COTABATO CITY — Some PHP5-million worth of relief assistance has been provided so far to the victims of the July 24 massive fire incident in Jolo, Sulu, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team said Tuesday.
The fire rendered homeless some 30,000 individuals and razed 5,200 homes, mostly made of light materials, in the affected villages of Busbus and Walled City.
“The Jolo conflagration is the biggest so far the ARMM-HEART has responded to when it comes to fire incidents in the region,” Myrna Jocelyn Henry, ARMM–HEART communications officer, said, adding that more assistance is expected to come from the regional government in the coming days.
Initially, Henry said each affected family received 25 kilos of rice, food, clothes, prayer garments, kitchen essentials, and cash.
“With the help of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, by lending C130 planes, we have responded within 12 hours since the fire started,” said Henry. She said President Rodrigo Duterte and ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman also visited and had looked into the plight of the fire victims last week.
This developed as Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan and, and Tawi-Tawi – which are all ARMM component provinces – also launched their own provincial-wide relief donation drive to help the Jolo fire victims.
Moreover, the ARMM Liaison Office in Metro Manila has launched Tabang Jolo, a drive aimed at gathering donations from civilians who want to help the victims of the fire. “It is time to give back to Sulu,” said Ross Alonto-Sinarimbo, trade development specialist at the Department of Trade and Industry–ARMM.
Alonto-Sinarimbo, a member of the influential Alonto clan in Lanao del Sur, is one of the pioneers of the “We Rise with Jolo” donation drive in coordination with other ARMM provinces.
Only last year, Sulu has responded to the call for help for thousands of families displaced by last year’s five-month battle to retake Marawi City by government forces from the combined forces of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf terror groups that laid siege on the city.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development–ARMM has also earlier released cash grants amounting to PHP16.5-million to families victimized by the fire under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. (Noel Punzalan/PNA)
