84,000 Marawi evacuees face eviction

MARAWI CITY, Philippines — Up to 84,000 families displaced during the Marawi siege may be evicted from temporary shelters as their lease contracts are about to expire.

During a dialogue with affected families yesterday, Marawi Advocacy Accompaniment convenor Tirmizy Abdullah reported that only 95 families managed to return to their homes while 16,000 remain with their relatives.

Abdullah also called for an investigation into the post- conflict rehabilitation works of Task Force Marawi.

Undersecretary Margarita Gutierrez of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the priority of the government is to prevent the eviction of an initial 153 families.

“We need to address the lease contract,” Gutierrez said. “As soon as I get the exact data and identify the families, we will get in touch with the National Housing Authority and other concerned agencies.”

She said the visit to the so-called ”ground zero” in Marawi aims to verify the number of families still in evacuation centers.

“We are here to determine the actual situation. Hopefully, we would know what needs to be done to help Marawi to recover,” Gutierrez said.

“It’s a bit heartbreaking that after six years, they still have to regain their status before the siege. Hopefully, under the leadership of PBBM (President Marcos), we will be able to solve this and we will be able to uplift their lives,” she added.

Gutierrez said the DILG had experienced difficulties in getting data about the affected residents.

“Many documents were destroyed during the siege, including the personal properties of the residents,” Gutierrez said.

Meanwhile, Reclaiming Marawi Movement member Ramadan Muntor disputed the claim of authorities that the rehabilitation of Marawi is 80 to 90 percent finished.

“If you are going to visit Marawi... it is only 40 to 50 percent complete,” Muntor lamented.