Government to start rebuilding Marawi mosques 3 years after siege

CLEANUP OPS Members of the Philippine Marines 1st Brigade conduct clearing operations at the main battle zone in Marawi in September 2017. (INQUIRER.net file photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The government is set to rebuild several mosques in Marawi City during the five-month-long siege that took place in 2017.

According to a government report, Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBW) chairperson Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said Saturday that his group was preparing to reconstruct three mosques through the incentivized use of housing developers’ escrow funds with the Department of Human and Urban Development (DHSUD) and private firms.

Del Rosario added that this would be the first time the housing department would release escrow funds amounting to P32.14 million.

“This is a milestone in the history of the Department and Task Force Bangon Marawi,” said del Rosario in a report from the PNA. “For the first time, we will use the escrow donation component for the building of the first three mosques inside the most affected area.”

The task force allotted P15.5 million for the White Mosque in Barangay Lumbac Madaya, P12.25 million for Masjid Ditomangcop in Barangay Gaguduban, and P4.39 million for Masjid Darussalam in Barangay Raya Madaya.

Del Rosario said that, even though the country was under the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rehabilitation of Marawi would continue.

“Today marks our strong commitment and compliance to the instruction of our President [Rodrigo Duterte], hence, construction will commence and will be will be completed soonest,” Del Rosario said.

He added that, apart from the three mosques that had been allotted a budget, the government was looking to reconstruct around 30 mosques — including the Dansalan Bata Mosque and the Grand Mosque — with funding sourced through donations from private organizations.

“These mosques are important monuments of Muslim history and Islamic tradition in the Philippines,” said Del Rosario, who promised the rehabilitation would be completed by December 2021.

“The generosity and goodwill of our partner-developers will go a long way in boosting the morale and contribute to the overall well-being of the people of Marawi that were destroyed along with these physical structures that represent and embody their faith.”