MARAWI CITY — The Lanao del Sur provincial government is planning to use an aerial drone to assess the damage caused by the ongoing conflict and identify areas needing priority rehabilitation.
Vice Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. said the capitol forged the drone mapping contract at less than 95 percent of the original price.
“We will only be paying about P1 million because the contractor also wants to contribute to the rebuilding of the city,” he told the Inquirer. “[But] we have to wait for the clearance of the military before we can do that.”
“The aerial mapping will really help us assess the damage and what areas will be given priority in the rehabilitation phase,” he said.
Adiong made the remark a day after Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the national government will release at least P15 billion to rehabilitate Marawi City over the next two years.
Adiong said he would be meeting later in the week with some rehabilitation experts who offered their help in rebuilding the war-torn city.
“We are currently in the process of discussion with the firm of Architect [Felino] Palafox and we are grateful that he shows interest in extending technical assistance relative to the rehabilitation of Marawi City although we have yet to officially agree on the terms and the extent of his participation,” said the vice governor’s brother Zia Adiong.
Zia, an assemblyman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and spokesperson of the Lanao del Sur crisis management committee, said the damage and reconstruction needs assessment of the city and the province have yet to be finalized.
This he said would be dependent “on the actual assessment which can only be made possible once the fighting is over.”
Satellite images of the city have shown that many areas have been left in ruins since the start of the fighting on May 23.
“The severity of damage incurred against both civilian and public properties are concentrated in the eastern side of the river, an area [where] up to now our government troops are still [fighting] the Maute group,” Adiong said./rga