Evacuees in Mindanao or “bakwits” who have been displaced due to conflict also face a water crisis which government should resolve to provide them with access to clean water, ANAC-IP Rep. Jose T. Panganiban, Jr. said on Thursday.
“May problema rin sa tubig ang mga bakwit natin, na karamihan ay mga Lumad, kabataan, at kababaihan, na kailangan din natin matutukan,” (Bakwits who are mostly Lumad, the youth and women are also facing a water crisis) the solon said.
Based on data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), nearly 50,000 residents have been displaced due to recent clashes between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and insurgents.
Maguindanao has the highest number of those who have fled their homes, with 35,235 persons from four municipalities, due to fighting between the AFP and a faction of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) led by Abu Turaifie.
Over 27,900 residents are currently in 19 evacuation centers.
Meanwhile, more than a year since the liberation of Marawi City, OCHA said 66,000 people who were displaced by the conflict remain housed in evacuation centers, transitory sites and home-based locations.
Of this number, the aid office said, 4,500 people are in evacuation sites, and 8,600 people being sheltered in transitory sites. There are plans to transfer 364 families to the new Boganga Transitory Site before end of March this year, OCHA said.
“At the height of the clashes in Marawi City, there were reports that because of the shortage of clean water, bakwits drank water from their laundry.”
Renewed clashes between the AFP and remnants of the Maute armed group on mid-March in Lanao del Sur meanwhile displaced a total of 8,911 people or 1,782 families, while fighting between the AFP and the Abu Sayyaf armed group displaced 5,160 persons in Sulu province on Feb. 25, the OCHA added.
“Permanent issue sa evacuation ang kawalan ng steady supply ng malinis na tubig at palikuran, kaya dapat lagi natin itong tinututukan,” (Permanent issues in evacuation are the lack of a steady supply of clean water and toilets) said Panganiban.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is unequal between regions, he added.
The Joint Monitoring Programme report by the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and WHO (World Health Organization), Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and Sustainable Development Goal Baselines (UNICEF/WHO 2017), reveals that only 62 percent of households in the now defunct ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) have access to basic water services and only 22 percent of households have their own hygienic toilets (compared to 91 percent and 75 percent, respectively, at the national level).
“Permanent issues in evacuation are the lack of a steady supply of clean water and toilets.”
“Noong kasagsagan ng laban sa Marawi, may mga report na dahil sa kawalan ng malinis na tubig ay iniinom na ng mga bakwit ang tubig-panlaba,” (At the height of the clashes in Marawi City, there were reports that because of the shortage of clean water, bakwits drank water from their laundry) Panganiban said.
Panganiban added that having permanent evacuation centers could also help address the lack of safe water for evacuees.
The solon also expressed hope that the with the installation of the Bangsamoro government, armed conflict in Mindanao will finally end.
