The government is studying the funding mix for P52 billion of the five-year P62-billion budget for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the devastated city of Marawi, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Monday.
Dominguez said a report from Task Force Bangon Marawi chairman Eduardo del Rosario estimated the cost of reconstruction at P62 billion.
Dominguez said around P10 billion of the total budget for the Marawi rehabilitation program was already included in the General Appropriation Act of the government this year. The government must explore ways on how to finance the additional P52 billion.
“Now that we have a hard number, we will now go to the details on where the money will come from. Certain portions of the money will come from grants,” Dominguez said in a briefing.
Japan and China are among the countries that have committed to provide grants to aid in the reconstruction of Marawi City.
“This is over five years. This is not immediate so it’s over five years and there is a progression—the total is P62 billion. So we will have to do now our financial planning,” Dominguez said.