MARAWI AID Foreign governments and agencies are contributing funds to rebuild Marawi City and help its residents recover from the five-month war between government troops and the Maute
terror group. —JEOFFREY MAITEM
Development partners and multilateral lenders have pledged a total of P35.1 billion in financial support for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi City, the Lanao del Sur provincial capital destroyed by a five-month fighting last year between government troops and Islamic State-linked armed groups.
During a pledging session held in Davao City on Wednesday, the following countries and institutions committed P32.7 billion in concessional financing on top of P2.4 billion in grants: China, Japan, Spain, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
The governments of Australia, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Spain and the United States, and the ADB, the World Bank and the United Nations will extend technical assistance to implement the Bangon Marawi Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Program (BMCRRP) in areas outside “ground zero” or the city center where the main battles took place, the Department of Finance said in a statement.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III acknowledged the earlier relief and humanitarian grant assistance, worth P6.9 billion, from the United Nations and its agencies, and from Australia, Italy, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
Solidarity
“We thank the solidarity and generosity of our development partners who took part in this humanitarian effort. We assure you we will continue to work harder in the coming days to hasten the recovery and rehabilitation of this city,” Dominguez said.
He said the pledges that the government raised alongside the P13 billion in so-called Marawi bonds would already cover the BMCRRP’s P47.2-billion financing requirement.
For the entire Marawi, including ground zero, the government must shell out P72.6 billion in the next five years until 2022, Dominguez said.
“Of this amount, P47.2 billion is needed for the BMCRRP; P17.2 billion that will be 100-percent sourced from local funding will be spent to rehabilitate the most affected areas; and P1.25 billion will be spent for livelihood assistance, which would also be fully sourced from local funds. The overall financing requirement also includes the P6.9 billion in humanitarian assistance required during the early stages of the recovery program for Marawi,” he said.
Dominguez said the bulk (58 percent) of the overall financing needs for Marawi’s reconstruction and rehabilitation would come from foreign sources.