‘We need to race against time,’ PRRD to TF Bangon Marawi

MANILA – President Rodrigo R. Duterte ordered the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) to fast-track the government-led rehabilitation of Marawi City.

“Rebuilding a better Marawi remains today, still not completed. To Task Force Bangon Marawi, we need to race against time and you have to finish the necessary work to rehabilitate the war-torn city and bring its families back home,” Duterte said in his State of the National Address on Monday.

Over the weekend, TFBM chair, Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, reported that 75 percent of all horizontal and vertical projects in the city have been completed.

He assured that the task force, through its 56 implementing agencies, would be able to meet the rehabilitation timeline by the end of 2021.

Last week, the TFBM began transferring internally displaced families into permanent houses built in the city’s most affected area.

More families will have their own houses in the coming months, del Rosario said, adding that apart from physical infrastructures, the government is also assisting conflict-affected individuals to get back on their feet through livelihood programs.

No room for lawlessness

Meanwhile, Duterte cited that the government’s winning battle against the local terrorist Maute group in Lanao del Sur signifies the government’s commitment to wipe out lawless elements in the country.

“Our victory in Marawi is also a testament to how the Filipinos’ patriotism is far stronger. There is no room for lawlessness in this country,” he said.

The TFBM was created under Administrative Order 3 issued by Duterte on June 28, 2017, following the declaration of the government’s triumph against the terrorist groups.

The task force has been directed to facilitate the rehabilitation, recovery, and reconstruction efforts in Marawi and help displaced families recover from the tragedy brought by the May 2017 siege.