Dysentery outbreak feared in Maguindanao evacuation camps

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Officials are scrambling to prevent a feared outbreak of dysentery in evacuation sites following Wednesday’s death of a child due to diarrhea-induced dehydration.

The death of the four-year-old Maguindanaon boy was the first ever recorded casualty from among more than 120,000 villagers dislocated by the 21 encounters between the military and members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in different towns in Maguindanao since February 28.

Kadil Sinolinding Jr., health secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said they are doing everything to prevent more evacuees from getting afflicted with diarrhea.

He said workers of the ARMM’s health department and the regional government’s Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team (HEART) have intensified the distribution of safe drinking water in evacuation centers.

Sinolinding said ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman ordered on Friday the deployment of more sanitation experts in relief centers, mostly located inside public school campuses that are bereft of sources of potable water.

The office of Sinolinding, the ARMM’s social welfare department and the inter-agency HEART have jointly distributed more than a hundred tons of food, water and other non-relief goods to evacuees in eleven Maguindanao towns affected by the BIFF-military face-off that started three weeks ago.

Lynette Estandarte, Maguindanao’s chief provincial budget officer, said Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu is thankful to private organizations helping provide relief supplies to evacuees.

The latest to contribute relief goods to the Mangudadatu-led provincial rescue and disaster mitigation contingent was the telecommunications company Globe.

Three other private entities, the Aboitiz Group of Companies in Davao City, the Ateneo de Davao University and the Jaycees International earlier gave material support to the relief missions of the office of the Maguindanao governor.

The provincial government had served more than 90 percent of the evacuees in different relief sites in the province in the past 21 days.

"Gov. Mangudadatu is thankful to Dr. Sinolinding, to the ARMM-HEART and to Gov. Hataman for doing everything to address the needs of the evacuees," Estandarte said.

The office of Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Jr. on Monday delivered to the operation center of HEART inside the ARMM compound in Cotabato City some 30 tons of relief supplies donated by local officials and Maranaw peace advocacy and civic groups.

The military, the police, the provincial peace and order council, and the ARMM’s Department of Education have started facilitating the graduation of elementary pupils and high school students in conflict-stricken Maguindanao towns amid a three-day suspension of government offensives against the BIFF.