MARAWI CONFLICT
Ten Muslim teachers who have work waiting for them in Cebu City remain stranded in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur a month after the war between the Maute Group and government troops began.
The teachers, who were part of a group of 26 Arabic language instructors who visited their families in Marawi City during the start of Ramadan, could not return to Cebu City after losing all their money in the raging conflict.
The teachers were under contract in government’s Madrasah Education Program (MEP), a comprehensive program of the Department of Education (DepEd) for Muslim learners in public and private schools.
MEP coordinator Minang Manggis said that these contractual teachers who are now in evacuation centers outside Marawi or in the homes of their relatives, are in need of financial help so that they could go back to their teaching jobs in Cebu City.
The teachers intended to bring their families, displaced by the war in Marawi, with them.
“For example in one family, there are five members so the fare is expensive,” said Manggis, who had kept in touch with the teachers through telephone since the start of the Marawi conflict.
“All are willing to come back here because their jobs are here,” Manggis added.
Out of the 26 teachers who went home to Marawi City, one died during the siege while 15 others were able to return to Cebu City earlier this month either through donations or by using their own funds.
According to Manggis, the lone casualty died due to stress from the evacuation which happened just days after giving birth.
Malo Manonggiring, director of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF – Visayas) said that NCMF could no longer provide transportation assistance to those in need of travel tickets.
“Since 2014, the transportation assistance was stopped because it was affected by the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) issues,” he said.
According to records of DepEd, there are 827 Muslim students enrolled under MEP in Cebu City, while 3,060 are non-Muslims enrolled by their parents to study Arabic.
“MEP is helpful for non-Muslims especially learning the Arabic language if they want to consider working in the Middle East soon,” Manggis explained.
The DepEd Cebu City Division has hired 18 regular and 92 contractual teachers under this program which offers two subjects, Arabic language and Islamic values, at 40 minutes per class every other day.