TWENTY-FOUR people from war-torn Marawi City died mostly from respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases after they fled as a result of the fighting between government troops and the Maute terrorists, the Department of Health said Tuesday.
In a statement, the department said the poor living conditions of the people displaced by the conflict exposed them to respiratory, gastrointestinal and other diseases.
But Senate President Aquilino Pimentel said the Duterte administration should now start planning the rehabilitation of Marawi as the government forces were getting close to resolving the conflict in the city.
He made his statement on Tuesday after Armed Forces spokesman Restituto Padilla said government forces were now in control of 96 of Marawi’s villages and were now working to neutralize the remaining members of the Maute group.
Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Development Authority said Tuesday it had deployed 10 of its workers to Iligan City to help the families driven out by the conflict in Marawi.
The agency said the team distributed 1,200 gallons of potable water to 120 families and 711 people affected by the war in Marawi.
Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial said 2,351 people had sought medical attention in different hospitals in Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte as a result of the conflict in Marawi.
She said a total of 26,690 people had so far received health services from her department.
She said health workers from local government units, her department’s central office and regional offices had been working to make sure timely health services were provided to prevent the outbreak of diseases.
“Continuous consultations are held in the evacuation centers and health facilities including the barangay health stations, rural health units and hospitals,” Ubial said.
“It may be the 29th day since the conflict started, but people are still resilient in believing that this will end soon.” With Joel E. Zurbano