Lawmakers on Tuesday urged Congress and the national government to create a reconstruction commission and approve a measure appropriating P10 billion for Marawi City’s reconstruction from the ruins of war.
Party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles of Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta said a nonpartisan and nonsectarian reconstruction commission for Marawi rehabilitation is now needed after the nearly five months of armed conflict.
“The death of two of the country’s most notorious terrorist leaders—Isnilon Hapilon of the Abu Sayyaf Group and Omar Maute of the Maute Group—should now jump-start a massive and well-organized reconstruction effort to rebuild Marawi City,” Nograles said.
Nograles, who is also serving as acting congressman for the first district of Sulu, said that the task of rebuilding Marawi City to return its old glory as the center of Islamic culture in the Philippines is an enormous logistical and financial undertaking that would require an honest and dedicated group of civil-work experts, logisticians and city planners.
The lawmaker said that, with the expected outpouring of financial aid to support the reconstruction of Marawi, there is a need to establish a single but well-organized government body, fully backed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which would manage the funds for the reconstruction of the city.
For his part, Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte Jr. of Camarines Sur, who is vice chairman of the House committee on national defense, commended President Duterte and the AFP for the sustained military offensive that led to the deaths of Hapilon and Maute which, he said, would accelerate the resolution of the Marawi conflict and further boost investor confidence in the Philippines.
“This is a welcome development and a testament to the decisive actions taken by President Duterte as commander in chief since the terrorist attack in May to resolve the conflict, maintain peace and order in the South, allay investors’ security concerns and prevent
Mindanao from becoming an Islamic State bastion in Asia,” Villafuerte said.
Certify as urgent
Deputy Minority Leader and Party-list Rep. Harry L. Roque of Kabayan urged Duterte to certify as urgent House Bills (HB) 5874 (Tindeg Marawi) and 222 (Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Act) to start the rebuilding of Marawi.
“The Tindeg Marawi Bill appropriates P10 billion as supplemental budget specifically earmarked for Marawi City to expedite its recovery from the ruins of war. The IDP Rights Act, meanwhile, seeks to provide for the protection of the rights of Internally Displaced Persons during and after displacement, as well as their return, local integration or resettlement elsewhere,” Roque said.
“After almost 150 days, the conflict in Marawi is, finally, almost over. I urge the President to certify these two bills as urgent to help the people of Marawi get back on their feet and start building back their lives and communities once the tensions ebb. With these two bills hand in hand, we can start picking up the pieces immediately and rebuild better and stronger,” he added.
Roque said the funds provided by HB 5874 shall be used to provide humanitarian assistance to victims of the siege of Marawi City and for the rehabilitation of destroyed infrastructures, properties and businesses.
The appropriated amount shall be released equally to the departments of National Defense, Education, Public Works and Highways, Social Welfare and Development and the National Housing Authority.
On the other hand, Roque said HB 222 ensures safe access to essential and adequate food and nutrition and potable water, basic shelter and housing, appropriate clothing and essential medical and dental services and sanitation.
The bill provides that, “[i]f displacement is inevitable, the authorities, pursuant to their respective mandates and functions, shall ensure, to the greatest practicable extent, that proper accommodation is effected in satisfactory conditions of safety, nutrition, water and sanitation, health and hygiene, and that members of the same family, especially women and children, are not separated.”
Inevitable and imminent
Moreover, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles Davao City said the victory in Marawi is now inevitable and imminent following the deaths of Hapilon and Maute.
“The neutralization of Hapilon and Maute will give government troops the final boost needed to flush out the remaining terrorists in Marawi City. The end of the conflict is near,” Nograles said.
On May 23 at least 800 armed members of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria-linked Maute Group occupied Marawi in Lanao del Sur as a response to authorities’ attempt to arrest Hapilon.
“We never doubted our troops’ ability to get the job done given ample time and logistical support. With the death of the two top terror leaders in the area and our impending victory, we can slowly but surely refocus our energies into rebuilding Marawi,” Nograles said.
Meanwhile, he added the government should prioritize the reconstruction of shelled and bombed-out local schools.
During the same Muslim Affairs panel hearing, it was learned that 18 out of the 69 schools in Marawi City were heavily damaged.
At least 10 schools were reportedly flattened due to the bombings.
Salary increase
AT the same time, Party-list Rep. Neil Abayon of Aangat Tayo, a member of the House Committee on National Defense and Security, urged the leadership of the lower chamber to fast track the approval of HB 61877, which seeks to give active duty soldiers and veteran soldiers benefits similar to most of the benefits now available to senior citizens.
“I laud the Duterte administration for the compensation adjustment for cops and soldiers. Currently, for example, a Police Officer 1 [PO1] receives a basic monthly salary of P14,834. Call-center agents receive better pay than that,” he said.
“If the pay adjustment gets implemented, every PO1 shall be receiving a basic monthly salary of P29,668 [a 100-percent increase]. Such a move shall boost the morale of our law enforcers,” he added.
While acknowledging the killing of terrorist leaders by the country’s soldiers is a victory, Abayon said it is prudent “not to let our guard down.”
Image credits: PNA Photos by Oliver Marquez