Over 3,000 residents in eight villages within the towns of Clarin and Inabanga have been displaced after clashes between government troops and at least four Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits on Saturday.

According to Gener Torregosa, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 municipal action team leader, around 586 families were taken to evacuation centers due to the firefight.

The evacuees were identified as residents of Brgy. Ilihan, Inabanga and the Clarin villages of Mataub, Poblacion Sur, Cantuyok, Tontonan, Caboy and Bacani.

Most of the evacuees have returned to their homes but many of them still return to evacuation centers at night as, according to authorities, three more ASG militants remain at large.

All of the affected families have been extended aid through relief packs which contain 6 kilos of rice, canned goods and coffee, Torregosa said.

On Sunday, 1,000 sacks of relief goods arrived in Clarin to ensure that all the evacuees receive their share of the government aid.

According to Torregosa, the evacuees have been temporarily housed at the Bohol Island State University, Clarin Cultural Center, Central School and School of Fisheries.

Meanwhile, some residents have gone as far as Tubigon to take shelter and are also being accommodated by the DSWD and the town’s local government unit.

Torregosa noted that while the three Abu Sayyaf bandits are not captured by authorities, residents will likely continue to return to evacuation centers at night.

Pursuit operations by security forces have been sustained since the initial encounter in Inabanga two weeks ago.

In the Saturday clash in Barangays Bacani and Caboy, Clarin, four ASG men were killed including Joselito Melloria the group’s suspected leader.

According to Gov. Edgar Chatto, the remaining bandits have diminished firepower and are likely to be in possession of a single M16 rifle based on military intelligence reports.

It is unlikely for the stragglers to cause major disturbances as they continue to be without resources, Chatto said.

Meanwhile, a group of four including a female police superintendent and a suspected ASG member who is believed to be her lover remain in police custody after they were flagged down by military Saturday night.

They were taken into custody as they were suspected of attempting to rescue the ASG stragglers. (Allen Doydora with a report from Wendy Kate Bersaluna, HNU MassComm intern)