CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Government agencies have started extending various aid packages to returning residents in Marawi City as part of the broader rehabilitation plan for the war-ravaged city.
To help the residents with immediate concerns, such as land issues and putting food on the table, the Department of Agrarian Reform-10 (DAR-10) said it has created a project management team for Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM).
DAR-10 Director Faisar Mambuay said the Convergence Project Management Team (CPMT) is comprised of government line agencies, non-governmental organizations, the United Nation-World Food Project (UN-WFP) and United Nation-Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO).
CPMT would assist TFBM in rebuilding Marawi and restore normalcy among its residents, Mambuay said.
He said the CPMT has already identified five barangays under the agency’s Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) that would be provided with immediate help and assistance.
Mambuay has also assured the farmers in Marawi that they are still the legal owners of their lands since the government can still validate their ownership as DAR and other national agencies have copies of their land titles.
Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it has already distributed livelihood starter kits to help returning residents get back on their feet.
One of these, according to DTI, is a PhP1.2 million mini-rice mill and a PhP1.1 truck handed over to the United Marawian Agri Product Marketing Corporation, a local group of farmers.
DTI also turned over another set of mobile rice mill and 11 KIA truck units to a dozen farmers’ groups that will benefit the rice planters in the municipality of Masiu, Maguin, Poona, Wato Balindong, Lumba Bayabao, Bayang, and other communities in Lanao del Sur.
On top of this, the Small Business Corporation also awarded PhP3 million loan checks to support the livelihood of the Marawi returnees in the amount of P10,000 each payable for six months. (Jigger J. Jerusalem/PNA)
