MANILA -- Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) is still on track to complete the rehabilitation of Marawi city by December 2021 amid survey results which showed that more residents felt that their lives are “worse now” than before the armed conflict between government troops and the ISIS-inspired Maute group.
Recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted on April 12-15 showed that 80 percent of Marawi residents felt that the quality of their life is “worse now”, 10 percent felt that it was “better now”, and 8 percent felt that it was the “same as before” compared to 12 months ago.
It may be recalled that the Maute group attacked Marawi City on May 23 last year that prompted President Rodrigo R. Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao.
“As indicated by Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Chair Sec. Eduardo del Rosario, we are on track with the timeline set by the government, which means the Marawi rehabilitation will be finished by December 2021,” TFBM said in a press statement.
“We attribute these developments to the hard work of each agency involved in your Task Force, as well as all the stakeholders who contributed to our endeavors,” it added.
The Task Force, however, said the groundbreaking for the reconstruction of the most affected area (MAA) of the war-torn city had to be moved from July to August because the Bagong Marawi Consortium failed to meet vital requirements particularly on technical, financial and legal capacity.
It is currently negotiating with a second developer who can meet all requirements before the Task Force awards the the Original Proponent Status (OPS).
Meanwhile, the OPS will then be put through the Swiss Challenge, where other developers can bid against them.
According to the Task Force, it prefers to go through with the Swiss Challenge because it is the fastest among other processes noting that other modes would last another 22 months.
“We have to be very prudent to ensure we get the right developer who can do the rehabilitation of the most affected area with the right quality and reasonable costs,” the Task Force said.
“We wish that we could do it right now and not later, however, based on our indicative timeline, and assuming that we will have a successful negotiation with the second developer, the ground breaking is aimed to take place on the last week of August. Regardless, our timeline remains intact,” it added.
The Task Force acknowledged the sentiments of the Marawi residents but remained thankful for the positive results of the survey which showed that 40 percent of Marawi residents believe their situation “will be better” in the next 12 months”, “78 percent of Marawi residents appreciate the government’s relief efforts,” and “60 percent of them also believe that the areas damaged by the armed conflict in Marawi City can fully recover under the term of Duterte.”
It also assured that it continues to put in its “best efforts” to ensure proper processes are being followed.
Malacañang earlier said it remains grateful that a “sizeable majority” of Marawi residents still trust Duterte despite the survey results.
The survey results showed that 60 percent believe that areas damaged by the armed conflict in Marawi City can fully recover by 2022, within the term of Duterte.
“This sentiment, which is lower compared to other areas, is understandable, given that Marawi City has been the center of the Maute rebellion,” Presidential Spokersperson Harry Roque said in a press statement.
“Nevertheless, it is important to note that even after the Marawi siege, majority continues to put its trust in the President,” he added. (PNA)
