MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, July 25 -- The Autonomous of the Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) government will be establishing a 24/7 on call response team in the coming weeks to improve the handling of humanitarian emergencies in the region, regional officials announced Wednesday.
Lawyer Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, said a program called ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Response Team (HEART) will be formed to provide immediate assistance during crisis and lead emergency preparedness in disaster or conflict prone areas in the region.
ARMM HEART will be on standby for 24 hours in a week, she said.
Alamia said the program is expected to allow the ARMM government to respond quickly to disaster and displacements with a ready mechanism at hand.
“Whenever there are conflicts or disasters, ARMM HEART will be on top of things, round the clock. We like to be ready all the time,” she said.
The region continues to be hounded by intermittent crises, both natural and man-made, that disrupt the living of affected communities.
Alamia said they will be coordinating with civil society groups, some United Nations and national agencies in the creation of the ARMM HEART.
The former chair of the newly created human rights commission office in ARMM said the administration of ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman will work to address the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs) even as it continues to push for a durable peace in Mindanao.
According to her, the regional government is planning to put up a warehouse in the mainland and in Zamboanga City to stock up on emergency relief goods.
Meanwhile, Alamia said they are closely monitoring reported conflicts in the towns of Datu Piang and Mustapha Saidona in Maguindanao, which erupted early this week.
She said workers from the region’s Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have been deployed to assess conditions in the affected areas. (BPI-ARMM)
No comments