Marawi’s rehabilitation faces further delay unless the government works out a plan to speed up the titling of lands for the city’s displaced residents, Senator Imee R. Marcos said.
As the Senate tackled the 2020 budget of the Department of National Defense on Monday, Marcos pressed defense officials for a comprehensive plan beyond clearing Marawi of unexploded ordinances (UXOs) and debris by the end of October, two months past an August 30 deadline.
Marcos has proposed in Senate Bill 410 to give government lands, including a portion of military reservation areas, to Marawi evacuees who fled the 2017 terrorist siege that left their city in ruins.
“Habang nakatiwangwang ang siyudad eh nawawalang gana at nadidismaya ang mga kapatid nating Muslim (Our Muslim brothers are becoming disappointed, as the city continues to lie bare),” Marcos said.
The Marcos bill seeks to replace the provisional Task Force Bangon Marawi chaired by the housing secretary with a long-term Bangon Marawi Council chaired by the President.
The President can declare that military reservation areas are no longer necessary for military use and that government land can be sold or awarded, Marcos explained, adding that rebuilding a ruined city may call for a new location.
Marcos has also proposed to speed up Marawi’s rehabilitation by easing requirements on procurement and construction for joint-venture projects in the city’s most affected areas called Ground Zero, comprising 24 barangays covering a 250-hectare area. (senate.gov.ph)