Displaced Marawi residents begin transfer to temporary shelters

MANILA, Philippines — Close to 1,150 families displaced in fighting in Marawi City last year will move to temporary shelters outside the city center by March, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao announced.

 

In a press release from the ARMM Bureau of Public Information, National Housing Authority general manager Marcelino Escalada said displaced residents will move to an 11-hectare township that will have school buildings, madrasah, a wet and dry market, a mosque, water supply and a multi-purpose hall.

 

"The government will turn over 10 to 20 housing units every two weeks until we completely deliver the 1,149 units in March," he said.

 

President Rodrigo Duterte led the distribution of 400 certificates of acceptance and occupancy at the temporary resettlement on Tuesday. "We assure you that the government will always be there for the people of Marawi," Duterte said.

 

Construction of the temporary shelters is part of the recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation program by Task Force Bangon Marawi.

 

The government has set aside P15 billion in the General Appropriations Act of 2018 across government departments and agencies.

 

"We felt that if we disaggregate the amount and place them in the respective departments, access and utilization of the QRF (quick response fund) would be quicker and more efficient and effective," Rep. Karlo Nograles (Davao City), chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said in December.