DPWH secretary vows faster Marawi rehabilitation

Public Works and Highway Secretary Mark Villar. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Thursday promised a more efficient rehabilitation of Marawi City, faster than the recovery efforts initiated when supertyphoon “Yolanda” devastated the Visayas region.

“The President is very clear on this, and he expressed disappointment for the facilities in Yolanda before, and definitely hindi na mauulit ‘yung nangyari (It will not happen again),” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said in a Palace briefing.

Villar said a master plan for the rehabilitation of the war-torn city was already in place.

“Currently, we’re coordinating with our ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) counterpart in order to implement (the plan) very quickly. The President wants to implement the rehabilitation quickly,” he said.

Villar said the government was ensuring that the basic needs of the displaced persons were addressed.

“Una, ang basic dyan eh ‘yung tubig at kuryente, kailangan ‘yung resettlement site should be near water and electricity sources, basic ‘yan. That’s something na hindi na mauulit, definitely. We’ve already seen the mistakes from the past and we will not repeat them,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said the government would allocate P20 billion for the Marawi rehabilitation.

As of  June 28, Communications Assistant Secretary Ana Maria Banaag said 303 terrorists had been killed while 75 government troops had died in the fighting. JPV/rga