69,000 Marawi folk yet to return home

EVACUEE’S LIFE A mother from Marawi City tries to make her child comfortable at an evacuation center in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte province.—BONG SARMIENTO

COTABATO CITY — At least 69,000 residents have yet to return home to Marawi City nine months after government troops defeated Islamic State-inspired militants in a five-month war that ruined the center of the Lanao del Sur provincial capital, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said in a report obtained on Wednesday.

Mark Bidder, Ocha Philippines chief, said 320,000 people displaced by the Marawi conflict had already returned to their homes as of July.

“But there are still over 69,000 people in host communities, evacuation centers, and transitional sites,” said Bidder, referring to the thousands who used to live in the main battle area and who were not yet allowed by the government to go home.

Humanitarian impact

He said 90 percent of these evacuees had been staying in host communities.

“For those who have returned, there is still a long road ahead,” he added.

Bidder said the humanitarian impact of the conflict was expected to extend beyond 2018, as the government had yet to complete the comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction plan for Marawi.

Eduardo del Rosario, Task Force Bangon Marawi chair, earlier placed the cost of reconstructing the country’s only Islamic city and neighboring areas at P80 billion.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Marawi’s ground zero has suffered delays after the Chinese-led Bangon Marawi Consortium, composed of five Chinese firms and four Filipino companies, was disqualified due to failure to comply with the financial and legal requirements.

The government is still talking with Power Construction Corporation of China as possible developer of the former main battle zone, which spans 250 hectares straddling 24 villages.

Marawi’s central business district turned into rubble following the siege led by Islamic State-inspired Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups on May 23 last year, prompting President Duterte to declare martial law in the entire Mindanao.

The declaration had been extended until the end of this year.

Troops regained control of Marawi in October last year.

Church aid

Marawi Bishop Edwin de la Peña said the Catholic Church would continue to help civilians affected by the war in Marawi through Duyog Marawi, a program in partnership with the Redemptorist Missionaries.

“We remain one with the people of Marawi in their hopes and desires to begin the long journey towards recovering and rebuilding their city and the essential tasks of healing, reconciliation and peace-building,” the prelate said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said it spent P1.8 billion in various projects aiming to provide income opportunities for about 1,700 displaced families staying in evacuation centers .

The amount included assistance given to 11,100 families from Marawi who were staying with relatives and friends in at least eight regions across the country. —With a report from Melvin Gascon