EDITORIAL - Marawi, 4 years after

It’s been four years since combined teams of Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants attacked Marawi, beginning a five-month siege that left the Islamic city in ruins and displaced thousands of residents.

After government forces ended the siege with the killing of Abu Sayyaf commander Isnilon Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute, there was much talk about building back better and speeding up rehabilitation of the city. But today, nearly a third of the estimated 300,000 people who fled the city at the height of the siege are still unable to return to the places they once called home. About 330 bodies retrieved from the ruins remain unidentified in cemeteries.

Clearing the city, particularly the most affected area, of debris and unexploded bombs and mortar rounds was finished only in late 2019. Construction of major infrastructure got fully underway only in April last year, but was derailed by the COVID pandemic. Limited work resumed in July, but progress has been slow because of the public health crisis. Still being rebuilt are main thoroughfares, the public market, drainage system and several mosques. A peace park and heritage museum are also being built.

Resettling the thousands of displaced families and rebuilding of houses have been complicated by the lack of ownership documents. There are properties covered by multiple land titles and deeds that need to be legally settled. The government has also resisted proposals to compensate those displaced by the fighting.

Approximately 3,000 families unable to return to their former neighborhoods remain housed in crowded temporary shelters. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has observed that the shelters have inadequate water supply and sewage facilities, exposing the families to increased health risks due to poor hygiene and sanitation. The risks are heightened in the time of COVID.

Four years after the start of the siege, the Mautes have been neutralized, but the Abu Sayyaf continues to pose a significant threat. Like the rebuilding of Marawi, eliminating the security threat calls for a lot more effort.