Land sales in Marawi potential ‘bombs’

CITY IN RUINS Houses, buildings and mosques in Marawi City are destroyed by the fighting between government troops and members of the Maute group that laid siege to the Lanao del Sur capital. JEOFFREY MAITEM

Property sales at a time when Marawi City is still recovering from the devastation of the five-month war between the government and terror groups last year can worsen land conflicts in the Lanao del Sur capital, a Mindanao State University (MSU) professor warned in a forum this week.

Tirmizy Abdullah, MSU associate professor who was among residents displaced when armed men loyal to the Islamic State laid siege to Marawi, said the sale of land in the city could be likened to a “bomb that could later explode” because this had been a major source of “rido,” or conflict among local families.

Abdullah, who spoke during a forum organized by the International Center on Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance (InciteGov) in Metro Manila, was critical of the planned establishment of a military camp in the middle of the city and the entry of foreign and local investors.

Out of the picture

He lamented that Marawi residents had been taken out of the picture in crafting the rehabilitation plan for the city, whose business center was destroyed by the fighting between soldiers and members of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups from May to October last year.

Abdullah said studies had shown that 80 percent of rido in Marawi had been traced to land conflict.

“If you would start selling land (at this time), it’s like you are creating bombs that would explode later on),” he said. “With the establishment of the new (military) camp, a number of families would be asked to relinquish their land and properties,” he said, adding that land had been one of the main causes of rido in Marawi.

That’s why, he said, residents and other groups recommended a rehabilitation plan that would allow those displaced to return and rebuild their homes.

Stop land sales

Abdullah said they also proposed that land sales be prohibited during the rehabilitation as this would complicate conflicts existing long before the siege.

The government had allowed residents to return to communities outside the 24 villages comprising the “ground zero” of the fighting. The section of the city center considered as the main battle area remained off limits to residents.

Abdullah said putting up a military camp and inviting investors would complicate land issues in Marawi. “Who will get paid? Who will sell the land?” he asked.

In a telephone interview, Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., deputy commander of Joint Task Force Ranao, said the military was negotiating to acquire a 10-hectare property in Marawi to house a battalion of soldiers.

Brawner said representatives from the Philippine Army had talked to lot owners.

“Negotiations are ongoing for the price [of land],” he said, noting that talks started after President Duterte led groundbreaking rites for the camp last year.

TENT CITY More than 200 families are staying at Sarimanok “tent city” in Marawi put up by the Department of Social Welfare and Development for evacuees formerly housed in centers and shelters in Iligan City and Lanao del Norte province. —RICHEL UMEL

Complicated

He said: “This is the situation: 10 landowners are covered by 10 hectares composed of 10 lots, so we are supposed to deal with 10 lot owners. But it turns out, for example, one lot has three claimants. So (the negotiations became) quite complicated.”

“When the government started offering a particular price, one owner grabbed the proposal immediately without negotiating. But it turned out that he was not the legitimate owner,” he said.

Brawner said negotiations to set land acquisition price were still ongoing due to disparity in land prices.

“The government has set its price, and initially [it is] planning to acquire the lot for P300 per square meter. But owners were offering it for as high as P10,000 per sq m,” he said.

Abdullah questioned the building of a military camp in Barangay Kapataran, a village at the ground zero of the siege. He described the camp as a “military garrison,” which would cost the government P400 million to build.

The facility, which will have its own artillery storage, billeting and recreational facilities, is expected to be finished before 2020.

Plight of civilians

“They are establishing a military garrison when there are still thousands of internally displaced people languishing in evacuation centers. Why are they prioritizing the garrison? How about the plight of civilians?” Abdullah said.

He said some 140,000 evacuees are still in 67 centers in Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte provinces.

The P400 million that the government would spend for the military camp, Abdullah said, could have been used to help evacuees or spent in activities that would bring the youth away from radicalism.

“During the InciteGov’s gathering in Marawi, many were asking why the issue on the military garrison was not being discussed. This is no longer a plan; the project is ongoing,” he said.