Maguindanao has been placed under a state of calamity after more than 40,000 people have been displaced in the province due to intense fighting between the government soldiers and members of rebel groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)
According to figures from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao humanitarian emergency action response team (HEART), at least 8,236 families or 41,180 individuals were forced to feel their homes because of the government’s ongoing offensive against the BIFF.
The BIFF is a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The government said there are ongoing relief efforts for the civilians displaced and affected by the fighting.
More than 20,000 individuals have received help from the government, according to government data.
President Aquino has already given the go-signal for the Armed Forces of the Philippines to do an all-out offensive against the BIFF, following the tragic Mamasapano “misencounter” where 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force had been killed.
