US to donate additional $3.5M for Marawi City rehab – US envoy

The United States is donating an additional P182 million or $3.5 million for the rehabilitation of Marawi City, which had suffered during the five-month clash between government troops and Islamic State-linked terrorists last year.

“The US is allocating an additional P182 million or $3.5 million to help the 58,000 internally displaced people in Marawi and surrounding areas,” US Ambassador to Manila Sung Kim announced in a press briefing on Thursday.

The Marawi siege will mark its first year later this month. The crisis erupted on May 23 last year and ended in October.

“Together with our partners we will build transitional shelters, water sanitation facilities, provide psychosocial support, establish safe spaces to protect women and children from exploitation and violence and hopefully in the process jumpstart the economy with income generating activities,” he said.

This brings the total donation of the US for Marawi rehabilitation at $24.6 million.

“This is an important work and we hope to do more in the coming years,” Kim said.    /muf