MARAWI CITY (MindaNews / 26 May) – There are no longer traces of blood in the former battleground where the Daesh-inspired Maute Group made their last stand against government forces in the Padian area here eight years ago.
The bombed-out buildings, blood-soaked mud and stench of gun powder have been replaced by newly-constructed government buildings such as the Sarimanok Sports Stadium, a convention center and the once debris-filled streets were replaced by new roads.
New barangay complexes were also built for the villages of East Marinaut, Banggolo, Lumbaya Madaya and Dansalan, and even the ruins of Bato Ali Mosque where the Maute rebels kept Catholic priest Father Teresito “Chito” Suganob and other hostages were replaced with a new one.
Its bullet-holed minaret transported to the nearby Rizal Park in Barangay Dansalan has become the centerpiece of the Marawi Peace Memorial Park, dedicated to the resilience of the residents of Marawi City and a symbol of hope for the future.
Still, portions of the country’s lone Islamic city have yet to be rehabilitated, offering a grim reminder of the five-month conflict that claimed hundreds of lives and displaced tens of thousands of civilians.
Amenodin Cali, executive director of the non-government organization (NGO) Kalimudan sa Ranao Foundation, said the government has finished the construction of several public facilities in 2023 but have remained empty to residents.
“Many residents, especially those in the Padian area, found their houses and properties replaced by these government buildings,” Cali said.
Cali said that before the Marawi siege on May 23, 2017, the Padian area was a bustling public market complete with stores selling merchandises and teaming with shoppers.
He said that aside from regaining their houses and properties, residents are concerned about the slow and tedious approval of their claims by the Marawi Compensation Board (MCB).
“We are also concerned by the leadership change at the MCB. What does it mean to us,” Cali said.
In its Facebook page last May 22, the MCB said it has paid P1.93 billion to 1,124 claimants since it started distributing structural and personal property claims to residents in 2024.
Last March 26, lawyer Moslimen Macarambon Sr., a former Commission on Elections commissioner and former Regional Trial Court judge assumed as MCB chairperson, replacing lawyer Maisara Dandamun-Latiph.
For its part, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) noted that at least 8,200 people still live in inadequate conditions in temporary shelters in different parts of Marawi City.
Johannes Bruwer, head of ICRC Philippine delegation, said that many residents lacked access to clean water and worse, are now paying rent after government’s lease of the landowners whose land where the shelters were constructed have expired.
Bruwer said that many families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are now paying rent for their shelters, adding immense strain to them.
He urged the newly-elected government officials and government agencies to work together and hasten the rebuilding in the affected areas and provide the basic services to the residents.
“Eight years is a long time. People have been displaced for far too long. Returning to their neighborhoods is a step toward normalcy and a necessary part of their healing,” Bruwer said in a statement.
Drieza Lininding, head of the Moro Consensus Group, urged government agencies and NGOs to revisit Marawi City and look into the implementation of the MCB and the state of displaced residents.
Lininding said there is a growing frustration on the way agencies under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. handle the issues of the displaced residents. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
