The soldiers started camping in communities and schools, according to residents. In some instances, they allegedly destroyed and stole private properties. According to the human rights group Kawagib, some civilians like Abdullah were used as shields as the soldiers continued their operations against the MILF.
Babu Zymira, 70, recalled how she, her 10 children and several grandchildren fled from their home in the dead of night, even after the military had occupied their village and went house to house to discourage the residents from leaving.
No Relief. Refugees are still demanding for relief assistance from local officials, who have failed to provide help because of politics. (davaotoday.com photo by Boy Bagwis)
She said soldiers broke into their house right after they had left and destroyed the possessions they left behind.
Ahmad, a young teacher in his village, was outraged when he came home — after the military had opened their village to civilians to find his house ransacked, his books and belts missing, his shoes destroyed. He was upset that thousands of pesos worth of textbooks that he had purchased in Manila were nowhere to be found.
“I’m not accusing the military of being responsible for this, but I have to wonder what happened to our
properties since they did not allow any of us civilians to return to our homes,” he said in an interview.
Residents of Mudseng said that as they were returning to their homes, they saw soldiers leaving their villages, carrying chickens, water containers and some of the residents’ possessions.
Local officials failed to provide support for the villagers, Kawagib said. The provincial board has yet to convene to pass a resolution to release the funds it had promised. Many board members have been absent in the past sessions, fueling speculations that they were busy preparing for the local elections in May.
