ARMM provides food packs to Marawi IDPs

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(TPGJR/PNA)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, July 12 -- The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is providing food packs to thousands of families displaced in the ongoing fighting in Marawi City.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said in a statement Wednesday that deliveries of more than 30,000 food packs will be made in the coming days to complete the needed food supply.

Hataman initially turned over 2,500 food packs on Monday to the municipal government of Saguiaran and provincial government of Lanao del Sur as well as the city government of Marawi.

Each food pack contains 25 kilos of rice, a kilo of mung beans, fresh and dried fish, 10 canned goods and two dozens of 3-in-1 coffee.

A food pack is enough for a two-week consumption for a family of four.

The fighting in Marawi City, which started one month and 19 days ago, has displaced more than 246,000 residents.

The more than 33,000 recipient-families of food packs are displaced families who are staying in Lanao del Sur, either house-based or in different evacuation centers.

The government has established 78 evacuation centers to house the displaced families. These are located in the following areas: Lanao del Norte, 34; Lanao del Sur, 43; and, one, Misamis Occidental.

Hataman said they have asked the help of the local government units in the distribution of the food packs to ensure that the assistance will reach the beneficiaries as quickly as possible.

He said government agencies must come together and work in solidarity with other stakeholders to deal with the damage of the Marawi crisis to infrastructures and civilian lives.