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Displaced Marawi residents ‘suffer twice’ in this pandemic — ARMM governor

Hanzel Ramos
Sep 12, 2020
1 min read

Updated: Sep 28, 2020

WHERE WILL THEY GO?. Over 351,000+ people were displaced in Marawi, now where will they go in a time of COVID? © Arias

Now with the battle against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the people of Marawi are affected twice as they continue to call and urge for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of their homes three years after the 2017 seige, says Mujiv Hataman, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor.

“Long before this plan to flatten the curve, Marawi was already flattened by bombs,” he stressed.

The governor explained that Marawi’s rehabilitation should move faster than the virus as “no other city has suffered these three in succession: war, virus, and now hunger”.

“Just imagine being in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and you cannot even stay under the protection of your own home,” Hataman added.

According to Abdullah Macapaar, former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel leader, many Marawi internally displaced persons (IDPs) are left behind in relief and government assistance because of issues in gathering data on the city’s displaced population and adding names to a master list.

Based on the office of the governor, there are still 17,000 families, roughly 95,000 people, displaced three years after the siege.

As of July 31, there are 181 total confirmed COVID-19 cases, five deaths, and 153 recoveries, in Lanao Del Sur.