The Duterte administration will continue the rehabilitation of the Marawi City, the Palace said on Monday, adding the government will prioritize the affected residents and let rich businessmen of the war-torn city to fully restore their homes.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo declared this after media reports, according to him, “misunderstood” President Rodrigo Duterte when the latter said the government would not spend money anymore to rebuild the damaged city in Mindanao.
“No, you did not understand the President there. He said the businessmen there should be the one (sic) to spend for their wrecked buildings and not the government,” Panelo told Palace reporters.
“Of course, we will put first the needs of the public, not yours [businessmen]. You have to spend also on that. You cannot rely on us on that. You have to help us,” he added, emphasizing the government would give priority to the needy public.
According to the Palace official, the Marawi-based businessmen should find the means to rebuild their homes for they have the money and capacity to do it more than others.
Asked why the President suddenly felt the need to remind businessmen in Marawi that their needs were not on top of the government’s priority list, Panelo said: “I don’t know. Maybe he just said for them not to assume anything.”
“Because they might already assume that the government will build their buildings,” he said.
However, if ever the businessmen should find it difficult to return to their businesses, Panelo said they could opt to take loans from the government.
The Palace also assured the public the government had insufficient funds for the rehabilitation of the war-torn city.
Aside from the allocated budget for its full restoration, Panelo said there were also donations from foreign countries.
The government has amassed at least P62 billion for the rehabilitation of Marawi City, reduced to rubble during the siege in 2017.