ILIGAN CITY —– During the Marawi siege army soldiers load food and ammunition to save their comrades and the people but recently the Philippine Army showed humanity compassion as they brought home some 251 stranded students of Mindanao State University (MSU) Marawi campus on Friday, April 24.
The students were brought home to the 25 municipalities of the province. They were forced to stay in the university’s dormitory inside the campus when the government implemented the enhanced community quarantine on March 17.
The Army from the 82nd Infantry Battalion (IB), 55th IB, 49th IB and the 12th Civil Military Operations Battalion, all under 103rd Infantry “Haribon” Brigade, were deployed to facilitate the students going home.
The transport of the students back home were done in collaboration with the Lanao del Sur Inter-Agency Task Force (LDS – IATF) for the Management of COVID-19, the Provincial Government of Lanao del Sur, the university management and the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade.
Lt. Charles Leiand Regala, Civil-Military Operations Officer of 82nd IB, said there are still some 654 remaining stranded students in MSU who will be transported outside Lanao del Sur in the coming days.
“The authorities already made coordination with the adjacent provinces to finalize the arrangements and requirements for the next transportation assistance,” said Regala.
The university recently sent off some of its stranded students to Maguindanao and Zamboanga del Norte and deployed its university buses to assist the transport of the students.
Meanwhile, the army continues to provide manpower and security assistance during the relief distribution of the provincial government.-Divina Suson
