DOF, DBM, NEDA to form finance subpanel for Marawi rehab

At least three agencies from the government's economic cluster will team up to formulate guidelines on the financial aspect of the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City.

The Department of Finance (DOF) on Sunday said it will team up with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to form a finance subpanel for the Marawi rehabilitation task force.

According to the DOF, the subpanel will "formulate the guidelines for the donations, grants, and assistance intended for the rehabilitation of the war-torn city in Mindanao."

"The government agencies concerned agreed that all sources of funding for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the city should be cleared first by Task Force Bangon Marawi," it said.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has estimated the rehabilitation to cost as much as P150 billion, with bulk of the work under the Task Force Marawi headed by the National Defense and composed of 42 government agencies.

The government in June said it has enough funds to reconstruct Marawi City, and that there is no need for an additional allocation as it has a lot of fiscal space.

Still, several counties such as the United States and China have expressed their intent to assist the Philippines in the rehabilitation efforts.

The government also in November announced it would sign an exchange of notes with Japan for a  ¥1.5-billion (P680 million) grant for the rehabilitation of Marawi City and the improvement of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News