ADB approves P21-B financial aid package for Marawi City rehab

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $408 million or P21 billion of financing package for rebuilding and rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City and livelihood of residents.

Of the $408 million, $300 million will go to the Emergency Assistance for Reconstruction and Recovery of Marawi loan package, the Manila-based multilateral lender The ADB, a Manila-based multi-lateral said Friday

The $300 million will cover quick disbursing loans to finance selected programs, projects, and activities under the government’s Bangon Marawi Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Program that include local governance and peace-building, housing and settlement, business and livelihood, and social services.

The $100-million loan will finance the Department of Public Works and Highways’ reconstruction and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure in the city, which includes 25 kilometers of roads and 1,700 meters of bridges and viaducts.

“The infrastructure will be built back better, climate resilient, and will incorporate gender-responsive and inclusive physical design features to enable safe use by women, children, elderly, and people with disabilities,” the ADB said in a statement.

Both loans are sourced from ADB's ordinary capital resources, payable for 32 years and with a grace period of eight years.

The interest rate for both loans, however, will depend on  London Interbank Offered Rate-based lending facilities.

The remaining $8 million will be disbursed in the form of grants for the restoration and rehabilitation of water supply systems in 19 barangays.

A portion of the $8 million grant will also be spent on building local health units with facilities that meet or exceed national standards, procurement of mobile medical clinics, scaling up of emergency employment programs and livelihood programs, and delivery of primary education in Internally Displaced People (IDP) communities.

“Many IDPs are slowly returning to Marawi and surrounding municipalities after the five-month siege in 2017. The delivery of basic utilities, social services, and educational resources for children of IDPs has yet to catch up with the needs of residents,” the bank noted.

For his part, ADB’s Country Director for the Philippines Kelly Bird said the key component of ADB’s assistance is that it will equip temporary learning places with better equipment and resources as well as culturally sensitive psycho-social support and peace education.

“With the government’s recovery plan in place, it’s essential that we quickly implement and roll out the programs. It’s important to focus on helping young Maranaos regain a sense of normalcy in a safe learning environment which they are longing for,” he said.

The ADB financial assistance was announced after the bank’s vice president for operations, Stephen Groff, led a team of ADB staff to visit Marawi City and meet with local officials, residents of a transitional shelter, and students at a temporary school, and to see the damage in the city center.

“In my interaction with residents of Marawi, they expressed their desire for a better future for their children. We hope that through this new ADB loan and grants package, we can help transform Marawi into a thriving economic center in southern Philippines, where people live in peace and prosperity,” Groff said.

ADB’s $408-million financing package follows a technical and advisory support ADB delivered to the government, which includes post-conflict damage and needs assessment completed by the Office of Civil Defense, the Task Force Bangon Marawi, the National Economic and Development Authority, and other development partners in December 2017.

The support to rebuild Marawi is based on ADB’s new Country Partnership Strategy under which up to $1 billion in development assistance is set to be prepared from 2018 to 2021 to address poverty and income inequality in Mindanao.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao in May 2017 after a clash between government forces and the terrorist group Maute erupted as soldiers were trying to serve an arrest warrant against Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon.

The Maute group then sowed havoc in the Islamic City of Marawi, taking hostages, destroying communities, killing non-Muslims, and battling government troops with relentless sniper fire.

According to official data, the death toll during the five-month siege included 168 government forces, 47 civilians, and 920 Maute fighters. —Llanesca Panti /VDS, GMA News