UN-Habitat Builds 1K Permanent Homes for Marawi Siege Refugees, Victims

1,000 permanent houses were turned over to Marawi residents as the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) finishes its housing project for Marawi Siege refugees and victims Thursday.

This caps the “Rebuilding Marawi Project,” which is funded by the Japanese government, and started four years ago to support internally displaced persons and families which were victims during the brutal Marawi Siege in 2017.

462 houses were awarded during the handover event Thursday, May 19, on land that was procured and developed by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) and National Housing Authority (NHA), through a USD10 million funding from the Japanese government.

Around 1,000 families who were living within three to six meters easement along the Agus River and Lake Lanao, the areas which the government officially declared as a “no dwell zone,” were among those who were awarded permanent houses.

These were the same families who had to live in tents, temporary homes, and transitory shelters after insurgents and the government hailed bullets on their homes as war raged on in the vicinity of their pre-siege homes, according to UN Philippines.

UN-Habitat Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific Atsushi Koresawa said during the awarding of the homes in a message delivered by UN-Habitat Country Programme Manager, Christopher Rollo, “We and our partners are truly honored to be part of this rebuilding process. The Rebuilding Marawi Project demonstrates that adequate housing is at the center of sustainable development because having an adequate home empowers a family to satisfy its basic needs while providing the space to dream, engage in gainful livelihood, commune with neighbors, and become communities of peace.”

Several resettlement sites were already awarded to IDPs and families, including the Marawi Resettlement Site (MRS) Phase 1, located in Barangay Dulay West, and MRS Phase II, located in Darussalam Village, Barangay Dulay Proper.

Moreover, last July 22, 2021, 500 permanent houses were also awarded in Barangay Mipantao-Gadongan, including another 250 being turned over in Barangay Kilala beginning in October 2021.

Meanwhile, 24 of the 462 awarded houses are located at a Marawi local government unit property in Barangay Patani. (GFB)