A short visit at “ground zero,” my second since November, while here in Marawi for the second leg of the Mindanao BBL consultation hearing, to assess the post-siege situation necessary to guide the mapping out of a doable strategy to build a “model city” from the ruins.
As the chair of the Senate urban planning, housing, and resettlement committee, I want to make sure that the rehabilitation program from the planning stage to actual reconstruction is done the right way. Had a very good chat with Mayor Gandamra as to the possible formula to make rehabilitation faster and a formula acceptable to the residents and other stakeholders.
If Marawi rehab is done properly, this might pave the way to lasting peace in Mindanao.
