Malacañang has formed a technical working group (TWG) to prepare for the establishment of a military camp in Marawi City, the site of a five-month battle in 2017 between Islamic State-allied militants and government forces.
The TWG is composed of representatives from National Defense, Office of the Executive Secretary, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Land Registration Authority, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The group has been tasked with conducting a census to identify those who will be affected by the establishment of the camp, and to look into the possibility of putting up three military detachments at the boundaries between Marawi City and its contiguous municipalities.
Plans to rebuild and reconstruct the city have been drawn up amid criticisms that the government was moving too slowly.—LEILA B. SALAVERRIA