Zambo siege over; rebuilding efforts underway

MANILA, Philippines - With the Zamboanga City siege declared over by authorities yesterday, the hard task of rebuilding the war-torn city from the ashes has begun.

President Aquino has allotted P3.89 billion for the reconstruction of Zamboanga City, left in ruins by the fighting with the Misuari-led faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), presidential deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte said yesterday.

Valte said the government is now ready to rebuild Zamboanga City and rehabilitate its trauma-stricken residents.

Officials led by Vice President Jejomar Binay are pursuing partnerships with the private sector for housing units for civilians who lost their homes during the fighting.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II said government efforts to address the tragedy in Zamboanga has begun with resuming basic services.

He said the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority have initiated the reopening of schools in the city.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Philippine Air Force have ordered the resumption of all commercial flights to and from Zamboanga City.

The Philippine Coast Guard also allowed the resumption of sea travel to ferry the thousands of passengers who were stranded during the 19 days of fighting.

Roxas said the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Agriculture, National Food Authority and the Bangko Sentral have ensured that raw materials, food, money and currency needed by business establishments would be available.

Roxas said the government would continue to monitor the rehabilitation efforts after President Aquino confirmed the availability of the P6.2 billion in calamity and contingency funds.

He said the rehabilitation of the city, based on the estimate of the crisis management committee and the city government, would cost around P3.8 billion.

“Normalcy is returning to Zamboanga City,” Roxas said.

Roxas though said full assistance should be extended to the 118,819 evacuees.

The gun battles, including exchanges of grenade and mortar fire, forced about 130,000 residents – more than 10 percent of the population of Zamboanga City – to flee their homes to emergency shelters, including the city’s main sports complex.

Most of them have no homes to return to since the rebels burned them to the ground in an effort to confuse government forces.

Valte said the Department of Social Welfare and Development, along with other agencies on the ground, are working to ensure the safety of the children in evacuation centers.

Valte said the DepEd has started training teachers to enable them to guide their students in light of the Zamboanga City situation.

Roxas added the conclusion of the second phase of the operation would signal the start of the rehabilitation of Zamboanga City.

‘Ground Zero’

“Mission accomplished,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said as he declared yesterday the first phase of the government operation to dislodge the MNLF rebels from the city was over.

Gazmin made the declaration in the village of Sta. Catalina, described as “ground zero” where the remnants of the rebel group made their last stand in fighting government forces for 19 days.

Roxas and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista accompanied newsmen to check the extent of the destruction left by the MNLF rebels, who burned down almost everything in the village.

Ground Zero is about 40 hectares of destroyed buildings and houses. All the houses in the community were either burned by the rebels or damaged by gunfire and mortar blasts.

Gazmin said the primary military objective was to secure all the hostages and neutralize the MNLF rebel forces.

He said it would still be unsafe for residents to return to the village since government troops are still conducting clearing operations.

Phase two of the operations involved the Philippine National Police clearing up the villages that were occupied by the rebels, including Sta. Barbara, Kasanyangan, Sta. Catalina, Rio Hondo and Mariki.

The police are tasked to find booby traps or explosives in the area.

Gazmin said the military would support the police in securing the villages.

“So we are doing the room to room, house to house clearing… We are making sure that this village (Sta. Barbara) would be safe,” Gazmin said.

Gazmin also said the troops are still pursuing some two to three MNLF stragglers who might make their escape to the mangrove areas.

Gazmin said the third phase of the operation is the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the area.

This is where the local government will come in, he said.

Bautista, for his part, said government forces are pursuing splinter groups that joined the MNLF rebel forces in the attack of the city on Sept. 9.

“Organized action on the enemy part is no longer possible,” Bautista said. “There are still stragglers out there.”

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan told reporters in Manila that the rebels are no longer taking civilian hostages.

“The indications are that they are no longer holding any hostages,” he said.

Malacañang confirmed that all of those known to have been taken hostage were now accounted for.

“Remember that our task from day one was to ensure the safety of the hostages that were taken, to ensure their safe recovery as well as to get civilians out of harm’s way. And that has already been accomplished,” Valte said.

However, Tutaan said the military campaign was not yet over. He said some rebels are still hiding out in several districts in the city.

“There are only a few of them left,” Tutaan said. However, he warned that “if there is even one gunman left, he can still shoot and kill people.”

Tutaan declined to give a timetable for ending the fighting.

Finding Malik

Gazmin, Roxas and Bautista led the troops in raising a Philippine flag at the ruins of a three-story building in Sta. Catalina.

The bullet-peppered building was used by MNLF commander Habier Malik as a command center to direct the attack against government forces.

Troops successfully dislodged the rebels from the building but suffered casualties during the attempt.

The 19 days of fighting left 18 government troops and five policemen killed with 167 wounded.

Nine civilians were killed and 57 others wounded. A total of 195 civilians taken hostage were rescued, according to the latest military tally.

The rebels sustained 100 casualties with 223 captured. At least 52 rebels surrendered. – Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude, AP