MARAWI CITY (MindaNews / 23 June) – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said he wants the rehabilitation of Marawi City, a large portion of which was destroyed during the 2017 siege by Islamic State-inspired militants, to be fast-tracked.
Marcos visited the city accompanied by Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr., Mayor Majul Gandamra, City Schools Superintendent Dr. Zenaida Unte Alonto, Nasser Pangandaman Jr. of the Office of the Marawi Rehabilitation Secretary, and other officials.
Marcos activated the Starlink internet unit at the Temporary Learning Spaces in Barangay Sagonsongan, where five schools currently serve around 720 pupils using makeshift classrooms.
Alonto said” the Wi-Fi connectivity would be of great help to the learners at Dansalan National High School, Mambuay Elementary School, Banggolo Elementary School, Marawi Central Elementary Pilot School and Marawi City Elementary School, the schools being housed in Sagonsongan.
The President said the pupils of these schools will be transferred to the Marawi-Dansalan Integrated School in Moncado-Cadilingan once the school building is completed next year.
Four other schools – Bangon Elementary School, Bacarat National High School, Angoyao National High School, and Cabasaran Primary School – also received internet units and school supplies for the learners.
At the Port of Marawi, Marcos reviewed the PHP 261.5-million redevelopment project located by the shores of Lake Lanao, the second-largest lake of the country.
The facility now includes an 8,000-square-meter backup area, a passenger terminal, a fish port, berthing facilities for water craft or small boats, and a Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) ramp.
The port is expected to improve inter-municipal transport and support regional trade by facilitating the movement of goods, agricultural products, and construction materials. It also aims to benefit local fisherfolk and small-scale traders.
Marcos said “more ports will be constructed in 18 municipalities along Lake Lanao to boost economic connectivity.”
Adiong said they expect more investors after the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections in October this year.
For his part, Gandamra, in an earlier statement said the Padian Grand Market, once opened, “will boost the economy of Marawi City and nearby places.”
Later in the day, the President toured the Marawi City General Hospital, a 100-bed healthcare facility in Barangay Tolali.
The hospital, originally planned as a 50-bed center, was expanded following a 2022 budget approval of PHP 44.38 million. It is set to open by September 2025 and expected to provide secondary referral services and help decongest the Amai Pakpak Medical Center, currently the city’s main public hospital. (Richel V. Umel with a report from Violeta Gloria/MindaNews)
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