ARMM Ports Authority joins ARMM H.E.A.R.T. for thousands of families affected in Zamboanga crisis

The crisis between GPH and MNLF that started on September 9, 2013 took a heavy toll on human lives, damaged properties and displaced more than a hundred thousand civilians who languished in several evacuation centers put up by the government.

With the recurring chaos between the groups hounding the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Gov. Mujiv Hataman has ordered the immediate establishment of ARMM's Humanitarian Action and Response Team (ARMM-HEART) in Zamboanga City to address the dire needs of affected ARMM constituents. Moreover, the centers will attend the needs of Zamboanga constituents displaced by armed conflict.

Distributing relief good, Prof.Hanie A. Bud, GM of RPMA headed the facilitation of the relief goods to the affected families. To date, more than hundreds of evacuees were given help by the RPMA-ARMM in coordination with ARMM-HEART and other donor agencies.

ARMM-HEART, which gained the support of United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, is composed of regional government line agencies whose primary function is to respond to peoples' needs during emergencies.

The armed conflict may be over but a humanitarian crisis remains in and even protracted to the ARMM island provinces as more than a hundred thousand displaced families would need long-term support in rebuilding their homes and lives.