Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan INQUIRER file photo
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan called on the government on Friday to allow displaced Marawi City residents to rebuild their homes on the same site they are situated prior to the bloody siege.
Pangilinan backed the call of most Marawi residents urging President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the planned construction of an ecozone and military camp in a bid to rebuild the war-torn city.
“Let them rebuild from their roots,” Pangilinan said in a statement.
“We support the call of the Marawi residents to be allowed to return to their homeland and repair or make new homes on the same site where they are situated before the siege,” he added.
Pangilinan asked the government to give residents access to resources for funds and materials to ease the burden of those whose houses have been flattened or damaged by the months of infighting.
“Their home is where their families converge, where their Islamic faith has been grounded, where their value systems have been established,” he said.
He noted that while an ecozone is important for the local economy, it should not infringe on the ancestral lands of the Maranaw and other residents of the city.
“The residents should have a voice and stake in the planning stage of rebuilding. They should be allowed to return to ground zero and be given assistance, if not compensation, for the damages to their homes and properties,” he said.
“After all, what we are rebuilding is not simply structures, but lives of the Marawi people,” he added.
READ: Stop ecozone, military camp plan in Marawi, group asks Duterte
In an appeal, the Ranaw Multi-Sectoral Movement asked Duterte to intervene in the planned rebuilding of Marawi City and let the Maranao people lead the building of their city to preserve their cultural identity.
The blueprint was presented to the public on March 21-22 during the Multi-Sectoral Consultation on Marawi Rehabilitation held at the Social Hall, Capitol Complex in the city.
The group said the plan was made without people’s participation. /jpv