Duterte tags housing czar as new head of Task Force Bangon Marawi

President Rodrigo Duterte has named Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chair Eduardo del Rosario as the new head of Task Force Bangon Marawi, an inter-agency task force in charge of the recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of Marawi City and other affected localities. (Photo: HUDCC)

President Rodrigo Duterte has named Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chair Eduardo del Rosario as the new head of Task Force Bangon Marawi, an inter-agency task force in-charged of the recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of Marawi City and other affected localities.

Signed on October 27, Duterte issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 9 changing the composition of the task force, which was previously headed by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. The task force was formed on June 28 through AO No. 3.

“There is a need to re-organize Task Force Bangon Marawi in order to reflect the government’s current priority to rebuild and develop the settlement areas affected by the armed conflict,” Duterte’s new order read.

Del Rosario, a retired Army general, will have operational control and supervision of the task force and overall responsibility to ensure that the objectives of the order are accomplished. The Chief Executive also said that all Cabinet secretaries will report to the new head of the task force on matters relating to Marawi rehabilitation.

Lorenzana, along with Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, will serve as vice-chairpersons of the task force to assist del Rosario.

The new order also assigned del Rosario as head of the subcommittee on housing, replacing the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, which is primarily responsible for the immediate rehabilitation and construction of temporary or permanent shelters, and the restoration of water, electricity, and other public utilities.

Meanwhile, subcomittee on Security, Peace and Order will now be co-headed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of National Defense. They will be responsible for the restoration and maintenance of peace and order, and the continuity of public services in Marawi City.

AO No. 9 was issued weeks after Duterte announced that the battle-scarred Marawi City has officially been liberated from the hands of the IS-inspired Maute group, signaling the start of reconstruction period.

The government vowed that temporary shelters for displaced families will be ready by December, as authorities continue to clear the city of stray explosives that militants had planted.

P5-million was allotted by the government for Marawi rehabilitation this year, while another P10-billion is set to be given next year.