By Genalyn Kabiling
The government is aiming to transform war-torn Marawi City into one of the country's prime tourist destinations after its massive rehabilitation.
Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chair Eduardo del Rosario
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chair Eduardo del Rosario said they intend to sustain the rebuilding of Marawi and keep peace and order in a bid to attract tourists in the future.
"Ang peaceful environment ay napakaimportanteng aspeto ng ating rehabilitation. Masasabi ko nga 50% lang ang infra, another 50% is to have a peaceful environment para iyong stigma ng Lanao Del Sur, ang Marawi City, kaya walang pumupuntang mga tourists ay natatakot, kailangan mawala po iyon ,” Del Rosario said during a Palace press briefing.
"And our objective is to ensure that Marawi will be one of the best tourist attractions in Mindanao at the end of the rehabilitation," he added.
Del Rosario also said the government needs the cooperation of the Marawi residents to keep their communities safe and thwart the return of any Islamic State-linked lawless elements to their town.
"They should be one with us in ensuring that they will not allow the entry of the terrorists na mga ISIS-Maute Group na makapasok," he said.
"If the citizens themselves are active in telling the military once there are faces and they feel that they are terrorists, it’s their responsibility now to immediately report to the military," he added.
In May 2017, the Islamic State-linked Maute group attacked Marawi City, leaving more than a hundred people dead and displacing thousands of families from their homes.
The conflict ended after a five-month intense battle between government troops and the rebels that left the city in ruins. A massive rehabilitation and recovery program has been put in place by the government to bring the Marawi community back on its feet.
Debris clearing operations in the most affected areas of Marawi have started last year and are expected to be finished by this August or September. Road networks and public utilities would also be built during the first stage of the rebuilding process.
The government aims to complete the multibillion-peso Marawi recovery program by December 2021.