NI NOEL ABUEL
Pinasasaklolohan ng ilang kongresista ang dumaraming bilang ng mga internal displaced persons (IDPs) sa buong bansa dahil sa patuloy na pagdami ng bilang nito.
Sa inihaing House Bill no. 2974 o IDP Rights Bill na inihain ni Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong at Lanado del Sur 2nd District Rep. Yasser Balindong, nais nitong proteksyunan ang karapatan ng mga internal displaced persons (IDPs) sa bansa na nakapaloob sa 1987 Constitution at sa itinatakda ng international humanitarian law and human rights law, international treaties and conventions kasama na ang United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (UNGPID).
Ayon kay Adiong, noong 2021 lamang, mahigit sa 5 milyong kaso ng internal displacement dahil sa natural o man-made disasters ang naitala sa bansa kung saan 140,000 pamilya ang wala pa ring natutuluyan.
Samantala, mahigit naman sa 100,000 kaso ng internal displacement na may kaakibat na kaguluhan ang naitala sa kahalintulad na panahon kung saan 20,000 pamilya ang nawalan ng tirahan hanggang Disyembre.
“We cannot ignore the reality these numbers represent, especially when one person displaced is one person too many,” sabi ni Adiong.
“We need a bill that can help reduce the risk of displacement and prevent cases of arbitrary displacement, and we need a bill that can support those who are displaced in their efforts towards durable solutions – to either return and rebuild their communities, integrate in local communities that have received them, or resettle in another community where they feel safe and secure,” dagdag nito.
“Legislating a national policy on internal displacement is an affirmation of the government’s commitment to addressing the most urgent concerns of the Filipino people. In Mindanao alone, more than 800,000 households have experienced displacement first-hand in the last 20 years due to various reasons, and their experiences are made more difficult by poverty and a host of calamities across the island,” paliwanag pa ni Adiong.
Aniya sa isang heograpiyang tulad ng Pilipinas na nasa East Asia’s typhoon belt at ng Pacific Ring of Fire, ang bansa ay nasa dulo ng epekto ng climate change.
Ang masasamang panahon tulad ng bagyo at lindol at pagyanig ng bulkan ang kabilang din sa nagiging dahilan ng displacements na tumatagal ng ilang buwan.
Samantala, sinabi ni Adiong, sa Marawi City, ay nasa 85,335 IDPs o katumbas ng 17,000 pamilya ang nananatiling walang sariling tirahan sa loob ng 5-taon matapos ang madugong 2017 siege.
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