TWG for creation of Marawi military camp formed

The TWG for the establishment of a military camp in Marawi City was formed through Memorandum Order (MO) 41 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on November 15. (File Photo: Task Force Bangon Marawi/Facebook)

MANILA — Malacañang has approved the creation of a technical working group (TWG) that will be responsible for the establishment of a military camp at Kapantaran village in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.

The TWG for the establishment of a military camp in Marawi City was formed through Memorandum Order (MO) 41 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on November 15.

The signing of the memorandum was in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to study the establishment of the military camp in an effort to reinforce the government’s current efforts to secure Marawi City and its neighboring areas.

To recall, Islamic State-affiliated Maute terror group laid siege to Marawi City on May 23, 2017, resulting in a five-month armed conflict that left destruction in many buildings in the southern city and leaving hundreds of thousands of individuals displaced.

Marawi City was liberated from the hands of the terrorists in October 2017.

In November 2017, the President revealed his plan to install a new military camp in the war-torn city.

“For this purpose, a Technical Working Group is hereby created,” the memorandum, which takes effect immediately, read.

Member-agencies of the TWG are the Department of National Defense, the Office of the Executive Secretary, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Land Registration Authority, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The memorandum mandates the working group to conduct a census for the identification of those who will be affected by the establishment of the military camp.

The TWG is also mandated to consider the institution of three detachments composed of three battalions dispersed at the boundaries between Marawi City and its contiguous municipalities.

It is also directed to resurvey the area to reestablish the metes and bounds of the proposed military camp, as well as to ascertain the status of ownership and possession of the lands proposed to be included in the military camp in Kapantaran village.

The memorandum also orders the TWG to expedite the titling and registration of the affected parcels of land, without prejudice to private rights, upon final determination that they will form part of the military camp.

The working group is also expected to assist in the resettlement of the individuals and families who may be displaced from their residences and communities as a result of the acquisition of lands for the military camp.

Under MO 41, the TWG is also tasked to provide administrative and technical support to all affected local government units; enlist the support of other government agencies and instrumentalities; and, submit periodic reports to the Office of the President relative to the establishment of the military camp.

The Marawi siege prompted the President to place the whole of Mindanao under martial rule until December 31, 2019, in an effort to give Philippine troops more time to end insurgency in the southern Philippines.