Gov’t assures funds to rebuild Marawi, assist families

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella —MALACAÑANG PHOTO

DAVAO CITY—Malacañang on Friday said the Duterte administration is preparing a multi-year comprehensive plan to rebuild Marawi City.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said funds for rebuilding the war-torn city of over 200,000 people would be sourced from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and the national budget.

During a press briefing here, Abella said Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno had affirmed that the financial aid of P10 billion would come from Pagcor, while the reconstruction of public infrastructure would come from the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

“The Duterte administration is now preparing a multi-year comprehensive Marawi reconstruction plan,” Abella said.

He said a task force consisting of key national agencies such as the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) would be convened to make an assessment of the situation.

Abella said funds from the state gaming firm would be used for the presidential financial assistance while social welfare assistance to Marawi survivors would be taken from the national budget.

The Palace official also announced that state lenders Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) may open borrowing facilities to Marawi entrepreneurs.

For families of soldiers and policemen killed in the fighting, Abella said the government would provide housing programs through the National Housing Authority (NHA).

The government would also shoulder the education of up to two children of every slain soldier or policeman from K-to-12 plus technical and vocational education or college education through DepEd, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and 113 state colleges and universities (SCUs) nationwide, Abella said. JPV/rga