MUSLIM councilors of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL), hailing from different towns in Mindanao, gave P200,000 worth of relief goods to the evacuees in Marawi City, a day before the Eid’l Fitr celebration.
PCL National Chairman and Davao City Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, during Monday’s edition of Kapehan sa Dabaw at The Annex of SM City Davao on Monday, said that selected Muslim councilors from Soccsksargen, Davao Region, as well as Upi, Maguindanao, Cotabato City, Valencia City, distributed relief goods to the evacuees.
“We brought with us relief goods including the medicines coming from Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and Mayor Sara "Inday" Duterte,” he said.
He said they appropriated P200,000 from PCL funds for the relief goods and also gave financial assistance to those directly hit by the incident.
He said cash worth P5,000 were also given by the delegation to the selected PCL members in Marawi.
He added that prayer mats and blankets were also given by councilors from Zamboanga City.
Dayanghirang said the main reason of the caravan is to show that Muslims and Christians are one.
“The activity was done show that councilors also care for our brother Muslim councilors, to send relief, and to show the public that Christians and Muslims are one for development,” he said.
Dayanghirang said the evacuees appreciated the assistance given.
He also said the delegation, through coordination with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (Opapp) and military, was able to talk with Assemblyman Zia Alonto-Adiong and military officers inside the Marawi capitol and they were briefed with the updates about the peace corridor, which was initiated by President Duterte in partnership with the Opapp and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
He said he learned that through the peace corridor, Opapp and MILF were able to save hundreds in the war zone.
“Our intention is to support the peace corridor of the president this peace corridor, I was informed really come from the president to come up some elbow room where the people can go,” he said.
Dayanghirang described Marawi is every far from the lively place he visited during the campaign period.
“When you enter Marawi you will not see people on the streets but during the time of the campaign there were many people, and there is even heavy traffic, now what you will see there is cattle and goats,” he said.
"It is a very lonely city, soldiers are just sitting down and you see a lot of military equipment coming in and out including ambulances," he said.
Despite that, he also observed the overwhelming support of the people in evacuation areas and soldiers to the Duterte administration and his declaration of Martial Law.
Dayanghirang said that as the national chair of the PCL, he suggested before Alonto-Adiong and Undersecretary Hermosa to tap councilors to join the rehabilitation.
“I told Assemblyman Alonto-Adiong including undersecretary Hermosa if they can tap the councilors to join rehabilitation. You know there is only one mayor and you have a lot of councilors who have potential to be tapped, in every municipality we have eight to 10 councilors in all these area,” he said.
Dayanghirang said they are coming up with separate programs in close consultation with other councilors in coordination with DILG.