ACCORDING to National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, the armed clashes between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) loyal to its Chairman Nur Misuari and the government troops took the lives of 103 individuals and injured 180 others.
Of the 103 killed, 80 of whom are from MNLF, while 3 policemen, 10 soldiers and 10 innocent civilians. Of those 180 wounded, 120 are soldiers, 12 policemen, 48 civilians and undetermined number for the MNLF.
At least 10,160 houses were totally damaged due to the series of fire incidents that transpired for the past 12 days since the hostilities broke out in Sept. 9. Damages were estimated to be worth P10.5 million in several barangays.
A total of 118,819 individuals (23,794 families) have been affected due to the hostilities, 115,143 of whom (23,042 families) were displaced. Of these affected individuals, 112,916 persons are inside 57 evacuation centers set up by the government.
To date, the government troops are still running after some 70 remaining members of the MNLF who are either hiding or running away. Of the more than 200 members of Misuari loyalists, 93 of whom have either surrendered or were earlier captured.
President Aquino has readied P3.89 billion from his P6.1-billion contingency fund for the reconstruction of Zamboanga City.
This is the usual statistics we often get from the government every after crisis, be it a man-made or natural disaster or calamity or any emergency situation. The glaring data could even be more especially we know that war costs so much.
But beyond a look at the shocking figures of fatalities and casualties, the bigger casualty is always the truth. In this war in Zamboanga, there are more questions that beg to be answered and right now, we are still trying to make sense what really happened.
We also want to find out who should be held responsible for the death, injuries and damages of the Zamboanga crisis. Will the government really file charges not only to the MNLF members but also, most importantly, who ordered the attacks.
In the meantime, the government must not lower its guard against these people who are out to derail the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), including those small groups said to have allied with Misuari-led MNLF faction.
In this incident, Misuari seems to be flexing his muscles as the man the government should deal with. The former Muslim rebel leader is said to be unhappy that he was excluded from the peace talks with the MILF.
Finally, this latest outbreak of hostilities should again serve as a tragic reminder of the difficulties of achieving peace in Mindanao. As it is, it is really hard to find permanent peace in Mindanao, but it is even harder to talk peace when others are up in arms.
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