Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. of Lanao del Sur said residents of Marawi who lost their homes during the 2017 battle between government forces and Islamic State militants have refused to settle into housing provided by the government due to “substandard” construction.
Adiong Jr. also said 95 percent of roads destroyed during the battle have been rebuilt while some government facilities are still being built five years after the Marawi siege, ABS-CBN News reported.
The official also said the pace of reconstruction in Marawi remains slow, adding that housing units constructed in Marawi’s Ground Zero have no water, adding that the city government has started accepting applications for building permits for residents who want to rebuild their homes.
The House Committee on Disaster Resilience earlier vowed to investigate the rehabilitation efforts in Marawi, years after it was ravaged by battles between government troops and an extremist group.
Lanao Del Sur 1st District Rep. Ziaur-Rahman Alonto Adiong said Marawi “is the longest calamity-stricken area in the country” with the city still undergoing rehabilitation after 5 years, ABS-CBN News further reported.
The lawmaker also denied a report from Civil Defense Deputy Administrator Asec. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV that Marawi’s infra utilization rate is already at “98 percent.”
He said he is also “a displaced person.”
“I haven’t returned back to my home. And there are quite 2,000 plus IDPs (internally displaced persons) they’re still lingering in the temporary shelters. We have yet to wait for the opening of the permanent shelters, so don’t tell me almost 98 percent. We don’t accept that,” Adiong said.
He noted that there are still some areas in Marawi without water and no power supply.
“How can you expect people to return if there are no basic services?” he said.
Adiong, quoted in the ABS-CBN News report said he remains passionate about the issue “because nobody here in this room have felt exactly how it feels to live and linger in a temporary shelter for five years with interrupted power supply, with inadequate water supply and electric supply. Nobody in this room.”
The Commission on Audit (COA) meanwhile has called on the Local Water Utilities Administration to expedite the release of unutilized disaster funds and restore normal supply of potable water in Marawi City.
Reports said for the recovery of Marawi City, a total of P181.385 million was received by LWUA for the improvement of water supply and sewerage system of the city, but only P38.068 million was released to the water district, leaving an unreleased amount of P143.317 million.