Iligan City placed under state of calamity - TV report

MANILA, Philippines - Iligan City in Lanao del Norte province has been placed under state of calamity as thousands of residents flee their homes for fear that their town will be the next to be attacked by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels. In his report in QTV’s News on Q, Ivan Mayrina said the two evacuation centers in the city are currently swamped with families who had fled their homes. He said many of the evacuees are infants and children. This developed hours after MILF forces under Commander Bravo attacked Kolambugan town also in Lanao del Norte where they held many civilians hostages for several hours. The local government had also implemented starting Monday a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, which the report said will be observed every day until the situation in the city returns to normal. Mayor Lawrence Cruz believes the threat of attack has a lot to do with his strong opposition to the inclusion of eight of the city’s villages in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) under the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the MILF. The television report said that military presence in the city was very noticeable due to reports that the threat might come from within and not from outside city limits. Residents however were warned against arming themselves and taking security matters in their own hands. - GMANews.TV