TV Patrol focuses on Marawi’s bakwits and still pending reparations

CHEERS TO TV Patrol for revisiting  the 2017 Marawi siege, highlighting the situation of the displaced communities or “bakwits” in the city. There are families who are still homeless five years after the government quelled rebel forces on May 23, 2017, declaring the liberation of the country’s most sacred site of Islam. 

The visual report, aired on October 16, took viewers through the city, where TV Patrol’s Jeff Canoy noted the ongoing infrastructure projects of government. But it also showed the neglect of a broad area in Ground Zero where most of the destruction took place. Canoy called attention to the delay in the appointment of members of the Marawi Compensation Board (MCB), an agency established by the Duterte administration to assess and provide for reparation and compensation for civilian losses, including life and property. 

Other Manila-based media organizations reporting on the Marawi anniversary also called attention to the non-functioning MCB. Only TV Patrol went back to Marawi to record the plight of the bakwits. 

Canoy said 5,000 bakwit families are still living in temporary shelters. He noted that the five-year agreement between the local government and private landholders who allowed the displaced communities to use their land temporarily in Sagonsongan expires in November, after which the evacuees would have to pay rent. 

The displaced expressed concern about the added burden to their daily struggle to make ends meet. One bakwit urged Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to expedite MCB appointments because they would not be able to rebuild their houses until they receive government reparation funds. 

MindaNews had previously flagged Marcos Jr.’s lack of action in Marawi, primarily calling out the non-appointment of MCB officials when it assessed Marcos Jr.’s first 100 days on October 10. 

CMFR notes that the preceding administration was slow to act on the needs of Marawi with delayed decisions on how to proceed with its rehabilitation. Former president Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 11696 (Marawi Siege Compensation Act) into law on April 13, 2022.  The implementing rules and regulations were supposed to have been promulgated “within 60 days” on or before July 12 of the same year. But Duterte did not expedite MCB appointments so that body could receive and process applications for compensation of losses suffered by Marawi residents. 

In a report on October 13, MindaNews had pointed out the inadequacy of coverage of Duterte’s compensation law as it recognizes only 24 barangays within the “Most Affected Area” and eight others as part of “Other Affected Areas.” According to Lanao del Sur officials, Basak Malutlut and seven other villages should have been included in the list of “affected areas.” The omission prompted Lanao del Sur and the city’s multisectoral groups to draft their own implementing rules and regulations on October 11 to correct this injustice to deserving residents. 

The Marawi siege and its dire impact on residents cannot be relegated to the ritual reports on milestone anniversaries. The media should keep these concerns alive in the news, for as long as government fails to provide reparations for the losses that people suffered because of the war. 

Media attention should have spotlighted the failure of Duterte and of Marcos Jr. to attend to the needs of the Maranao people and residents of a city graced by the beauty of Lake Lanao, and its historical roots and religious significance. But like much of the concerns of Mindanao, the fate of Marawi has not received the follow up coverage it deserves. 

Perhaps, the failure lies in the lack of inclusivity in the news. News should be about all Filipinos, and the media need to work harder to make Filipinos appreciate the diversity that enriches the nation.