The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Sunday said it will use a modern land mapping system as part of rehabilitation efforts in war-torn Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said the agency will employ the geographic information system land mapping and information system to “identify, establish, integrate, reconcile and reestablish existing technical and physical land boundaries.”
“Properties in both private and public land, formal and informal settlement descriptions and delineations in the most affected areas and other surrounding areas of Marawi City will also be included in the land mapping to collect information,” he said.
According to Cimatu, GIS-based land mapping and information system is in line with the DENR being designated as the agency-in-charge of the newly created land conflict management unit of Task Force Bangon Marawi.
“Both our goal and strategy is ‘sustaining peace and achieving sustainable development goals through environmental peace-building’—these are the DENR’s inputs to the Bangon Marawi comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation program,” he said.
Assistant Secretary for field operations in Mindanao Michelle Angelica Go said the development of a GIS-based land mapping and information system in the area is “indispensable considering the enormity of the survey and spatial data involved.”
“The need also arises to convert, harmonize and integrate the different maps and survey data sets coming from different agencies and those which are conducted under different survey systems and integrate them into one usable spatial data framework,” she said.