AFP gets new equipment for Marawi rehab

MANILA, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Wednesday acquired new engineering equipment, which will be used for the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City and nearby areas.

The military received 248 units of engineering equipment worth P1.5 billion, which was part of a government-to-government deal with China.

"These equipment will not only help the AFP to support the continuous effort of the administration to facilitate the comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi as a city but also in performing our role in support to national development of the whole country," Maj. Gen. Pio Pio Diñoso, AFP deputy chief of staff for logistics, said.

Among the equipment handed over by the Department of Defense to the AFP were telecopic cranes, tracked dozers, road graders, scoop loaders, backhoe loaders, road rollers, transit mixers, dump trucks and water lorries.

This latest development is under Horizon 2 of the AFP modernization program, which was completed in February 12.

According to the AFP, the first batch of equipment containing 114 units were delivered at Camp Pintoy, Iligan City while another batch of 134 units was delivered to Camp Aguinaldo, Villabor Airbase and Bonifacio Naval Station in Metro Manila.

Fighting between government troops and ISIS-inspired Maute Group left heavily-damaged buildings, homes and business establishments.

Despite the end of fighting two years ago, the military maintains presence in Marawi City to prevent the possible return of terrorists, as well as looters.

AFP chief Gen. Benjamin Madrigal earlier said the military is confident that the perpetrators would be caught since intelligence operations are ongoing.

“Though they’re only a handful, but they continue to be a threat because they are still there. But with the continued efforts of troops, we have significantly reduced their number,” Madrigal said in January. – Patricia Lourdes Viray with reports from The STAR/Jaime Laude