Zamboanga gov't appeals to int'l donors

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The massive destruction left by the 22 days of gunbattle in Zamboanga forced the city to call international and local donors for help in the relief effort and implementation of post crisis plans.

The local crisis management council (CMC) said the Department of National Defense (DND) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have initiated the move to open the donors' forum to allow benefactors and patrons in the Philippines and abroad. 

Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, CMC chairperson, said the council estimated about P4 billion needed for the rehabilitation, adding it will take two years for the local government to reach the amount.

At least five to six barangays, all adjacent to the downtown area, were directly affected with more than 118,000 individuals displaced from the standoff when close to 500 fully armed rebels of the Misuari-faction Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) led by Habier Malik sieged the city. 

“This is a response so that international donors, donors from outside the country will be able to participate in the rebuilding of Zamboanga,” Salazar said. 

Salazar said the P3.9 billion allocated by the DSWD through the president’s calamity and contingency fund was intended for shelters of the displaced civilians and the the local government unit does not have funding for the site development.

She said the road bridges, drainage, utilities like electric and water connections which have been destroyed are part of the infrastructure mechanism to come in. 

Salazar added that in terms of livelihood and educational institutions there is really a need for the city to have a huge budget for the rehabilitation or to rebuild schools.

“It is our call to ask our international experts,” Salazar said. 

She said Mindanao Development authority Secretary Luwalhati Antonino already asked the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to help the city to come up with a technical plan for rebuilding and rehabilitation.

Salazar assured that the rehabilitation and rebuilding of the city will be an inclusive plan.

“Yes we need all the help needed. We need technical knowhow in order to come up with a frame work for development in the city,” Salazar citing that the local engineer’s and city planning office are not specifically trained to handle 118,000 displaced people.