By ARGYLL CYRUS B. GEDUCOS
At least P90 billion is needed to rebuild Marawi said Majul Usman Gandamra, mayor of the war-torn city, formulating the amount based on assessment made last month after its liberation from Daesh-inspired terrorists.
“Based doon sa estimate, sa Consolidated Master Plan that we submitted several weeks ago, initially meron ho tayong amount of P90 billion,” Gandamra said during the Bangon Marawi press briefing in Malacañang, yesterday.
Eager to explain the amount, he added, “Kung aayusin po natin ang Marawi City ay hindi lang ho ibabalik natin sa dati. We will make it better than it was.”
Gandamra said the amount would also cover economic rehabilitation.
“Kasama po ‘yan. Lahat ng components po,” he said. “(Including) the restoration of economic operations of Marawi City. Because as a result of this siege, (our economy) almost, 100 percent, totally collapsed.”
“Of course, in terms of peace building kasama rin po ‘yan. Hindi lang ho in terms of rehabilitating or reconstructing the damaged structures,” he added.
Initially, President Duterte allotted P20 billion for the rehabilitation of Marawi. However, in September, he admitted it wasn’t enough.
“R50 billion will not be enough to rebuild Marawi. I was there,” Duterte said in a speech.
Last month, the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) and the Department of National Defense (DND) estimated the rehabilitation of the devastated city could amount to P150 billion.
It was reported that almost 80,000 residents were displaced by the war in Marawi City.
According to Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Director-General Harold Clavite, more than 70,000 of the city’s displaced citizens have returned to their homes.
He also reported during the same press briefing that the Marawi City water district is already servicing 10 barangays, and that the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative has energized 54.12 percent of the 1,340 individual households in the area.
Gandamra acknowledged there are proposals to transfer the business center to another location and to preserve the ruins to serve as reminder of what happened in the five-month war.
However, the Marawi Mayor said if he had it his way, he would prefer to just rehabilitate the business center.
“On my personal view and based doon sa ating consultation with my constituents, ay mas maganda po na we will just rebuild and reconstruct the war-torn area and then we will expand, especially government centers,” he said.
“The proposal is really very ambitious. It’s a nice proposal but as to the applicability in our locality, we have to consider so many factors like the cultural, religious, social sensibilities of our people,” he added.
Gandamra, however, said he supports the preservation of some ruins in the area.
“I, for one, also suggested that there should be at least one to three (structures) na pwede nating i-retain, especially, itong mga historical structures,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gandamra said the city government of Marawi and the provincial government of Lanao del Sur are now in the process of passing resolutions or ordinances to regulate madrasahs in the area.
Gandamra explained the move is aimed at preventing radical extremism in the city.
“Hindi ho para i-suppress ‘yung freedom of education, or belief, kung hindi para po ma-guide natin sila para na maiwasan natin itong nangyari sa Marawi City,” he said.
He said extremist ideology may have been taught in the madrasahs due to the government not giving it enough attention and support.
“I would say na medyo mahina ang presensya ng ating gobyerno doon, so I would say that we have to give more, of course, attention, support,” Gandamra said.
“Kasi dun po nagkaroon ng gap, nagkaroon pong opportunity itong mga grupo na ito na magbigay ng support, let’s say financial support, dito sa mga schools.”
“And they were able to inculcate some principles and ideas, using of course, the religion of Islam. And of course, deviating from the usual ̶ the real teaching of the true essence of Islam,” he continued.
