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GOLDEN CAGAYAN CITY, PHILIPPINES (PHILIPPINES DAILY INVESTIGATOR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Three years after the Philippine government declared the city of Marawi liberated from an Islamic State-inspired terrorist group in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Displaced residents of ground zero, the scene of the five-month battle, remain barred from their homes and have yet to receive compensation for their losses.
“There is nothing to commemorate, only our pain and suffering that continues to this day,” said Drieza Lininding, an activist with the indigenous Maranao community in the Muslim-majority southern Philippines.
He urged his fellow Maranaos, especially the displaced, not to participate in the activities lined up to mark the occasion.
“We do not feel liberated at all, because after three years, we are still (prevented from returning) to our homes and communities for no apparent reason, as the search and recovery of bombs and unexploded ordnance has already been completed,” he said. Lininding, who is also the president of the activist group Moro Consensus.
According to him, “the only activities that our group will support is unconditional return to our homes and fair compensation for our losses and damages.”
Apart from Lininding, Marawi Reconstruction Conflict Watch (MRCW), an autonomous monitoring group made up primarily of Maranaos and Muslim professionals, said that since President Duterte declared the city free from the ISIS-inspired terror group on October 17, 2017, ” there (not a liberation to speak of. “
“Most of us have not been allowed to return to our homes and rebuild our lives. There has been no compensation for damage to our personal property. Thousands of us remain in shelters and housing projects in dire conditions, with sanitation and supplies. of Need for Basic Services, “MRCW said in an emailed statement from International Alert.
“Even if some have benefited from what has been achieved so far, most of our people have not. The sad fact is that progress is slow, funds are lacking and implementation could be improved,” he added.
Another layer of difficulty
The MRCW was formed three years ago to assist in the Marawi rebuilding process and to channel greater public attention and participation in monitoring, said Dr. Fedelinda Tawagon, president of the Dansalan College Foundation and a member of the group.
“On the eve of the third anniversary of the so-called liberation of Marawi, the House of Representatives approved in the third and final reading the proposed national budget of 4.06 trillion pesos (S $ 113 billion) for 2021 while the government (pressed) for the ‘rebound, restart and recover’ from the adverse impact of Covid-19. But what about the displaced families and entire communities in Marawi who continue to live in shelters? “said the MRCW.
He added that those who lived in shelters bear the heavy burden and the constant risk of virus infection, the “stigma of being Muslim, of being displaced and, worse still, of being associated with terrorists.”
The group cited data from the Inter-Institutional Provincial Working Group showing that, as of September 30, there were 697 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the province of Lanao del Sur, with 354 or 50 percent of the cases from Marawi. Of the 153 active cases in the province, 111 or 72 percent were also from the city.
“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic adds another layer to our difficulties and suffering and reinforces existing vulnerabilities, threats and risks,” the MRCW said.
He added that as of August, the government had released only 22.2 billion pesos for the rehabilitation of the city, less than half of the 60.5 billion pesos required for the total financing of the project.
Gloomy picture
“The daunting amount plus disbursement and absorptive problems in the past paints a grim picture for all of us. With just 16 months until the end of the year 2021 deadline to complete the reconstruction projects, the Duterte administration can still keep your promise that Marawi will rise again as a prosperous and peaceful city? “
Vice President Leni Robredo, for her part, renewed her call to rebuild Marawi as soon as possible by remembering the “innocents who lost their lives in the conflict” as well as the soldiers who defended the city “during those dangerous months, making the supreme sacrifice for peace. “
However, he noted that so far, thousands of residents “remain displaced, their buildings remain in ruins and the city has yet to regain any sense of normalcy, much less its former glory as a cultural and economic center.”
“The siege may have been lifted, but today’s Marawi reminds us that violent extremism remains one of the greatest threats to society. And to truly address it, frustrations must be met with compassion,” he added.
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