By Jun Enriquez (song Video below)
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| Guests and Participants posed during the event with DND USEC Ceasar B. Yano. |
Iligan
City - It is still uncertain when to end the Marawi crisis. Despite the odd, a
two-day conference on Shared Visioning and Strategic Planning for Marawi Crisis
Response and Rebuilding held August 8-9, 2017 at Celadon Hotel, Pala-o, Iligan
City was initiated and participated by the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
to include the international non-government organizations (INGOs). Invited
guests were Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
Director Ferdinand Jovita, DOH Director Gloria Balboa, Health Emergency Management
Bureau; USEC Caesar B. Yano, DND; Ruel B. Paclipan, Provincial Director,
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Lanao del Norte; Engr. Eltemio Sisican,
National Housing Authority (NHA) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM); Foster Anayron, Iligan City Director, Department of interior and Local
Government (DILG).
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| (2nd from left) DND USEC Ceasar B. Yano |
The
conference aimed the participation and representation of the CSOs in formal
structure of the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) to directly involve in
decision-making affecting the lives of the Internally Displaced peoples (IDPs)
as an effect of the crisis. Yasmira N. Panagadapun, Provincial social welfare
officer, DSWD-ARMM, Lanao del Sur has brought 200 food packs for the IDPs donations
coming from Lipa City containing rice and canned goods to be consumed for 3
days. Panagadapun, a Maranao said “at this point brought by Marawi crisis, this
is the time we will plan our future and redesign our lives.”
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| CSOs & IDPs participants |
Administrative
Order No. 3 dated June 28, 2017 has created the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) chaired by the
Secretary of the Department National Defense (DND), the Secretary of Public
Works and Highways as the Vice-Chairperson and 21 heads of other agencies as
members. The main responsibility of the TFBM is the reconstruction and
rehabilitation of Marawi City as a result of the crisis on violent extremism by
the Maute local terrorist group.
The functions of the TFBM is to Organize & deploy
a Quick response team (QRT) that will provide for the immediate needs of the displaced
adversely affected families; Conduct a priority needs assessment of Marawi City
and other affected areas to develop and implement a “Bangon Marawi” projects intended
for those areas; Facilitate and oversee the construction of temporary and/or
permanent shelters for displaced persons; Coordinate the restoration of public utilities
such as water and electricity, and the repair and re-construction of public
buildings and infrastructures; Attend to the health, sanitation, food, and
other basic needs of affected residents; Provide an environment conducive to
the revival of business and livelihood activities; Ensure the restoration and
maintenance of peace and order; and Perform such other functions as may be
directed by the President.
The Finance and Resource Mobilization Support Group are co-headed by the Department of
Budget and Management (DBM) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA),
shall be responsible in handling all funding and financial aspects of the Task
Force, manage and liaise with International non-government organizations (INGOs),
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and Private sector to converge relief
and rehabilitation effort.
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| LGUs and CSOs executives guested at press conference |
There are 5 sub-committees mandated under AO No. 3
to address the various fields of concerns in the recovery, reconstruction and
rehabilitation of Marawi City. The Sub-Committee on Reconstruction is headed by
the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); the Sub-Committee on
Housing is headed by the Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS); the Sub-Committee
on Health and Social Welfare is co-headed by the Department of Health (DOH) and
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); the Sub-Committee on
Business and Livelihood is headed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI);
and the Sub-Committee on Peace and Order is headed by the Department of the
Interior and Local Government (DILG). DND Undersecretary (USEC) Ceasar B. Yano
said the pronouncement of the President of 20 Billion pesos to rehabilitate
Marawi will be implemented gradually depends on the availability of funds.
The Information Management and Strategic
Communication Support Group is headed
by Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), shall be primarily responsible
for the provision and availability of regular updates to the general public. The
Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process (OPAPP) shall be represented in all TFBM sub-committees to
address social reintegration and social healing in all affected communities. The
Offices of the ARMM Regional Governor,
Lanao Del Sur Provincial Governor, and Marawi City Mayor are represented
in all sub-committees and support groups in TFBM. USEC Yano in his commitment
to include the CSOs in all of the sub-committees in the TFBM.
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| (front standing) Biema Minosa, media, cueing at presscon |
Most of
the challenges encountered by the TFBM is the return of the Internally
displaced peoples (IDPs) to Marawi City but was disallowed by the Military due
to security reasons. The parents of the students in the Mindanao State University
(MSU) in Marawi City were not allowed to enter the premises of the school
campus pending the presence of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) to process
the entries of non-students. Another security concern was about the Ulama group
in Marawi city entered the conflict zone during the just recently Eid’l Fit’r
celebration in June to talk to the Maute group to vacate Marawi. Abdulraman Taher, an Ulama said the Maute
group will only vacate Marawi as soon as President Duterte agree for a
negotiation to be mediated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Taher
said they relayed the information to the MILF Chairman Murad and committed to
bring the matter to the President. Taher added that during their sermon in
Masjid they condemned extremism and terrorism. “It is a foreign ideology brought
violence and destruction in Marawi, it is not the ideology of the Muslims in
the Philippines,” Taher said.
However,
Former Chairman Mohagher Iqbal and now member of the Bangsamoro Transition
Commission (BTC), in a CSOs peace conference in Davao City last month said that
they have the difficulty to talk with the Maute group. He said they have one
thing in common both are practicing Islam religion but has different ideology.
Iqbal said the MILF was labeled as un-Islamic by the extremist. He added that MILF
have plenty of Ulama members in the organization.
Land tenure
is one of the controversial issues because 80 percent of the land in Marawi
City with total land area of 8,407 hectares is under the Military reservation
based on the Presidential Proclamation of 1953 by President Quirino. The 20
percent of Marawi land equivalent to 1,681 hectares is privately owned with
title. In another land issue owned by
the government’s MSU has total land area of 1,090 hectares but only 300
hectares was utilized for the school operations. Some of the areas within the
unutilized 790 hectares were illegally occupied by the private residents. USEC
Yano said that the Marawi rehabilitation will commence as soon as the land
tenure issue will be cleared.
Yano
said the AFP is doing its best to fast track the clearing operation because as
time prolong to end hostilities the IDPs will also prolong their stay in the
evacuation centers and their needs accumulates and become bigger as the time
goes on. The transitional shelters for the IDPs will be constructed in Marawi to
house for the return of the IDPs probably for the first 5,000 families. There
are at least 70,000 families displaced as a result of the Marawi crisis. The
transitional shelter is under the Housing sub-committee headed by the Office of
the Cabinet Secretary and working with the Housing Urban Development
Corporation (HUDC). It is a structure with floor area of 22 square meters -
single detach with available toilet inside the house. Photos & Video by Jun Enriquez
Moro Artist: Musa Sanguila
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