WB commits aid for Marawi rehab
The World (WB) Bank has confirmed its commitment to work with the Philippine government in helping wartorn Marawi City rise from devastation, along with scaling up support for peace-building efforts in Mindanao, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.
In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva has committed to provide technical aid and other forms of assistance to the Philippines to help rebuild Marawi City.
Dominguez noted that the World Bank has the capability and expertise in rebuilding conflict-hit areas, citing the Washington-based lender’s long-standing partnership with the Philippines as one of the factors for granting the aid.
According to the DOF, Georgieva also welcomed Dominguez’s plan to tap domestic resources to raise funds for Marawi’s reconstruction, saying, it
was “the right thing to do” and underscored the importance of “inclusive development” as a key aspect of the rehabilitation strategy.
“We can only express all of our sympathy for what has been going on in Marawi,” said Georgieva during her meeting with Dominguez along with Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.
“As an institution that has committed to peaceful development and dealing with conflict situations, we would be honored in helping in terms of [re] building and engaging in any possible way what we can do in this situation,” she added.
Mara Warwick, the World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, was also in the meeting.
On behalf of the Philippines, Dominguez thanked the World Bank “for its generous assistance to the Philippines through the years” and welcomed its offer of aid for Marawi City.
Dominguez emphasized the need for World Bank’s technical advice and expertise in reconstructing the entire city of Marawi as the Philippines has very limited experience in handling a rehabilitation program of this magnitude.
“(The rehabilitation of Marawi) is a complicated situation,” said Dominguez, noting as an example the issue involving land titling for its returning residents, many of whom are informal settlers living in multi-storey structures.
“The World Bank has the experience in reconstruction. We want to rebuild the entire city and keep a part of it as a memorial,” he added.
Dominguez informed Georgieva that with the approval of President Duterte, the government has opted to raise funds “domestically” for Marawi’s recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction program by, among others, issuing bonds.
“I would like to introduce the concept that the rest of the country is involved in Marawi, that we have to contribute ourselves to the reconstruction and we are going with the bond issue,” Dominguez said.
Georgieva said that the Philippine government and the World Bank “need to work together” even as she cited the strength and resilience of Filipinos in dealing with conflict and tragedies.
In a statement issued last August 31, the World Bank said it will “scale up support for peace-building and development in Mindanao as part of the midterm adjustment of its country partnership strategy.”
“This scaled-up program for the entire Mindanao will focus on supporting the government’s program to raise agricultural productivity and improve connectivity from farm to market; boost education, skills, and employability of the youth; and help build resilient communities,” its statement said.