Marawi Still ‘Rising From The Ashes'

Four years after the bloody siege of Marawi City, the government has completed 60 percent of the rehabilitation of the city where the Islamic State-linked Maute group engaged Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) troopers in a five-month-long warfare that began on May 23, 2017. This was the most recent assessment made by Task Force Bangon Marawi headed by the Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

Aside from the killing of 1,000 terrorists and 250 government troopers and civilians and injuries to 1,400, there are approximately 1.1 million displaced residents, most of whom were relocated to temporary shelters after the cessation of hostilities.

Restoration of the heavily damaged road networks is a priority, so that reconstruction of destroyed homes could begin. Meantime, the DHSUD is urging the residents to secure building permits to facilitate the start of home rebuilding.

What is currently taking place is the third phase, the “full blast rehabilitation” of public infrastructures inside the “Ground Zero,” or the most affected areas, which is expected to be completed by December 2021.