Several lawmakers on Wednesday expressed concern on the human-rights situation in Marawi and the status of the rehabilitation of the war-damaged city.
Members of the Makabayan Bloc in the House of Representatives filed Resolution 1973 that calls for a legislative inquiry into the bloc’s concerns.
Party-list Representatives Antonio Tinio and France Castro of ACT-Teachers, Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis, and Sarah Elago of Kabataan asked the House Committees on Human Rights and on Muslim Affairs to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the reports of human-rights violations in Marawi and other serious concerns of the city’s residents on the government’s rehabilitation plans for the city.
“There is a need for Congress to investigate the reports of human-rights violations and the valid concerns of the people of Marawi as regards their land, properties, culture and future,” the group said in the resolution.
The bloc said, however, that “no amount of investigation, compensation and accountability will bring back lost and shattered lives, properties, culture and dignity” but added “this probe is important for the people to regain a part of their lives and culture.”
The resolution cited a report from the National Interfaith Humanitarian Mission in June and July 2017, respectively, that documented several cases of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture of Marawi residents, who were allegedly accosted by soldiers while in the process of evacuation.
NIHM also reported several complaints of alleged looting by soldiers who forced their way into abandoned homes and took household items and other properties.
Amnesty International, in its report on November 2017, said “Philippine security forces violated the prohibition on the use of torture and other ill-treatment of people in their custody,”
The group said “most of the violations were carried out against civilians who were escaping from the besieged lakeside town and seeking military protection.”