ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 5, 2013) – Apl.de.ap of the pop group The Black Eyed Peas has arrived in Zamboanga on Sunday to help in rehabilitation efforts here following three weeks of fighting between military and separatist rebels that devastated many areas and displaced over 100,000 people.
The Filipino-born rapper, whose real name is Allan Pineda Lindo, met with Mayor Maria Isabelle Salazar and other government officials and led the ground breaking ceremony of school classrooms in the village of Talon-Talon.
Lindo, wearing a black vest and pair of black jeans and black boots, and a Mohawk hairstyle, also posed with children and other officials. He also spoke with children, who showed him their art drawings.
Salazar and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman also briefed Lindo on the current situation in Zamboanga and the plight of refugees and showed him the housing models for those displaced by the fighting.
The mayor has praised Lindo for his humanitarian concern and thanked him for his support in the rehabilitation efforts of Zamboanga.
More than 400 people were killed and wounded in three weeks of street battles that began September 9 after Moro National Liberation Front rebels launched simultaneous attacks in the villages and seized some 200 people and used them as shield. (Mindanao Examiner)
20