A military truck with soldiers and relief workers moves cautiously in Marawi City on Monday. The military has resorted on guided tours escorting visitors to get a glimpse on the ruins in Marawi after the city was declared “liberated” last year. Residents of 24 barangays however are not yet allowed to go and see their homes. (photo by froilan gallardo)
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By FROILAN GALLARDO
Special Correspondent .

MARAWI City — Finally, after 10 months of waiting, the military will allow residents  to enter this city’s main battle area for a brief visit next month.

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Task Force Bangon Marawi field manager Felix Castro Jr. said the government would allow some 11,163 residents to visit their homes in batches starting April 1.

This would be the first time affected residents would be able to visit their homes after they fled when Daesh-inspired Maute gunmen seized the city in May 23 last year.

“The residents can go back and retrieve whatever possessions they have left behind,” Castro said.

Castro said the visits would have time limitations and would last from April 1 to April 5.

He advised residents however to prepare for the emotional ride since houses and buildings in most of the 24 barangays are destroyed and heavily damaged.

Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., deputy commander of the military task force Marawi, said they think allowing the residents to briefly visit their homes would ease the tensions between them and the military.

“We cannot say it is 80 percent or 100 percent safe but the visit will be regulated by our soldiers,” Brawner said.

Brawner said that as of Feb. 26, Army ordnance experts were able to recover 16 unexploded 500-pound bombs dropped by the F50 jet planes; 17 unexploded bombs from from the OV10 bombers; and 37 smaller 112-lbs bombs dropped from the Marchetti SF 260 planes of the Air Force.

He said of the nine sectors inside Marawi, the Army ordnance experts were able to clear five.

Brawner said the Army ordnance experts are facing difficulty in clearing the remaining four sectors because most of the buildings have collapsed.

The four sectors include parts of Marawi’s commercial district Banggolo; and buildings beside Lanao Lake where Omar Maute and Isis leader Isnilon Hapilon made their last stand and were killed by government troops.

The news of their would-be brief visit to Marawi is not a welcome development for the residents.

The local governments Iligan City and the towns of Saguiaran, Baloi and Pantar where most of the 11,163 evacuees have taken shelter, are asking them to leave citing problems in logistics.

Iligan city hall information officer Jose Pantoja said they have made an agreement with the Marawi government that the evacuees in Iligan City would leave by March 29.

Pantoja said Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra has assured them that there would be enough shelters for the evacuees.

“Our city finances are already strained after most national government agencies, including the Department of Health, stopped giving aid,” Pantoja said.

At the recent multi-sectoral meeting at the Lanao del Sur provincial capitol, most of these issues were aired by the participants, many of whom were evacuees.

This prompted Lanao del Sur Vice Gov. Mamintal Alonto Adiong to urge the evacuees to come together and air their problems.

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