Lorenzana sees next threat: Marawi kids

By ANJANETTE VILLAMOR
and NITZ ARANCON
Correspondents

THE government needs at least P20 billion just to restore basic public infrastructure in strife-torn Marawi City but it is also facing what could be a bigger problem: traumatized children who could be future terrorists.

The over two-month crisis in Marawi resulted in economic and physical damages but there are also social costs like how the conflict affected Maranaos, especially children, psychologically, said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana over the weekend.

Lorenzana told participants to the International Conference on Marawi’s Post-Conflict Reconstruction here over the weekend that he was worried that if the kind of help that traumatized Maranaos does not come, the victims, especially the children, could morph into the next breed of terrorists in the country.

Many Maranao children in evacuation centers are suffering the effects of trauma, he said.

“The trauma, and not being able to go to school are big contributing factors,” he said.

He said the evacuees were very eager to return to their homes.

At one point, Lorenzana became emotional as he spoke about how evacuees from Marawi, many of them already sickly, have become fed up with canned goods like sardines.

Lorenzana said the government has to  properly address the problem on trauma because this has the potentials of creating a bigger problem for the government in the future.

Psycho-social intervention and rehabilitation has been included in the government’s agenda for Marawi. He said the psycho-social intervention and rehabilitation work is going to be the responsibility of one of the sub-committees in “Task Force Bangon Marawi” that he created.

The task force has four other committees: on construction, on housing, on health and social services, and on business and trade.

President Duterte named Lorenzana, who is the Mindanao martial law administrator, to coordinate all efforts to rehabilitate and rebuild Marawi, and to bring back normalcy the predominantly Muslim city.

He said the Duterte administration needs some P20 billion for the reconstruction  of public infrastructure like roads, bridges, and public buildings.

Lorenzana could not say exactly where the government would source the funds but he said Duterte told him that he would take care of it.

“Sabi niya maghanap siya na pera para maibalik sa dati yung Marawi or even much better  before,” he said.

Lorenzana said he was looking into pledges of support from Asean-member nations,  China, US, Russia, and Kuwait, among others.

Lorenzana appealed to local officials like like Vice Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. and Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra to unite and collaborate.

Adiong said,“Kalimtan na nato ang kagahapon. Magtinabangayan kita kay pareho ra kita nagpuyo sa Pilipinas.”

Meanwhile, Japan set aside US$2 million as its contribution to efforts to rebuild Marawi.

Yoji Konno, second secretary of the economic section of the Japanese embassy in Manila said the Japan’s aid would be given to the Marawi local government coursed through the United Nations Children’s Fund.

He said Japan would also offer educational assistance for Maranaos.