATO CITY – The Climate Conflict Action Asia (CCAA), a group monitoring conflict in Mindanao, warned of a “full-blown humanitarian crisis” in flood-hit areas in the Bangsamoro, particularly the Maguindanao provinces, if no actions were immediately taken.
The CCAA said heavy rains in the past days that had submerged low-lying areas in Maguindanao del Sur and nearby provinces had “extend[ed] the uncertainty and insecurity in a place that a week earlier had seen the most violent elections in the region.”
“The convergence of political conflicts and its disaster-related impact demands urgent and coordinated action from local governments, the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) and the national government to prevent a dangerous tipping point that would further destabilize an already volatile region,” CCAA said.
READ: 3 die after drowning in flood in Sultan Kudarat province
It urged both the BARMM and national agencies to ensure equitable and speedy distribution of aid to all affected residents regardless of political affiliations to “defuse election-related grievances.”
The group said the Maguindanao del Sur towns most affected by the flooding were “already burdened by a long history of violence and the presence of different armed groups” and it could rekindle election-era flashpoints among feuding clans.
With the floods ruining rice paddies, cornfields and fishponds, CCAA noted that “displaced” residents might also join “illicit and mercenary groups, paramilitary armies or … violent extremist groups” in exchange for cash given the lack of an alternative source of income, or engage in illegal drug trade.
“As waters swell across the Liguasan Marsh, traditional security checkpoints along main roads lose their effectiveness. Illicit groups are able to exploit the inundated marsh to move drugs, arms and people by boat, bypassing security posts entirely,” the group said.
Displaced
As of Saturday, the number of households affected by floods in Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte rose to 53,214 families or 266,070 individuals, said Joel Mamon, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense in BARMM.
The floods, caused by torrential rains spawned by the intertropical convergence zone, inundated 140 villages in 14 towns of Maguindanao del Sur and parts of Maguindanao del Norte by Sunday, he said.
Flash floods were also reported in Basilan and Sulu provinces on Sunday, affecting a still undetermined number of localities.
Agricultural damage was projected to be extensive, with the town of Datu Abdullah Sangki in Maguindanao del Sur already reporting crop losses in 1,552 hectares of farms.
As relief poured in from the Bangsamoro government, more assistance would be needed, authorities said.
Mamon, who surveyed the affected areas by air on Saturday along with Col. Caezar Pascua, commander of the Tactical Operations Group, explained that the towns surrounding the Liguasan Marsh in Maguindanao and some towns in Cotabato province regularly experienced rising river waters since the marshland serves as catch basin of river water from South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat before exiting to the Moro Gulf through the Rio Grande de Mindanao.
In Sultan Kudarat province, a mother, her daughter and another child died in separate drowning incidents on Friday.
In Zamboanga del Sur, the Rebokon Agricultural and Vocational High School in Barangay Rebokon in Dumalinao town was submerged in floodwaters on Sunday morning, with floodwaters reaching up to three feet after the bridge near the area was blocked by debris, said Joemar Suganob, chief of Dumalinao town’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.