With the virtual liberation of Marawi City, the Philippines must now initiate a quick massive rehabilitation plan involving the reconstruction of the entire Muslim capital in the south. The reconstruction will require billions of pesos as fighting in the city practically razed all building structures in the area.
The government this early plans to float so-called patriotic bonds in January next year to raise funds for the rehabilitation of the war-torn city. It also sought assistance from the World Bank, which has the experience and expertise in reconstructing similar areas that suffered heavy damage from war and conflicts.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has conceded that the Philippines alone may not get the job done. The city’s reconstruction, for one, is complicated. Many returning residents are informal settlers living in multi-story structures and have no ownership title to show.
Senate President Senate Aquilino Pimentel III acknowledged the daunting task ahead. The extent of the damage sustained by Marawi and the large number of displaced citizens because of the rebellion, he says, required a well-coordinated, large-scale rebuilding effort on the part of the government.
The rebuilding may call for a Marshall Plan type of program in which the US government gave over $13 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. The initiative, named after US Secretary of State George Marshall, who served as the US Army Chief of Staff during WW II, rebuilt war-devastated regions in Europe, modernized industry and contained the spread of communism.
Rebuilding Marawi City may have a similar tone in the sense that its reconstruction will not be exclusive and inevitably include the whole of Mindanao. The job at the same time must support peace-building efforts in Mindanao and eliminate the root of rebellion in the south.
The World Bank noted that the “scaled-up program for the entire Mindanao will focus on supporting the government’s program to raise agricultural productivity and improve connectivity from farm to market; boost education, skills, and employability of the youth; and help build resilient communities.”
Mindanao’s economy, including that of Marawi City, should be the focus of the rehabilitation. Providing jobs and raising the income of the population will quiet the discontent in the region.
