CARE Philippines Emergency Coordinator, Jerome Lanit hands over food items to a woman head of a household that was affected by the armed clashes in Ungkaya Pukan town in Basilan. (J. Dulla/CARE Philippines)

Five hundred eighty (580) households that were affected by the series of armed clashes in Brgy. Ulitan, Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan received essential food, non-food items, and shelter kits on February 4 and 5.

Members of these households were forced to leave their homes when combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine military clashed in November last year. When the conflict subsided, they returned only to find that some of their houses, including the mosque, madrasah, and an essential government building, were damaged from the fighting.

CARE and its partner, NISA Ul Haqq fi Bangsamoro (Women for Justice in the Bangsamoro), Inc., with the facilitation of the GPH-MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) and with the support of the BARMM Ministry of Social Services and Development were able to access the community to deliver life-saving assistance to the affected vulnerable households.

“As humanitarians, it is important that we address first the needs of the members of vulnerable communities who still feel insecure because of the uncertainty of the situation while the peace mechanisms are working for a sustained solution to the conflict,” said Jerome Lanit, CARE’s Emergency Coordinator.

Meanwhile, Shalom Tillah Allian of NISA Ul Haqq fi Bangsamoro, Inc. shared that the collaboration with the BARMM MSSD, MILF CCCH and AHJAG showed that humanitarian and peace building efforts work meaningfully when working together on an equal footing.

“More than just the goods shared to them, to us what is more powerful is to see the mujahideens and the mujahidat owning the initiative as they led the distribution. We cannot overemphasize the importance of cultivating solidarity with the peace process mechanisms afforded to us”, she added.

Photos: Members of the community helped in the repacking and distribution of the relief goods to the affected households. (J. Dulla, S. Allian)

The Basilan Emergency Response is supported by the Tijori Foundation and is being implemented by CARE Philippines and its partner, NISA Ul Haqq fi Bangsamoro, Inc., in collaboration with the BARMM Ministry of Social Services and Development, GPH-MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG).