BACOLOD CITY - Residents of Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental who were displaced by a series of armed encounters in the village since Oct. 6, wanted to return to their houses, as they worry about their livelihood and their animals that were left behind.

Oscar Quingco, 73, one of the evacuees, said he was worried that he could not get his four cows that were left behind.

He said the majority of them have animals and it’s painful for them to leave them because they need to flee for their safety.

Quingco said that he would want to go home if they will be allowed.

“Kinahanglan namon ya kalinong (We really need peace),” he added as he prayed for it to reign at their village.

Meanwhile, 30-year-old Genijade Caseres, who is 9-month pregnant, is worried about her situation, as she might give birth to a baby boy anytime this month because of anxiety.

Caseres said that she was at their house with her three children when they heard successive gunshots on Oct. 6. She felt nervous for her children, thus they immediately left their house.

Caseres and Quingco are temporarily staying at a house in Barangay Caradio-an.

They were among the 125 affected residents who sought refuge and were accommodated by the Romano family when the clash broke out on Oct. 6.

The family opened their doors mostly to their relatives and some strangers, who are all members of the End Time Message Church.

In fact, the evacuees occupy the Church and two rooms at the house of the Romano family, wherein they were provided with aircon and water.

With regard to their food, they would chip in so that they can cook and share the meals for everyone.

Meanwhile, barangay captain Mildred Titular said that most affected areas in the village were Sitios Sig-ang and Medel, as the clashes occurred there.

Titular said that people flocked to the barangay gymnasium when the encounter first erupted at Sitio Sig-ang on Oct. 6, prompting them to call for the assistance of the local government.

As of Thursday, Oct. 13, 451 individuals or 192 families from 24 sitios in the village are staying at the gymnasium.

She said the evacuees were worried about their safety since only a limited number of village watchmen were deployed to secure the venue.

The Army placed large drums a few meters away from the barangay hall to form a barricade to prevent people from entering the areas in the village which they considered risky.

With the insurgency crisis in the village, Titular told the residents to accept their situation as the city government and the barangay are doing their best to support them.

Vice Mayor Justin Gatuslao went to the gymnasium on Thursday (Oct. 13) to distribute relief assistance personally from him and from raised donations to the evacuees.

The city has a total of 13 evacuation centers, and thousands of the affected residents were already provided with assistance, according to Gatuslao.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who visited the evacuees at the evacuation center in Barangay 1, along with Atty. Carmelo Nochete, director of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Western Visayas, and fifth district representative Dino Yulo, that day said they were able to get an assurance from the DSWD national for any support.

Lacson and Nochete, along with the city officials, also met with DSWD Undersecretary Vilma Cabrera on Oct. 13 for a briefing about the current situation in the city.

For his part, Mayor Raymund Tongson Jr., said they are waiting for the go signal from the Army if the evacuees can return to their houses once the areas are cleared. He said the city government is ready if there’s a need to extract them from the evacuation centers.

Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde), said that clearing operations are still ongoing in all Sitios in Barangay Carabalan.

Pasaporte said on Thursday that they have identified some Sitios who were already cleared from the threat from the NPA, but they could not provide the list yet.

However, he assured that some evacuees could return to their houses by this week.

On the other hand, members of the media were barred from entering an evacuation center in Barangay 1 that day, citing some protocols from the Army and the DSWD.

However, according to Pasaporte, they did not issue an order to prevent the media from entering the evacuation centers.

In a statement, the DSWD also denied the same, but they emphasized the strict security protocols being implemented at the evacuation centers particularly on children.

“Considering that we are dealing with affected families of armed conflict, the right to privacy and confidentiality of children who are evacuees shall be protected at all times as stated in Republic Act 11188 otherwise known as "Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act,” Nochete said in a statement.

He said there is also a need to ensure an observance of health protocol amid the pandemic, and a need to ensure order inside the evacuation center.

He said that adult evacuees may be interviewed provided it is done with their consent and through proper coordination with the camp manager.

“We believe that the DSWD, along with the members of the media, are one in upholding the protection of families and, especially of children, who are currently displaced because of the armed conflict,” Nochete said.

Based on a data from the DSWD-Western Visayas, it has provided P657,000 cash assistance to the affected families, P1.2 million-worth of food and non-food items, while the local government and other government agencies are providing hot meals which has reached P276,000 in amount as of Oct. 11.