Thursday, August 09, 2007

PGMA Arroyo medical mission arrives in Basilan

Members of medical mission team deployed by President Arroyo from Manila to Basilan embark on a Navy seacraft Wednesday at Majini pier, Western Mindanao Naval Forces South in Camp Navarro, Upper Calarian.

A 22-member medical team from Manila arrived at the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) and proceeded to Basilan Wednesday as part of government’s medical mission who will attend to the needs of the folks in the troubled island province.

The team, which includes three military doctors and 19 personnel, will conduct free clinics in Tipo-Tipo, where the fresh fighting between marines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels occurred, as well as in Al Barka town and cities of Lamitan and Isabela.

It was learned from a military official at the WesMinCom headquarters, the medical team is headed by Captain Jeffrey Pisaro, a physician of the Philippine Marines, and his comrade Lt. Col. Marjorie Filoteo.

Some of the team members, who arrived Tuesday night at majini pier on board a Navy ship, are doctors assigned from V. Luna Medical Center. They were deployed to Mindanao after the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) drew up contingency plans for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the region.

The arrival of the doctors marks the start of government’s medical mission in Basilan, where 12,000 residents have fled their homes, fearing an escalation of violence as the military amassed thousands of troops in the Muslim dominated province.

President Arroyo had ordered earlier the deployment of doctors to Basilan amid pending war between government forces and MILF rebels, blamed for beheadings of 10 members of the Philippine Marines in the hinterland village of Al Barka town.

She warned lawless groups that would harm members of the medical mission bound for Basilan will suffer dire consequences.

Meanwhile, government troops and Abu Sayyaf group clashed on Wednesday morning in Sulu, leaving three bandits, one soldier dead and wounding five others.

A report reaching Zamboanga Southwall said the latest fighting occurred in the hinterland village of Lanao Dakula in Parang town after Army soldiers attacked an Abu Sayyaf lair.

The report disclosed troops clashed with about 70 heavily armed men led by Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron. It said the encounter sent a thousand villagers to flee their homes.

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