AGENCIES undertaking projects in the Most Affected Area (MAA) in Marawi City would have to work “double-time” to meet the deadline set on December 2021, according to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).
In a news statement issued on Thursday, DHSUD Secretary and Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Chairman Eduardo Del Rosario said groundbreaking projects to be undertaken this year are slated sometime the end of the first quarter, or start of the second quarter.
This leaves agencies only nine months to complete the projects that are part of the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi City.
“So I would like to call on implementing agencies to please exercise extra effort, we have to work double-time because our deadline, December 2021, is fast approaching,” Del Rosario said.
Del Rosario recommended that construction works should implement on a 24-hour implementation and undertake the hiring of more workers so that projects will be completed in time.
The TFBM chief also urged implementing agencies plagued with bidding and award issues to resolve these issues immediately and those in the construction phase should be fast tracked to beat the deadline.
He also instructed officials of the TFBM member-agencies to immediately submit necessary requirements to the Office of the Civil Defense and the National Disaster Risk Reduction Coordinating Council the soonest possible time.
“This is our commitment and the mandate of Task Force Bangon Marawi per instructions by our President, so we have to work double time,” Del Rosario said. “Let’s have a very focused 2021 and let us meet our said target date.”
The TFBM’s implementing agencies include the National Housing Authority, the Philippine National Police, and the Department of Public Works and Highways.
The list also includes the Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, among others.