Joint center for monitoring rehab of Marawi reactivated

The Peace Implementing Panels of the Philippine Government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has reactivated the Joint Coordination, Monitoring and Assistance Center (JCMAC) for rehabilitating and rebuilding the war-torn city of Marawi in Lanao del Sur.

According to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), JCMAC was a key mechanism in rescuing hundreds of hostages at the height of the armed conflict in Marawi City last year.

Deputy Presidential Peace Adviser Undersecretary Nabil Tan disclosed that the new mandate of the JCMAC is to “establish a neutral platform and a mechanism for the people of Marawi City and the Lanao areas to raise their concerns and participate in the efforts to rehabilitate and rebuild Marawi City and the Lanao areas.”

“We came out with the new version of JCMAC to act as a sounding board for the people affected in the crisis and to help them recover,” Tan explained during the launching of the JCMAC inside the Dimaporo Gym, Mindanao State University (MSU).

The GPH and MILF signed an agreement re-activating the JCMAC in a meeting last month – following the presentation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in Cotabato City. The headquarters of the re-activated JCMAC will be located inside the MSU compound, Tan added.

Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF Peace Implementing Panel, said the main goal of the re-activated JCMAC is to provide help in addressing and relaying the issues of Marawi siege victims to the concerned national government agencies.

However, Tan clarified that the JCMAC is not a “replacement” of the on- going efforts of the national government in restoring normalcy in the Islamic city of Marawi.

“The JCMAC has given us proud moments. Without the close coordination with the army and MILF, our work would have been very difficult,” Tan noted.

He also lauded the assistance provided by civil society and foreign donor agencies in the relief and recovery efforts during the crisis.

The creation of the first version of JCMAC was an offshoot of a meeting between President Duterte and members of the implementing panels at the start of the conflict in May 2017.

With the creation of JCMAC, two peace corridors had been formed: one was to help in extracting trapped civilians in the conflict zone and to provide humanitarian corridor to bring food and other assistance to the victims.

Through JCMAC, at least 255 civilians were rescued while foreign and local donors were able to pass through the critical Malabang area to Marawi City, according to OPAPP.