Marawi: A new chapter

Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra envisions a city rising from the rubble — living and breathing anew, and offering a new life for its residents, guests, and potential investors in the city's new chapter.

With tourism as the focal point of his last term as the city's leader, Gandamra attended the people's needs following the destructive siege.

Marawi, once dubbed as a "ghost town," has struggled these past years to rebuild the city and its confidence to sustain a community through construction and rehabilitation projects.

The initiative included the construction of a big sports stadium to promote wellness and fitness, a convention center, museum, the School of Living Traditions, a promenade, Peace Memorial Park, and the restoration of Rizal Park, long untended after the siege.

Beautiful mosques have been erected, boasting elegant architectural designs.

Proving that one can start life anew in the city, Marawi has opened restaurants, cafes, and hotels that offer jobs for affected Maranaoans.

With the restoration of peace and order, the mayor is eager to open Marawi's doors again.
One of the places unscathed during the siege and probably an underrated tourist destination is the Mindanao State University campus. One can enjoy the sight of majestic Lake Lanao from the campus amid the cold breeze and foggy season of Marawi.

Other initiatives

Going back to Maranaon's roots as natural traders, one of Gandamra's breakthrough projects during the city's rehabilitation was turning the wet market into a grand market, this time showcasing the city's finest wares to all.

Seeing gold in clay, Gandamra plans to maximize Marawi's vast lands, introducing them to dedicated investors and capitalizing on their potential as agricultural spaces for local farmers.

The war challenged the mayor's footing as an up-and-coming government official. Still, he combated the culture of nepotism in Mindanaoan politics and improved the transparency and accountability of tax collection.

Also, to address the urgent problem of solid waste management in the city, Gandamra helped orchestrate the founding of the newly constructed sanitary landfill on 28 June. He pressed the national government to set up and designate officials of the compensation board to guarantee that the law, or the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act of 2022, would facilitate displaced and impacted communities.

Recently, Gandamra oversaw the opening of Torogan, highlighting its significance for the social repatriation of IDPs and as a celebration of the city's deliverance from the control of terrorist organizations.

The 11 royal families of the sultanates in Marawi will convene in Torogan, where they will assess urgent issues that affect harmony and peace in the area.

The local government unit of Marawi has been partnering with neighboring LGUs, such as Iligan City, to amplify their campaign on breaking the stigma of Marawi as treacherous and unhabitable. It is an effort that requires the solidarity of next-door city LGUs to remove discrimination and fear among Filipinos.

Part of the continuous success of establishing peace and order in the city goes to the initiatives of the father of Lanao del Sur, Gov. Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr., and his wife Nancy Tomawis-Adiong. They recently announced plans to prioritize the preservation of the province's environment and natural resources.

"Although this was, indeed, a struggle for us, the internally displaced people, especially those who have lost everything in the infamous tragedy, we did stand up slowly but surely because we have no other option but to let life go on and to let ourselves rebuild little by little," Gandamra said in an interview.

[The author attended Mindanao State University from high school to college.)