Duterte vows to rebuild “better” Marawi

June 27, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Tuesday to rebuild a "better" Marawi City. In his speech during the Eid'l Fitr or Feast of Ramadan celebration in Malacanang, Duterte reiterated the government has allotted at least P20 billion for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi, which is still being occupied by the Islamic State-linked Maute Terror Group. "More funds will be added, if necessary. Meaningful and long-term support will also be made available, with the help of our partners in the private sector and the international community," he said. He noted that Task Force Bangon Marawi, composed of various agencies of the government, is being created to hasten recovery efforts in Marawi City. The president assured that the government is committed to securing just and lasting peace in the island of Mindanao. "The military and the police remain hard at work to ending the crisis with dispatch, especially in Marawi," he said. "One thing I promise you my Brother Moro is I will see to it that Marawi will rise as a prosperous city again," Duterte stressed, adding when the government rebuilds Marawi, it could even be "better this time." The president said he has to rebuild Marawi because if not, "I will remain forever be a villain." Duterte, who again apologized for the destruction of Marawi, said he was not happy and he was "bleeding." "I don't even want to talk about it, even in the Cabinet because I'm hurt," he said, admitting that he has relatives who joined the Maute. Duterte urged the local leaders and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front not to allow Maguindanao to suffer the same fate as Marawi's. The main camp of MILF is in Maguindanao. MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and other rebel officials were present in Malacanang for the Eid'l Fitr celebration. The president said he could accept the ideologies of the MILF and the then secessionist Moro National Liberation Front, but not that of the ISIS-Maute's, which is to kill and behead people. "So when I became President, I made clear to everybody that I intend to talk to you (MILF and MNLF) peacefully. And I promised you a framework of a federal government to give more authority and a wide discretion of what you would want your island to be," he said. The MILF has been pushing for self-determination and for justice. The MNLF, on the other hand, which signed a final peace agreement with the government in 1996, wants the full implementation of the deal. (Celerina Monte/DMS)