Military and Task Force "Bangon" jointly build relocation site for Marawi evacuees

By Jong Cadion

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (August 1, 2017 AFP) -

Model Houses.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines represented by the Army's 54th Engineer Brigade, the Department of Public Works and Highways Region 10 and the Office of the City Engineer of Marawi City are working closely to finish the two (2) model houses that will be used as a template for about 5,000 houses that will be built in the temporary shelters for the Marawi evacuees, military official said.

The ground works of the relocation site and the construction of the houses started a week ago. The models are expected to be done after a week of work.

"There are two models of houses to be constructed. First is the steel house which is has 26 square meters floor area with a dimension of 4 x 7.7 meters and the other one is the wooden house which is made of lumber and plywood, with the dimension of 4 x 6 meters," said Abdulracman Paunte, DPWH Region 10 Resident Engineer.

"The steel house model is pre-fabricated and can accomodate 3 families per building. Construction time will run up to 8 days."

The relocation site is about 11 hectares, located in Brgy Sagongsongan, Marawi City and is divided into five areas. Each area is expected to accomodate about 1,000 houses/units.

According to Paunte, each of the five areas have communal kitchens, comfort rooms and washing areas and its electricity lines and water system already being installed and worked on by the Lanao Del Sur Electric Company and the Local Water Utilities Administration.

Army Engineers doing the Ground Work.

The Battalion of Army Engineers are also present in the area to assist the construction of the temporary shelter and to secure civilian workers who are in the site the entire week.

"We are here to provide all necessary needs and support we can give before, during and after the construction of the shelters," said Lieutenant Colonel Jonjie Juguilon of the 547th Engineering Battalion, Engineering Brigade.

"Our backhoes are here as well as our bulldozers, graders and backhoe loaders so that when the model houses be approved, we will go on full throttle with the construction of units."

Juguilon further reported that a consultation of the house designs was conducted among the LGUs and some evacuees before the construction started.

Risk while construction on-going.

The City Engineer of Marawi on the other hand who was in the site even on a Sunday to supervise the construction of one of the model houses said that, "the risk is always high among those involved in the construction, since stray bullets reach the site every now and then."

"Kahit pa delikado, ipagpapatuloy pa din naminang construction kasamaang ating mga kasundalohan dahil minamadali din natin na makaalis ang mga evacuees sa congested evacuation centers," said Engr Mike Gulem, field Engineer of Marawi City government.

He also said that the given target time for to finish the construction is until September or October this year.

Cash for Work.

In order to give the evacuees a chance to work and earn wages, construction workers and laborers will be commissioned from among them.

According to Gulem, four workers will be paid 15,000 to construct a single-detached house.

Salman Caris, an evacuee from Marawi City whose family is now temporarily sheltered in Pantar expressed his gratitude to the government for the temporary employment given to them. He also said that he will be very happy if his family will be among the beneficiaries of the shelter, also further stating that he is looking forward to living with fellow evacuees from Marawi.

Caris, who is 38 years old, married with three kids, formerly lives at the business district of Marawi City before the Daesh-inspired Maute terror group attacked the besieged city.

Deploy more soldiers for rehab.

Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) information officer Cpt Jo-Ann D. Petinglay said that The Western Mindanao Command and the Joint Task Force Marawi are now also prioritizing rehabilitation efforts within the area and are yet to deploy more soldiers, composed mostly of women, to specifically work on rehabilitation projects.

"Ang inyong kasundaluhan ay handang tumulong at magkawanggawa lalong lalo na sa mga proyektong rehabilitasyon para sa mga Marawi evacuees," said Lieutenant General Carlito G Galvez, Jr, Commander of the Western Mindanao Command.

"Your soldiers will risk their lives not only to make sure that Marawi City be free from terrorists, but also to speed up rehabilitation, so that shelters be ready the soonest possible time."

"Just as your AFP was employed as an instrument to quell the rebellion of the Maute-ISIS Group that caused the destruction of Marawi, you will also find your soldiers, Airmen, sailors and marines at the forefront of the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi. The AFP shall be the catalyst to the massive efforts to revive the City of Marawi."