KORONADAL CITY -- The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) and international aid agencies failed to jump-start investigations on the alleged trading of relief items in Maguindanao province last week, an official said.

This developed as the autonomous region and aid agencies such as the World Food Program have adopted guidelines for the distribution of relief goods to civilians displaced by the ongoing armed conflict between the military and the Moro rebels.

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Ramil L. Masukat, director of the Armm's Technical Management Services, said the team failed to kick off its probe in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town due to the volatile ground condition.

"It was unfortunate. The investigation will push through once the military gives us the security clearance," he said.

Masukat said the terms of reference (TOR) approved last week seek to improve the coordination and feedback mechanisms among humanitarian agencies and local stakeholders involved in responding to the needs of the refugees.

"The TOR will also be used by the technical working group to investigate the reported mishandling of food rations intended for refugees in Datu Saudi, Maguindanao," he said.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan G. Ponce, spokesperson of the 6th Infantry Division, earlier reported that soldiers confiscated 221 sacks of rice, each weighing 50 kilos, from a rice trader the military did not name.

The rice supply was found to be part of the relief assistance intended for the internally displaced persons for the month of May. The sacks of rice bore the markings of WFP, one of the donor agencies supplying food assistance to the refugees.

Local media reports said that some unidentified individuals allegedly in cahoots with local traders bought the rice supply at cheap prices from the refugees and sold them to the markets at regular or higher prices.

Ponce revealed the confiscation of the sacks of rice sometime after non-government organizations accused the military of blocking food aid for the displaced residents. The official denied the allegation.

The Armm's Regional Disaster Coordinating Council-Food Cluster, which is headed by the regional Department of Social Welfare and Development, adopted the TOR to ensure proper food distribution, Masukat said.

The WFP is a member of the RDCC-Food Cluster technical working group.

In line with the TOR, the team has agreed to conduct coordination meeting every first Thursday of every month, he added.

Alarmed by the rice confiscation report, Armm Gov. Datu Zaldy U. Ampatuan urged the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to return to the negotiating table to end the suffering of the refugees.

Armm Welfare Secretary Bai Soraida M. Biruar placed the latest number of evacuees in Maguindanao at 52,714 families or 272,540 individuals.

Fresh evacuations were lately recorded in the town of Datu Piang, where local officials have complained of lack of coordination from some humanitarian agencies in helping the refugees staying in the town.

"There were instances when an organization would just arrive to distribute relief items to the evacuees. They should coordinate with the local government unit because they might be giving to those who just freshly got relief items from other groups," Musib U. Tan, executive assistant of the Datu Piang government, said. (BSS)