ILIGAN CITY — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is setting aside P517 million for the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City in 2021.
This was contained in the P75 billion proposed budget for next year submitted by Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod ‘Al Haj Murad’ Ebrahim before the regional parliament.
The fresh funds will be on top of the P500 million allocated in the current budget for BARMM’s own Marawi Rehabilitation Program (MRP) which seeks to complement that of the national government.
The program was conceived based on the recommendations of the Special Committee on Marawi tasked by the parliament to look into the delays of the city’s rehab effort, and see how the BARMM government can make a difference.
“Together with the entire Bangsamoro, we will help you rebuild, we will help you recover. We will help you ensure that, In shaa Allah, Marawi will rise again,” Ebrahim said during the MRP’s launch in October.
A steering committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ali B. Solaiman manages the MRP. It recommends approval of projects to the Office of the Chief Minister, as well as oversee implementation.
Government and civil society leaders welcome the BARMM’s sustained initiative for Marawi’s rebuilding.
Marawi mayor Majul Gandamra said he expects the MRP “to really feel the clamor and needs” of the displaced residents.
“It (MRP) should be devoted to projects that will really be felt by my constituents, especially those hardly hit IDPs (internally displaced persons),” Gandamra said.
Drieza Lininding, chair of the nongovernment Moro Consensus Group, said the BARMM’s continuing support for Marawi rehab is an “additional relief.”
“Any help from any institution is very much welcome as Marawi IDPs continue to struggle [to survive],” Lininding said.
So far, the MRP’s steering committee has approved P79 million worth of projects. These are for the profiling and coming up with a comprehensive database of displaced families and individuals; livelihood support; and water, sanitation and hygiene assistance for families living in temporary shelters.
As of September, there have been over 100,000 people displaced by the five-month Marawi siege in 2017 who were not yet able to return home.
The national government’s effort to rehabilitate Marawi, which was initially estimated to require P75 billion, is being overseen by Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) that coordinates the work of 56 agencies.
These are mainly for the rebuilding of public facilities and infrastructure, as well as the livelihood of affected families.
TFBM has been criticized by leaders of displaced residents for its supposed failure to hasten the construction of basic facilities in the city.
It was also hit for failing to take into consideration the perspective of the ordinary people in coming up with a reconstruction blueprint for Marawi. With reports from Bong Sarmiento