Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 14) — Other Marawi residents are dying, but not because of the ongoing firefight in the besieged city.
Over the past month and a half since the crisis broke out, 33 displaced Marawi residents have already died in evacuation centers due to health complications, according to the Provincial Crisis Management Committee.
Saguiaran Evacuation Site Camp Manager Norhana Batua-an said on Friday the evacuation setup made the children vulnerable to diseases.
“We don’t deny na makakakuha po sila ng sakit dito. Alam po natin na ang covered court is open area, so yung may mga sanggol nahahagilap nila yung hangin. At yung mga batang bagong panganak basta maraming virus na nakukuha. So yung mga iba may sakit din so nagkakahawahan na sila,” Batua-an said.
[Translation: We don’t deny that the evacuees can get sick here. The covered court is an open area. Newborns are exposed to a lot of virus. Others get infected from those who are already sick.]
Usual complications in evacuation centers include skin diseases, pneumonia, and hypertension. These can be compounded by unsanitary and crowded condition.
CNN Philippines correspondent Gerg Cahiles contributed to this report.
