Reining in local oligarchy for sustained rebuilding of Marawi

THE last few weeks have seen encouraging signs that the rebuilding of Marawi City is gaining momentum, principally the completion of several hundred transitional shelters for families displaced by Islamic State-inspired militants.

As a Marawi resident, it is my hope that the rebuilding effort picks up more speed so that the lives of the city’s 200,000- plus people may return to normal.

In this regard, I also hope that due regard to a strategic issue that invariably tempers the sustainability of rebuilding efforts: the role of local oligarchs.

Journalist Ryan Rosauro, a veteran of Lanao del Sur news coverage, rightly observed in one forum that violent extremism in the province did not start in Butig in February It has been boiling for a long time prior to that, thriving in the province’s landscape of acute political, social and economic deprivation.

Seven months ago, a multi-sectoral peace gathering in Cagayan de Oro City convened by the Bishops forward with the peace process between government and the Moro - peace agreements, to the letter and spirit, especially the enactment of