Over 10,000 individuals displaced by Philippine clashes

The Philippine government has put up 13 evacuation centers and is ready to provide more as the number of displaced families due to clashes between the military and the rogue Muslim rebels in southern Philippines has ballooned to over 10,000 people, a senior government official said Tuesday. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte in a news briefing said the government opened four evacuation centers in North Cotabato for the families that have been displaced by the fighting between the government troops and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MIlF). But because of the increasing number of people affected by the hostilities, she said the government set up additional evacuation centers bringing the total number to 13. The 13 evacuation centers, located in Pikit, North Cotabato, now house some 1,197 families or 5,985 persons, she said. Valte pegged the total number of displaced families to 2,122 or 10,610 persons. Half of the initial 2,122 have sought refuge to friends and relatives, she said. The BIFF was one of the three groups being eyed by the government behind the spate of bombings in southern Philippines in recent weeks.