“Some 2,156 households in Marawi City will have access to potable water.

In a few months, more than 2,000 residents of Marawi City will have clean, potable water as a P76-million water system project was initiated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday.

DILG officer in charge Eduardo Año assured that 2,156 households in Marawi City will have access to potable water upon completion of the project by December 2019.

“The DILG has actively contributed to end the Marawi siege and reclaim the city from the local terrorist group. Now the Department continues to be proactive in its rehabilitation,” Año said.

The project is being implemented through the DILG’s “Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig Para sa Lahat” or the Salintubig program.

Salintubig covers seven priority barangays, namely, Sagonsongan, Mipaga, Emie Punod, Basak Malutlut, East Basak, Poblacion and Moriatao Loksadato.

It is part of the P10-billion rehabilitation program under the 2018 General Appropriations Act which includes the establishment of potable water systems in priority areas.

The DILG and the Department of National Defense as co-leads of the interagency Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Sub-Committee on Security, Peace and Order are responsible for the restoration of water, electricity and other public utilities in Marawi.

“We will not let go. The DILG and all of TFBM are with you in raising up the city once again,” the DILG chief reiterated in Filipino.

He noted that a tripartite Memorandum of Agreement has been forged between the DILG Region 10, DILG Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the City Government of Marawi for the implementation arrangements.

Aside from its role in the rehabilitation of Marawi, the DILG has also been cooperating with other government agencies in the advocacy of preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE).

According to Año, “The Marawi incident is a complex crisis rooted in poverty, corruption and misled ideology. Countering violent extremism would require not just a whole-of-government but also whole-of-nation approach involving communities.”

To carry out its role against extreme terrorism, Ano said the DILG has tapped its attached agency, the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC), for a localized approach for PCVE advocacy campaign against terrorism and communist insurgency.

A series of training programs on PCVE has been jointly held by the DILG, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, PPSC and other agencies for an integrated community action against radicalization and extremism that will be cascaded to barangays and local government units.