Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza INQUIRER file photo
A year after terrorists from the Maute group attacked Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza pleaded residents for more patience regarding the city’s rehabilitation.
“We’d like to call on all those who had gone through suffering to please be patient, there is no magic formula here,” Dureza said on Wednesday, during the press briefing for the commemoration of the Marawi siege.
“There is no reconstruction that will happen overnight, there will be a lot of challenges, there will be contrary voices and feelings, but it is very important na ipa-labas natin ‘yong gusto nating ipa-abot sa gobyerno,” Dureza said.
Dureza also emphasized that more than repairing the damaged buildings and roads, there is a pressing need for a “social healing.”
“There must be some kind of a social healing, restoring back the moral fiber that was destroyed because of conflict. Every conflict brings about destruction, not only of structures,” he said.
“Remember, we can easily build structures by engineers, by contractors and technical people. But the most difficult part is repairing back the destroyed social fabric, the relationship that had been broken,” he added.
Justice and healing
For Dureza, the country should learn from the “lessons of Marawi,” which he described as a thriving, Islamic city before being turned into a warzone. He added that justice must be attained to move on from the tragedy.
“There must be justice; transitional justice is very important. We cannot move on and make things feel normal and better if the correct justice is not given,” he said.
“There will be no full healing of relationships unless justice is served. It is something that we have to do together, not only government institutions, but ang pinaka-mahalaga, ‘yong taumbayan mismo,” Dureza added.
Moving forward
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Assemblyman Zia Alonto Adiong, who was also present in the press briefing, said that government agencies and the local and provincial government are working towards the five priority sectors of Task Force Bangon Marawi.
“The five criteria that were identified as priority of the government are reconstruction, education, livelihood and business, security and peace and order, and social services including medical services,” Adiong said.
“The provincial government of Lanao del Sur in close partnership with Marawi City, provided a complementary, additional workload to compensate, help, and complement the works of the agencies involved,” he added.
Adiong also said that the provincial government has allotted P10 million for a scholarship program to cater to more than 1,000 students from elementary to college.
However, Adiong said that there is still a need for a separate fund allocation for Marawi’s speedy rehabilitation.
“In order for us to move forward and faster with our efforts, we need to support the compensation bill filed before Congress, that there has to be an allocated budget dedicated specifically for the rehabilitation,” Adiong said. /je