De Lima: Duterte administration should speed up Marawi rehab

In this photo taken on March 28, 2018 shows an aerial shot of a destroyed mosque in Marawi City, in southern island of Mindanao, after five months of house-to-house fighting between troops and jihadists loyal to the Islamic State group that killed nearly 1,200.
Residents of the battle-scarred Philippine city of Marawi were allowed back April 1 for the first time — to dig through the rubble that was once their homes. / AFP PHOTO / MERLYN MANOS

Detained Senator Leila de Lima has urged the current administration to act quickly on concerns revolving around the Marawi seige, a year after terrorists attacked the Lanao del Sur capital city.

“There are so many issues in the war-torn city that remain unheeded, such as concerns on gender-based violence, and access to food aid, livelihood and health services,” De Lima said Wednesday.

De Lima said government should provide a solution to the growing humanitarian crisis in the region.  She mentioned a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report which said that 59,495 out of 77,170 families affected by the Marawi siege are still displaced as of March 6.

The same report said 65,653 families are in home-based settings, while  2,841 are still housed in evacuation centers.

Marawi City was attacked by terrorists from the Islamic State (IS) inspired Maute group on May 23, 2017.  The city was declared liberated by President Rodrigo Duterte on October 17 of the same year.

READ: Marawi ‘liberated’ from terrorists but battle drags on

“It’s high time for the Duterte administration to analyze the situation, identify the real problems in Marawi, and provide immediate aid for these affected families.  The millions or billions of pesos that will be poured in for the rehabilitation should not go to waste, or worse, end up in the pockets of corrupt officials,” De Lima said.

UNHCR also noted that the conditions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are still a cause for concern, as refugees do not have an entire access to health services, relief goods, and maintained evacuation centers.

“I call on the Duterte administration to go beyond just building infrastructures and in turn, hasten humanitarian assistance to IDPS in home-based and evacuation-based settings,” De Lima said.

“This way, these IDP families can rebuild not just their properties, but also their lives.” /muf