“By December of 2021, I think 95 percent of the structures have been built. And Marawi City will be a prosperous city again, as promised by our President (Rodrigo Duterte),” del Rosario said. #Marawihousing

MARAWI HOUSING. TFBM chair and HUDCC Secretary Eduardo del Rosario (5th from left) during the groundbreaking ceremony for the housing units of 100 families of Barangay West Dulay on Thursday, 17 October 2019, during the commemoration of the second anniversary of the capital’s liberation from Islamic State-inspired terrorists. (Photo from PCOO)

MARAWI CITY — Officials held the groundbreaking of 109 permanent houses for displaced families from Barangay West Dulay Thursday, the second anniversary of the liberation of this city from Islamic State-inspired terrorists.

“We are now ready to start with the construction of permanent housing units for the IDPs (internally displaced persons),” Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) chairperson and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Secretary Eduardo del Rosario told the beneficiaries, who have been living along the three-meter easement of the Agus River and Lake Lanao.

Aside from the 109 housing units that will be built in the coming months, del Rosario said the TFBM secured 500 units of permanent shelters last week with the help of UN-Habitat and the National Housing Authority (NHA).

On top of the 609 units, 1,500 houses promised by the UN-Habitat would be fast-tracked to avoid forfeiting the fund which will be given back by 31 March next year.

Del Rosario said that by the end of October, they would declare the most affected area (MAA) in Marawi – the ground zero — cleared of bombs and hazards, having detected and recovered 625 explosives so far.

The NHA, he added, would declare the completion of damaged structures in the MAA by 30 November.

“By the first quarter of next year, most of the projects that will be constructed in the MAA will start. That is why we are certain of our timetable. We have been saying that we are on track and we will complete the rehabilitation of Marawi by December 2021,” del Rosario said.

The processing of building permit applications for structures by residents in the MAA, began last 30 July allowing them to demolish the damaged houses from sectors 1 to 7 of the MAA and start architectural and engineering plans.

Meanwhile, the Subcommittee on Housing, headed by the HUDCC and NHA, is already monitoring the temporary shelter units (TSU) at the Biyaya ng Pagbabago Sagonsongan Transitory Site, which will accommodate 1,052 displaced households for Areas 1 to 6.

An additional 300 TSU in Area 8 are also under construction. At the Boganga Lakeview Shelter Site alone, 814 out of the 1,500 target housing units have been completed and 687 of these are already occupied by the displaced families.

In Barangay Rorogagus, a total of 1,000 housing units are being constructed in two sites and another 1,000 units will also be constructed in Barangay Dulay.

For the permanent housing, a total of 2,000 units will be constructed in Pamayandeg sa Ranaw Residences in barangays Kilala and Gadongan.

Apart from these housing units, the NHA will also construct two five-story low-rise buildings and one three-story multi-purpose building with a covered basketball court in Barangay Papandayan in Marawi.

“By December of 2021, I think 95 percent of the structures have been built. And Marawi City will be a prosperous city again, as promised by our President (Rodrigo Duterte),” del Rosario said.

Del Rosario is pushing for the swift passage of an executive order (EO) that seeks to make the NHA the lead agency in the rehabilitation of the war-torn capital of Lanao del Sur. The EO would authorize the NHA to undertake the unified road networks, electrical and water utilities, and telecommunication projects.

Del Rosario said one agency should integrate the budget “because if all the agencies involved will do the road networks and the procurement processes for the water, electricity, and telecommunications have not (been) finalized yet, then everything will diverge,” he said.

Del Rosario said they were expecting the EO to be released this month as it has been with the Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea since last month.

It can be recalled that two years ago, the President announced the liberation of Marawi City after a gruelling five-month conflict to fend off Islamic State-inspired terrorists.

Since then, the task force’s 56 member agencies have continuously worked together to bring the lives of the residents back to normal through efforts in several areas.