Marawi rehab starts Q1 2018

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the reconstruction phase of Marawi City will start first quarter next year once the clearing operation and damage assessment will be completed.

General Eduardo Año, AFP chief-of-staff, said the rehabilitation, rebuilding, and reconstruction of Marawi City will be led by the Task Force Bangon Marawi under Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Año said the clearing should be done first to clear the affected areas from hazards.

"Siguro bigyan tayo ng tatlong buwan para masigurado nating malinis ang lahat ng lugar dito at walang natitorang bomba, walang natitirang strugglers at higit sa lahat ay masigurado natin na hindi na mauulit yong ganitong incident," he said.

The clearing operation will make sure that the areas affected by the war are free from danger

and are safe and ready to be rehabilitated. This will mean checking for IEDs, land mines, and booby traps, especially in the houses occupied by the Maute Group.

A damage assessment will then be done to account the damages incurred like buildings and other infrastructure such as road and bridges peppered by the bombs and bullets during armed encounter.

"Gagawa tayo ng damage assessment kung ano ang dapat na uunahing i-construct or ireconstruct. Pag designate ng lugar kung saan gaganapin yong construction," he said.

Damage assessment might take until December 2017 that is why reconstruction can only take place after that.

Some P5 billion has been allotted by the government for the reconstruction and repair of Marawi City.

Meanwhile, Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) chairman, Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Alonto lauded President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration on the liberation of Marawi City.

"We salute as well the Officers and Men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PNP, for the extermination of the leaders and the misguided elements who espoused an anti-Islamic, antiChrist and perverse ideology that brought havoc, destruction and inhuman suffering to our beloved City of Marawi," he said.

Alonto vowed that Minda, a member of Task Force Bangon Marawi, will actively participate in the rebuilding of Marawi City to expedite the restoration of normalcy in the war-stricken area.

"As part of the Task Force Bangon Marawi, trust that we in the Mindanao Development Authority are more than ready for the greater task of ensuring normalcy back in the city. We will bank on our mandate to aggressively push for interregional/Mindnaao-wide programs and projects that will also spur economic activities in Marawi and its nearby provinces," he said. JCR