Trapped Marawi residents eat cartons, blankets to survive –ARMM exec

Some residents still trapped in Marawi City have resorted to eating cartons and blankets just to curb their hunger amid the weeks-long fighting between troops and the terrorist Maute group in the city, a government official said.

"Those trapped residents in the war zone, because of the lack of food, in order to survive, they have started to consume inedible materials like blankets," said ARMM Assemblyman and Provincial Crisis Management Committee spokesperson Zia Alonto Adiong in a report by Jun Veneracion on "24 Oras" on Tuesday.

"'Yung unang report na nakuha na natin is apat sila. Apat na 'yung kumakain na ng karton," Adiong added.

Authorities are also looking into reported incidents of looting, with all houses and establishments within the safe zone locked down by authorities.

On June 18, two men suspected of looting were nabbed carrying home appliances from a house located inside the city.

Adiong earlier said there has been a "growing concern of looting" in the city due to the conflict. — Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA News