DAVAO CITY — The city government here, through the Task Force Davao (TFD) and Peace 911, fetched 16 students from the Davao Region who were studying at the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi City on Tuesday.

The students are coming from Davao City (3), Tagum City, Davao del Norte (5), Digos City, Davao del Sur (2), Monkayo (2), Mawab (1), Pantukan (1), all in Davao de Oro; Malita, Davao Occidental (1); and Lupon, Davao Oriental (1).

Students from neighboring provinces were welcomed by representatives from their local government units who came to the city after coordinating with Peace 911.

In an interview, Col. Darren Comia, the commander of TFD, said the city government reached out to the military units in Marawi to inquire about the safety situation immediately after the blast on 3 December that killed four and injured more than 40 people.

"We asked the MSU administration and officials and that's when the plan was formed to pick up those children, students who came from the Davao Region, Davao City in particular. And right now, our students coming from MSU, Marawi arrived safely," he added.

Comia said the city government immediately sent a bus to pick up the students, along with several soldiers to escort them during the entire trip home.

Before sending them home, the City Social Welfare Development Office (CSWDO) conducted a psychosocial debriefing.

Engr. William Masigan, MSU Alumni Association Davao chapter president, said he was thankful for the prompt response from the local government.

He also called for sobriety and reminded the public that in condemning the heinous attack, they must also avoid attributing the gruesome act to the entire Muslim population.

"Even our Muslim brothers and sisters are condemning the incident and In fact, they helped our Christian brothers there. Let us not create chaos among ourselves," Masigan added.