ICRC extends aid to 12,500 displaced persons in Butig, Lanao Sur

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, July 5 (PIA) --- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) together with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), extended food and household items to around 12,500 people from Butig town, Lanao del Sur, who remain displaced following clashes between government forces and an armed group in late May to early June.
The distributions took place between June 8 and July 2, in Butig and neighboring municipalities as well as in Marawi City.

“Thousands of civilians in Butig were forced to flee their homes in February, when the first clashes began. Some were able to return in April, and just when they started planting a new crop, they were forced to flee their homes again in May, when hostilities resumed,” said Dominic Earnshaw, head of the ICRC office in Cotabato.
He said many of the displaced are living with relatives and depend heavily on their kin and the authorities, as they are still too afraid to go back home. Their  houses were also destroyed in the fighting.

The ICRC-PRC assistance augmented the aid provided by the government and helped families meet their basic needs.

Each displaced family received 25 kilograms of rice, 12 tins of sardines, two liters of cooking oil, two liters of soy sauce, two kilograms of sugar, 500 grams of salt, and essential household items including two blankets, two mosquito nets, one sleeping mat, and one hygiene kit.
Prior to its relief operation in Butig, the ICRC conducted its own assessments and coordinated closely with community leaders, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and nongovernment organizations.

"We ask all sides in the conflict to exercise utmost precaution to protect civilians and their property,”  Earnshaw said.

The ICRC is a neutral, impartial, and independent humanitarian organization whose mandate is to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence. It has had an established presence in the Philippines for more than 70 years and a permanent presence in Mindanao since 1982. (ICRC/APB/PIA-10)