To ensure an orderly relief operation, staffs from the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) and the Philippine Red Cross Cotabato Chapter oversee the arrangement of relief goods to be distributed for the flood-affected families in Barangay Buliok, Pikit Cluster of the Special Geographic Area. (Photo Courtesy of Buliok BLGU)
SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC AREA—Over two thousand families affected by massive flooding in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have received relief assistance from the regional government on Wednesday, Sept. 27.
SGA Development Authority (SGADA), BARMM Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (READi) and the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) spearheaded the relief operation.
But in compliance with the Commission on Elections’ social services’ disbursement ban in relation to the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan election, BARMM has partnered with the Philippine Red Cross Cotabato Chapter, as provided by law, for the distribution of the relief aid.
The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) also extended its support for the transport of the goods which consisted of 25-kilo sacks of rice and food packs.
Norhassim Sinarimbo of READi said their team focused on the distribution in Midsayap cluster catering 936 families, while the MSSD, led by Haron Amer, operated in Pikit cluster serving around 1,300 affected families.
It can be recalled that SGA was placed under a state of calamity effective September 21 this year following the massive floodings.
Initial report last week showed occurrence of flood in 27 barangays affecting 25,946 households or approximately 129,730 individuals, 329 hectares of combined rice, corn fields, and other crops.
The massive flooding observed in SGA is also apparent in some part of the country due to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), incoming Southwest Monsoon, and Low Pressure Area (LPA) reported by the Philippines weather bureau.
READi and MSSD said the relief operations will continue to ensure that all affected families in SGA will receive aid. (Abdullah Matucan/BIO)
