COTABATO CITY–The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will donate the PHP400,000 proceeds from the region’s July 27 food festival to the estimated 30,000 residents of Jolo, Sulu left homeless by a fire, officials said.
Amilbahar Mawallil, chief of the region’s Bureau of Public Information, said the food festival held at the Shariff Kabunsuan Complex, the provisional seat of the ARMM here, showcased the culinary delights of the Bangsamoro and catered to thousands of visitors.
On July 24, a massive fire razed to the ground some 5,200 homes in barangays Walled City and Busbus in Jolo.
Fire probers said the conflagration broke out in the village of Busbus and quickly spread to the adjacent Walled City.
So far, the ARMM’s Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team has delivered PHP5-million worth of relief assistance comprising food, clothes, prayer garments, and kitchen essentials to the fire victims.
The region’s Department of Social Welfare and Development has also distributed cash grants to the displaced families amounting to PHP16.5 million under its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. President Rodrigo Duterte, together with ARMM officials, visited the fire victims last week.
“The regional government is continuously monitoring and providing aid to the victims,” ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman said.
Mawallil described the scene he saw from the aircraft that delivered relief goods as “tragic.”
“There was almost nothing left. These 30,000 people have lost their homes and some of them are schoolchildren,” he said.
Mawallil noted that the Tausugs, especially those in Jolo, have had very bad experiences with fire, particularly during the infamous burning of Jolo in 1974.
“We survived that calamity, and we will keep working to help these barangays in Jolo survive this one,” he said.
As of Monday, the DSWD-ARMM and Sulu provincial government, in coordination with the Presidential Management Staff and Joint Task Force Sulu, said cash assistance from the Office of the President is being distributed to fire victims. (Noel Punzalan/PNA)
