‘Unanswered questions’ continue to haunt Marawi

Local and international civil society organizations who were on a 2-day mission to Marawi City to document allegations of human rights abuses said there are still many questions left unanswered by the government.

Jigs Clamor, deputy secretary-general of the human rights group Karapatan, said there are many “unanswered questions” when it comes to human rights abuses that were allegedly committed in Marawi.

Clamor said they will compile all the documentation they have gathered and put these in a report that the NIHM delegation, led by Kalinaw Mindanao, will publicize.

Peter Murphy, of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), said: “I think after the announcement of the so-called liberation of Marawi … is the forgotten story [of its residents] in the international community. So we need to tell people what’s really happening,” said the Australian national Peter Murphy, of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP).

Murphy said he and other members of the delegation of the third round of the National Interfaith Humanitarian Mission (NIHM) will listen to the accounts of those who survived the conflict in Marawi.

Having eyewitnesses who can tell them their experiences, he said, “we will make some breakthrough on that level.”

Jerome Succor Aba, chair of the Suara Bangsamoro, said aside from documenting the human rights violations, the group also extended relief and medical assistance to the Marawi residents.

In a joint statement, the ICHRP and Kalinaw Mindanao said they are concerned at the initial rehabilitation programs presented by the Philippine government that favor foreign and local investors loaded with foreign loans.

“With two international lending companies – World Bank and Asian Development Bank – taking the lead in planning the city’s reconstruction combined with President Duterte’s Build Build Build program, rehabilitation efforts are directed towards gaining profit from the war and devastation rather than bring back Marawi residents.

The groups said the civilians are at the losing end of this deal as they not only lost their homes due to the conflict, many of them are also not allowed to go back to their communities in Marawi.

“However, not nearly half of the evacuees have returned to their homes due to government’s restriction such as not allowing civilians to go back at areas declared as ground zero, requiring an ID system based on voter’s registration, requiring land titles and imposing the Presidential Decree that says Marawi is a military reservation,” the groups added.