Building a better and stronger Marawi City from the ashes of war
E.) Create a new Marawi City (i.e., a physically modern city) to showcase the government’s commitment to the development of the Bangsamoro and other disadvantaged regions in the country. The proposed master plan has two program clusters. The first cluster embraces the economic rehabilitation of the affected residents and the rebuilding and reconstruction of the old Marawi. The second cluster includes program components and development initiatives to build a modern Marawi. The new Marawidimensions of the plan shall consist of modern enclaves which can be located in the existing shortlines of Marawi City (to be proposed for reclamation).
The proposed plan should include some major infrastructure projects of the LGUs of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur to address the requirements of their growing population and bourgeoning economy, and to link them to the major arteries of trade and commerce within the country and the ASEAN (particularly the BIMP-EAGA). It should also include capital outlay projects of MSU to make it more globally competitive, specifically in the areas of instruction, research, and community outreach, all of which are important in the formation and development of the human capital not only of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur but also of the ARMM.
Develop also the other provinces in the ARMM because aside from the M’ranaws who comprise the main bulk of the fighters who attacked Marawi City, a good number of the fighters werereportedly from Basilan and Sulu.
F.) Preserve and enhance of MSU’s existing roles Mindanao’s educational center, as an Islamic religious center, with big numbers of large mosques, madaris, and torils in the city. Advance the potentials of Marawi as tourism and cultural heritage center, as economic growth center, and as a regional sports center.
V – Governance reforms The current emergency in Marawi City requires a strong governance or management system to pacify the affected families and residents, alleviate the socioeconomic sufferings, reconstruct damaged buildings and structures and building new ones to replace totally ruined old ones, and construct new facilities for the longterm development of Marawi City and Lanao del Sur. To address that need, the following interventions are recommended:
A.) Establish a synergistic multisector collaborative governance system that assures the effective linking and sharing of resources, capabilities, activities, and services among government agencies (local, regional and national), private/business firms, donor or partner agencies, civil society organizations, and the citizens to produce or deliver services, values or benefits aimed at building a better and strongerMarawi City.
B.) Ensure responsive and culturallycompatibleprogramcomponents, projects, and activities by soliciting the active participation of all concerned local sectoral groups or stakeholders, ulama, sultans and traditional leaders, businessmen, civic and professional leaders, women, youth, CSOs/NGOS, etc. The various program components or interventions encourage the stakeholders to actively participate in ensuring their ownership of these various program components or interventions.
C.) Provide strong, competent, clean, and accountable governance for the various components of the proposed development package for Marawi by all organizations, entities and stakeholders involved in the multiple service delivery mechanism.
D.) Enlist the strong support of the AFP and PNP to address the expected serious security concerns or vulnerabilities.
E.) Enhance resource generation or fund-sourcing initiatives.
F.) Provide strong monitoring of all fund-sourcing and fund utilization efforts byadopting appropriate transparency and accountability mechanisms.
VI -Peacebuilding
Efficient and responsive services by the various government agencies in the region will project an image of a caring and generous government, which serves as an effective shield against violent extremism and radicalism. The following measures are recommended:
A.) Multisectoral community engagement of suspected terrorists and their sympathizers by local government officials, secular and Islamic religious schools, Muslim and Christian religious organizations, sultans and other traditional leaders, and civil society organizations as community support groups for moderation and peacebuilding. These community groups should develop and implement programs and activities (e.g., seminars, conferences, training, discussion groups, other related social events) to promote religious moderation, intercultural understanding, inter-faith relations, and a culture of peace.
B.) Secular and religious tertiary education institutions should institutionalize a deconflictualized and free discussion of controversial issues (e.g., religious extremism, radicalism, federalism, etc.). MSU-Marawi should spearhead efforts along this line by serving as the dialogue center by conceptualizing and coordinating the implementation of programs and activities that moderate peacebuilding openings for fundamentalist or extremist views.
C.) The Marawi siege is a part of a bigger problem — the contemporary Moro armed struggle. Many of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf fighters who attacked Marawi City were former members of the MILF and MNLF who were disillusioned with what they perceived as a slow or dismal progress in the implementation of signed peace agreements. To prevent its repetition in Marawi and Lanao del Sur, or its replication in other cities and provinces in the country, or to shield the Philippines from the threats of violent extremism and radicalism, the long-stalled peace process for the Bangsamoro must be concluded as soon as possible. The Philippine government has to find a creative approach to implement fully its peace agreements with the MILF and MNLF. The proposed BBL and federalism options are not contradictory alternative political solutions. Both options can be ingeniously linked complementarily to form an inclusive and progressive peace package for the Bangsamoro.