GOVERNMENT ushered the safe return of 209 families displaced at the height of the offensive against the Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu.
Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan and Major General William Gonzales, commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Sulu, personally assisted the 209 families as they returned home Thursday, November 5, in Maligay village, Patikul.
Gonzales said the return of the families to their homes was made possible through the Balik Barangay Program of the Patikul Municipal Task Force in Ending Local Armed Conflict.
The office of the provincial governor and JTF Sulu fully supported the Balik Barangay Program.
The 209 families were among the 1,078 families from seven villages of Patikul, who fled their homes at the height of the offensive against the ASG bandits in recent years.
Lieutenant Colonel Alaric Avelino Delos Santos, Western Mindanao Command information officer, earlier said the offensive against the Abu Sayyaf bandits in Patikul, Sulu started in 2016.
The residents of Maligay village is the fourth batch of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from seven affected villages to return home since they evacuated to safer areas in 2017.
The first three batches of IDPs who already returned home are from Liang, Bungkaong and Tugas villages.
Tan has thanked Gonzales for bringing a whole engineer battalion to construct a public toilet and water system in Maligay, Patikul.
The 545th Engineer Battalion was the main working force behind the construction of the water system and public toilet, which was inaugurated Thursday as the residents returned home.
Gonzales said Tan and Patikul Mayor Kabir Hayudini took the lead in arranging the efforts of all line agencies.
The two officials also distributed construction materials for residents’ shelter, food packs and sacks of rice to the 209 returning families.
Gonzales said he ordered Brigadier General Ignatius Patrimonio, commander of the 1102nd Infantry Brigade, to establish a patrol base to secure the community. It will be manned by troops of the 21st Infantry Battalion.
The Ministry of Public Works in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is also utilizing all heavy equipment at their disposal for the road concreting of Tugas-Maligay Road.
Delos Santos said that the next batch of IDPs set to return home on November 12 are those from Kabon Takas village, Patikul.
The other two affected villages are Panglayahan and Pansul. (SunStar Zamboanga)