THE Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) yesterday said it fell short of the completion target for the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City, with 28 percent of the projects still unfinished.
The Duterte administration ends on June 30.
Projects in Marawi City include rebuilding houses, barangay halls and convention halls, sports complex, and putting up a peace memorial.
TFBM chairman Eduardo del Rosario, also head of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, said the rehabilitation in Marawi City is only 72 percent complete nearly five years after the ISIS-inspired Maute Group attacked the city in May 2017.
“17 percent of the project will be completed by September to make it 89 percent. The remaining 11 percent will be completed by the first quarter of 2023 simply because most of the procurement is still ongoing due to delays caused by the elections. It will be completed this July and August and we will implement the project),” Del Rosario said in Filipino.
Del Rosario has been conducting monthly on-site inspections of the rehabilitation projects in the city since construction went full blast in July 2020.
On May 23, 2017, the Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorist groups attacked Marawi City after authorities launched an offensive to capture Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon.
Hapilon’s forces fired on soldiers and policemen and called for reinforcements from the Maute Group, attacking Camp Ranao and occupying several buildings in the city, including the Marawi City Hall, Mindanao State University, a hospital, and the city jail.
President Duterte declared Marawi City “liberated” on Oct. 17, 2017 after terror leaders Hapilon and Omar Maute were killed in clashes.
Soon after, Duterte ordered the restoration of Marawi City and vowed its speedy rehabilitation.
