An analyst on Wednesday said the government needs to resolve a number of issues including time and resources before it can embark on rebuilding Marawi City.
Ramon Casiple of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform said ongoing clearing operations by security forces would ensure the safe return of residents to their homes.
He warned that failure to account for unexploded ordnance and booby traps left in Marawi City after the five-month fighting would spell disaster for the returnees.
Threat from the Maute group still exists, said Casiple.
Even if the bandit group were defeated, he said, factions could still regroup, recruit and execute another attack.
“Members of the Marawi group were from (the) area, [so] it would be easy for them to pretend as civilians and blend in with the residents,” Casiple added.
He recommended “an effective screening process” for the returnees.
Casiple said the issue of land ownership also needs to be resolved by the government because many of the people living in Marawi City before the siege did not own land and were in fact informal settlers.
He noted that a huge part of the city was actually owned by the military and there could be land titles now possessed by more than one owner.
“This means that you need an orderly rehabilitation that is in compliance with the law and the needs of the people of Marawi and I think the approach being done by the government of not rushing things is a good move,” Casiple said.
He added that it is wrong for the residents to expect to see the Marawi of old owing to the total destruction of the central and commercial areas.
Urban planning, however, could transform the city into a modern one, according to Casiple.
“The government should not focus on just helping residents return to Marawi but to dependable livelihoods and livable homes,” he said.
The National Economic and Development Authority had said the rehabilitation of Marawi City will require an investment of more than P53 billion over the next five years to be able to fund more than 900 priority programs and projects.
Given the huge amount needed for reconstruction, Casiple said, the government needs outside help.
Several countries, including the United States, Japan and China, have sent financial aid to support the rebuilding.
The US government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has allocated an additional P330 million as a humanitarian response to populations made vulnerable by the siege.
The additional assistance brings the total US government contribution to Marawi City to nearly P1.2 billion ($22.9 million).
It intends to enhance job skills of the youth sector for gainful employment later.
The USAID will also help restore public utilities, work with communities to jumpstart livelihoods, promote community dialogue and improve health and education.
Japan would provide the Philippine government a 2-billion yen (P970 million) grant to support the rehabilitation of Marawi.
The Philippines, represented by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency represented by Yoshio Wada, recently signed an agreement for the grant.
The grant will be the fourth aid package provided by Japan to the Philippines on top of earlier grants that included heavy equipment that were formalized on November 12 last year.
Excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks were among the machines turned over to the Department of Public Works and Highways last March and have since been used in Marawi.
Japan has provided the Philippines an estimated $36 million in assistance.
China recently turned over some 150 million renminbi (P1.23 billion) on top of the P85 million for troops wounded in the fighting with the Maute group and heavy equipment for the rebuilding.
Australia has pledged 24 million Australian dollars (P946.38 million) in humanitarian and recovery aid.
Casiple said the foreign aid should be welcomed by the government regardless of the country making the donation because the rehabilitation of Marawi City requires a huge amount.
He added that the government should not allow its critics to be an obstacle in the rehabilitation but should make sure that all contracts are above-board.
“Critics would place obstacles along the way [but] the important thing is for the government to stay focused,” Casiple said.