Press Release
March 30, 2018

Statement of Partido Liberal president Sen. Francis Pangilinan

On rebuilding Marawi

Let them rebuild from their roots.

We support the call of the Marawi residents to be allowed to return to their homeland and repair or make new homes on the same site where they are situated before the siege.

We implore the government to give them access to resources -- funds and materials -- to ease the burden of those whose houses have been flattened or damaged from the fighting.

Their home is where their families converge, where their Islamic faith has been grounded, where their value systems have been established.

While we are aware of the value of an ecozone to the local economy, there may be a venue nearby suited for it. It should not infringe on the ancestral lands of the Maranaw and other residents of the city.

The residents should have a voice and stake in the planning stage of rebuilding. They should be allowed to return to ground zero and be given assistance, if not compensation, for the damages to their homes and properties. After all, what we are rebuilding is not simply structures, but lives of the Marawi people.

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