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By Julmunir I. Jannaral, Correspondent
COTABATO CITY: The Mindanao Peoples’ Caucus (MPC) on Tuesday
denounced the continuing food blockade imposed by the military in
some of the embattled towns of Maguindanao province.
In a statement sent to The Manila Times, the
group claimed receiving complaints from humanitarian agencies and
from leaders of the internally displaced persons or evacuees that
the military is undermining relief operations by dictating when
and how much relief should come in to the evacuation sites.
The MPC also disclosed that out of the 50,333
families displaced in Maguindanao, only 15,522 families had been
provided relief assistance. On top of these, there are even
civilians trapped inside the hinterland of Datu Piang municipality
that were effectively cut off from whatever outside help and
contact.
However, the military refused to acknowledge it
as a “food blockade.” But the MPC argued that it is a food
blockade when food intended for evacuees are held at checkpoints.
At this point, the MPC condemned this practice
of blocking humanitarian assistance to the evacuees and believed
that “justice delayed is justice denied, food delayed is food
denied as well.” And food denied could, as we all know, help save
starving bakwits from preventable deaths” the MPC added.
The MPC in their statement further said,
“Depriving evacuees of food is a violation of human rights. It is
absolutely unacceptable and civil society and church organizations
including international humanitarian agencies should stand up and
assert the independence of relief assistance as a matter of right
for the IDPs.”
“Our silence on this regard can be construed
as our consent to military control of relief supplies to promote
their military objective,” the statement added
The MPC also cited the United Nations Guiding
Principles on Internal Displacement (UNGPID) under Principle 10
stating, “Internally Displaced Persons shall be protected, in
particular against starvation as a form of combat.”
Also, Principle 25 further states, “All
authorities concerned shall grant and facilitate the free passage of
humanitarian assistance and grant persons engaged in the provision
of such assistance rapid and unimpeded access to the internally
displaced.”
However, Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, spokesman of
the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in an earlier statement justified
the conduct of the military units in the province of Maguindanao who
were accused of implementing the said food blockade.
Ponce said the Army units were forced to stop
several hauler trucks loaded with relief goods for evacuation sites
in Maguindanao’s neighboring towns especially in Datu Piang and
Datu Saudi due to threats of attacks by renegade forces of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to get by force the food supplies
being brought by the humanitarian relief organizations.
“There have been persistent reports from local
officials that renegade MILF forces out on ‘foraging missions’
are to target convoys transporting relief goods to remote areas in
the province,” Ponce said.
“We cannot take chances. The safety of the
workers of international relief organizations helping internally
displaced people is a big concern for the military,” Ponce added.
According to the regional Army spokesman, this
is the reason why even the MILF has been accusing also the Army for
conducting such “food blockade” precisely the Army is out to
protect the workers of the international relief organizations like
the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations
World Food Programme from further harm from the renegade MILF rebels
operating along the route of the food convoy.
The Manila Times tried to get the side of the
MILF through its spokesman Eid Kabalu, to give his comment in behalf
of the Moro secessionist front. This is what Kabalu said: “The
Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP] is fond of issuing statements
with no basis at all. The MILF had no record of taking other
properties including supplies of whatever nature.”
“That military statement is a product of dirty
minds and is part of AFP propaganda against the MILF,” Kabalu
further said.
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