Marawi residents can't build homes yet: Task Force

Displaced Marawi City residents will have to wait 12 to 18 more months before they can start rebuilding their homes in the war-torn city.

Assistant Secretary Felix Castro Jr., field office manager of the Task Force Bangon Marawi, said it would take that long to complete the rehabilitation of Marawi.

Castro said the government has yet to come up with a “final” master development plan for the city, but rehabilitation will go full swing as scheduled on June 15.

“At the middle of June, we could start the rehabilitation,” Castro said.

“All the inputs from the stakeholders will be studied [and] considered. And there will be a final plan, final cost. Then there will be negotiation in the government... We do not want to hasten (the planning) in such a way that the plan was not good and does not consider the concerns of the stakeholders,” he added.

During the rehabilitation, Castro assured the residents that private properties in Marawi will not be touched and demolished.

“We will not touch their property. The only property that might be touched with their permission is during the widening of the road. There are selected roads that have been agreed upon that this needs to be widened. The owners will be consulted and they will be paid by the government,” he said.

“We will also not demolish private properties without their request. They have to inform us that they want their properties to be included in the debris clearing because part of the requirement for the developer that will be chosen is to clear the debris initially of government properties, government buildings,” he added.