At least P3.5 billion will be used to sustain the government-led rehabilitation efforts in war-torn Marawi City under proposed national budget next year.
President Duterte said he was satisfied with the rebuilding of Marawi and vowed to continue to look after the residents displaced by the five-month terror siege last year.
“I am very pleased with the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in Marawi City. The Task Force Bangon Marawi is doing a great job, as evidenced by the fact that more than 70 percent of its displaced residents have returned to the City,” the President said in his budget message to Congress.
“To reassure the residents of Marawi that the government will take care fo them, we are allocating Php3.5 billion, under the PhP20.0 billion National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, to augment the funds for the ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts,” he said.
Another P1.3 billion would be set aside to deploy the 55th Engineering Bridge to aid in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi City, according to the President.
In May 2016, the Islamic State-linked Maute group attacked Marawi City, leaving more than a hundred people dead and displacing thousands of families from their homes.
The conflict ended after a five-month intense battle between government troops and the rebels, that left the city in ruins. A massive rehabilitation and recovery program has been put in place by the government to bring the Marawi community back on its feet. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)
