Palace urged to release P4 billion Marawi rehab fund

MANILA, Philippines —  House Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman is calling on the national government to release the remaining P4-billion fund for the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City, saying only 17 percent of the P5.1-billion allocated funds has been disbursed so far. 

“We are appealing on behalf of Marawi, of Maranaos, of its people, to preserve more than P4 billion in funds intended for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the city,” Hataman said. 

“Otherwise, this will just be a travesty of justice,” the Basilan congressman added. “Now more than ever, the rehabilitation efforts in Marawi are under a rigorous lens of scrutiny because of delays in the past.” 

Hataman, former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, appealed to Malacañang to release the allocated funds for the rehabilitation of the devastated city or else the victims would have nothing once the funds revert back to the national treasury. 

He urged the Office of the President to find ways to save the 2018 funds from expiring, as this would consequently deny the victims of the 2017 Marawi siege the justice they have painstakingly sought for over two years now.

President Duterte signed into law last December the bill extending the validity of the unused portions of the 2019 budget until December this year, but there has been no measure yet to address the expiring 2018 funds.

About P871 million of the government-allotted P5.1-billion funds for the rehabilitation of war-ravaged Marawi City, or only about 17 percent of the total, has so far been disbursed by the government.

Hataman said that based on the reports they received, of the P5.1 billion for the Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program in the national budget for 2018, only P871.7 million had been released as of November 2019. 

“We should carefully study extending the validity of the 2018 Marawi funds. It’s not the people’s fault that the funds were not used. And we found out in our hearings that TFBM had lapses in procurement and implementation,” Hataman lamented.  

“Why should Marawi residents suffer for others’ mistakes?” he asked in Filipino.

“Pity the victims of the war in Marawi. They are still suffering from a predicament that is not their doing. Especially those in temporary shelters and those still living with their relatives in Mindanao because they cannot go back to Marawi because rehabilitation is moving so slowly,” Hataman lamented.

“While we still can and we still have options, we should try to save this fund and use it for its intended purpose, which is to fast-track the reconstruction efforts in the ravaged city,” he said.