A Moro group lamented the non-inclusion of Marawi in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 25.
“We fervently hope that the ‘no-mention’ of a plan for Marawi and the fate of the more than a hundred thousand still displaced by the 2017 Marawi siege does not mean abandonment, or making it as his administration’s least priority,” said Drieza Lininding, chairperson of the Moro Consensus Group, in a statement.
He said the government still has so much to do to address issues hounding Marawi residents who were driven out of their homes.
“There’s still much work to be done to ensure the dignified and just return of the Marawi [internally displaced persons] after more than five years, including the implementation of the Marawi Siege Victims Act of 2022,” said Lininding.
Lininding was referring to Republic Act 11696, “An Act Providing Compensation for the Loss or Destruction of Properties and Loss of Lives as a Result of the 2017 Marawi Siege,” that former president Rodrigo Durterte signed into law on April 13, 2022.
“We hope that [Marcos] will make Marawi as his priority,” he said, adding that it will showcase his “kind resolve and leadership to the world.”
“We hope that he will succeed where his predecessor failed …. We will continue to hope that he will sustain the gains of the peace process and regional stability that we are enjoying right now,” added the civil society leader.
Earlier, Rep. Mujiv Hataman of Basilan expressed hope that the current administration will fund the Marawi Siege Compensation Act.
“There are several issues in Mindanao that need to be resolved, particularly on peace and development, in addition to the natural calamities and pandemic,” said Hataman.
Hataman is one of the principal authors of Republic Act 11696.
“The Marawi crisis and the ongoing hardship of the people serve as a symbol of Mindanao’s central problem,” he said. “We hope for recovery and for easing the poverty in Marawi and Mindanao,” said the legislator who is also former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs show that more than 85,000 were displaced from Marawi as of May 24, 2022. Of these, more than 23,700 are still residing in various transitory sites, while others have been staying there with families.
