MARAWI CITY —On October 17, people of Marawi will remember the sweet promises of the national government for the rehabilitation of a great city, which was described as the most modern city built from the rubbles of the five-month war.
The much-awaited construction of a “Great Marawi” will resemble the national government’s commitment to the Maranaw’s who are still crying for justice.
The modern Marawi will stand amidst the traces of war and heavy bloodshed, which claimed the lives of 168 military and police personnel who defended the country from the hands of terrorists during the Marawi siege.
It was no less than President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to rebuild the city from the memories of war, restore life and unify the people towards a great city.
It was also on the same day, when Task Force Bangon Marawi was born, which led to the appointment of retired military officer Eduardo del Rosario, as Task Force Bangon Marawi chairperson and the rehabilitation czar.
Del Rosario’s tasked is to lead the rehabilitation, everything fell on his shoulder.
But as the days went by, people of Marawi started to question the plan for their new abode, they felt cheated when del Rosario suddenly presented the masterplan without consulting them, accusing him of being culturally insensitive and his failure to consult the stakeholders of Marawi.
The Task Force and the local government are accused ot being selective and of playing favorites in identifying the land to whom the structure or the house will be built.
Farida, mother of five who used to live at the center of Marawi City, now called the Most Affected Area (MAA) has opted to return to Maguindanao because she was among those who cannot present a document for the parcel of land where her house was built but was demolished to the ground by the war.
“Wala akong mapuntahan, wala kaming papeles sa lupa pero lahat nang anak ko doon na isinilang, ilang beses na kami nakiusap, walang nangyari, dayuhan na kami doon (I don’t have a place to go, we cannot present papers for the lot, but all my children were born there, I attempted to plead many times, nothing happened, I am now a stranger in Marawi).
Like Farida, Bai Naut also left the city as her family who used to work in a shop has nowhere to go but home in Wao, Lanao del Sur.
Farida’s life started in Marawi, had a family but the war shattered their dreams, after escaping from the battleground with nothing, she and her family were forced to leave Marawi because the land they used to put up their home is already declared a military reservation.
For the housing requirement, all affected residents who were screened and recommended by the local government and the Department of Social Services and Development were completed by the National Housing Authority.
Marcelino P. Escalada Jr, NHA general manager said “All the housing units committed by the President have been completed, the houses we built was based on the list give to us.”
Projects delayed
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, Interior and Local Government minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Mindanao (BARMM) said, the slow-paced Marawi rehabilitation is brought about by a question of leadership.
Asked how he rates the effort, ‘In a rate of 1 to 10, ten being the highest, what is the score of Marawi Rehabilitation?”, Sinarimbo answered “hardly 5”.
Marawi City is under the BARMM government, but they do have representation in the Task Force.
According to Sinarimbo “Hindi ho ngangalahati talaga yong gawa sa Marawi, nakita ko ho nang personal yong siege mismo, nandon ako.”
The problem which contributed to the slow-paced rehabilitation, according to Sinarombo “Isang major challenge dyan ay hindi ho tama yong ang structure nung rehabilitation Task Force nila. Dahil magkahiwalay ho yong nag ma-manage doon sa Task Force at saka yong ang custodian nong fund at saka nang program, so tatawagin mo pa ang DPWH para maglagay nang kalsada, wala ho doon sa Task Force, So, mahihirapan ho talaga yan, pagka ‘yong entity na magrehabilitate nang mabilis, ay ima-manage pa nya yong politika nang iba’t ibang departments. Sa tingin ko hindi oobra.”
Given the situation, Sinarimbo suggests “ I-restructure nila yong Task Force, ang namamahala nang Task Force medyo gasgas na ang credibility niya, kailangan I review nang pangulo, para mas makahanap nang tao na may bagong credibility. Kasi kailangan nang suporta nang mamayan nang marawi para mag cooperate sila sa rehabilitation effort nang Marawi.”
The BARMM according to Sinarimbo is just watching because they are not in a position to say their piece as members of the Task Force Bangon Marawi were selected by the president.
He pointed the bureaucracy inside the TFBM as a major stumbling bloc to the rehab effort.
Recent completion
On October 6, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-12 turned over the water system in Area 8 of Sagonsongan Transitory Shelter which will benefit the residents.
Sagonsongan Transitory Shelter Area 8 President Anna Moralyne Adiong Didaagan, thanked DOST-12 as the water system freed them from buying their water supply.
Completed?
For BAMM government, the project is still an unfulfilled promise, but del Rosario in September described the ground work, “Overall, the Marawi City rehabilitation effort is now 65 percent complete,” he said in a press conference.
He even added, “We are very much on schedule to conclude all of the ongoing infrastructure projects by December and to complete the massive rehabilitation within the term of our President.”
Del Rosario’s statements contradict the statements of the residents, many families in the shelters have yet to avail power and water supply, a promise long been promised.
Del Rosario in a meeting with the President weeks ago said, he is in constant consultation with the people of Marawi, but people in the area say otherwise.
He is even accused of engaging a third-party monitors to assess the rehabilitation process, who are providing him inputs for his briefings.
Del Rosario even accused the media of not reporting the real facts about the rehab work, but he failed to monitor the social media post of the residents of Marawi who has been crying for help to finish their community.
Sinarimbo said, to fully complete the project, the members of the Task Force must be culturally sensitive, so, they can understand where the residents stand on the issue. Saying the people of Marawi will cooperate if the person talking to them is credible before their eyes.
