COTABATO CITY, Philippines – After successfully clearing water hyacinths under the city’s Delta Bridge, workers of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and their “partners in peace and development” from the military sailed yesterday to severely flooded towns in Maguindanao and provided a convergence of medical services, relief goods, health, and other rehabilitation efforts.

Brig. Gen. Rey Ardo, chief of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, brought along 100 troops to rally again ARMM officials and workers led by ARMM Executive Naguib Sinarimbo in their outreach operations in Mother Kabuntalan – the town in Maguindanao worst affected by more than two weeks of flooding.

The 100 soldiers were among some 800 troopers that rallied the 12-day mechanized and manual clearing efforts that removed the 20-hectare in size water hyacinths from the pathway of Delta Bridge Sunday morning. The ARMM government subsidized the soldiers.

At least 20 airboats ferried the convergent military-civilian volunteers to still water-submerged villages in Kabuntalan where some 5,000 flood victims were provided with food packs and medical services by ARMM’s social welfare and health personnel, Sinarimbo said.

Mother Kabuntalan Mayor Salaban Diocolano was all praises for what he hailed as “unprecedented convergence” of post-flood operations in his municipality.

“Our constituents are so gratified with the coming of the convergent volunteers. We’re thankful to Acting Regional Governor (Ansaruddin) Adiong and his people,” Diocolano said in vernacular over a live interview aired here live.

ARMM’s Regional Health Secretary Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr. said he and his team of physicians and nurses treated more than 100 persons of bruises and skin lesions, and other minor cases of fever and diarrhea caused by floodwaters.

Sinolinding said he was glad that previous expectation for an outbreak of water-borne diseases did not happen, especially in Mother Kabuntalan town, which lies at the brim of the Liguasan Marsh.

ARMM’s Social Welfare Acting Secretary Pombaen Karon-Kader said they intended to provide flood to victims in the nearby Northern Kabuntalan if time would permit yesterday.

Northern Kabuntalan, where most villages remained submerged in waist-level water, will follow next in the convergent outreach operations.

Flood damage on school buildings were fixed by workers accompanying soldiers and workers from the ARMM’s education department, journalists covering the event said.

Sinarimbo said yesterday’s operations also provided potable water supplies to residents in the recipient-town where sources of drinking water have been inundated.