protection

Naima Lendengan, wife of Sandiale Guiamanda, safe keeps the birth certificates of her whole family which they were able to acquire for free through the assistance of project officers of the REACH Project legal missions. (Photo: Manman Dejeto/Oxfam Pilipinas)

Birth certificates provide beacon of hope for conflict-torn villagers in Maguindanao

Sandiale Guiamandal heaved a huge sigh of relief after receiving a Manila envelope hand-delivered to their community composed of bakwits or internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the village of Pandi, Datu Salibo town. Finally, after 46 years, he got his birth certificate just this year.

Protect civilians caught in crossfire and allow humanitarian actors safe entry to provide life saving assistance – Oxfam and Local Partners

As conflict continues to intensify in Marawi, with a predominant Muslim-population of about 200,000 people in Central Mindanao, very little is known of the plight of civilians trapped inside their homes and those who have fled, estimated to be a large number.