By VANNE TERRAZOLA
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri is seeking an additional allocation of R10 billion for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi City and other municipalities in Lanao del Sur that were affected by the clash between government troops and terrorist groups.
Zubiri, in pushing for the passage of his Senate Bill No. 1567, said it is important to ensure that displaced citizens “who will be coming back are equipped with the capacity to build and to reclaim the lives that they were forced to abandon due to the conflict.”
The R10 billion, which would be called the “Tabang Marawi Fund,” will be over and above the regular appropriations for the province under the 2018 General Appropriations Act, Zubiri said.
President Duterte earlier announced allocating a total of P20 billion for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi City and other war-torn areas, with the Department of Budget and Management already allotting an initial P15 billion to cover all rehabilitation efforts for the next two years.
About R5 billion will initially be released, an amount which will be drawn from the 2017 calamity fund and savings from 2016. This will be followed by an allocation of R10 billion to be sourced from the 2018 calamity fund.
Zubiri’s bill also pushes for the creation of the Tabang Marawi Fund Commission which would conduct and finalize a post-conflict needs assessment (PCNA) and later identify the programs and projects to be covered by the P10-billion additional fund.
The commission will be chaired by secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways, with the governor of Lanao del Sur, representatives from the DBM, Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Trade and Industry, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Office of Civil Defense, and Mindanao Development Authority as members.