Thread by @znsuzara

1/x The extremely slow pace of Marawi reconstruction is another case of neglect and bad governance.

It is easy to blame the delay in rehabilitation to lack of funds but that is not true.

2/x As this slide shows, there were funds allocated for Marawi reconstruction since 2018, albeit a small fraction of the total funding requirement of 70B.

@rupertnotholmes @robertsanders_ and I sifted through the DBM reports to make sense of these figures

3/x DBM has been a favorite scapegoat when big-ticket projects don’t commence on time. Let me explain the policy behind the figures though so they would make more sense.

Marawi rehab funds are lodged in the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund or NDRRM Fund

4/x The NDRRM Fund is a special purpose fund that isn’t automatically released upon the effectivity of the annual General Appropriations Act. They are not part of what called “GAA as allotment release order”

The release of the NDRRM Fund is governed by certain conditions.

5/x What are those conditions?

1. The fund has to be requested by the implementing agency/LGU/GOCC

2. The funding request needs to be evaluated by the NDRRM Council and then elevated to the Office of the President

3. The funding request need to be approved by the OP

6/x It may or may not consider upon the recommendation of the NDRRM Council.

Funds for Marawi rehabiliation and reconstruction can therefore only be released by DBM when it receives a written directive from the OP.

7/x Given that long process prior to the release of Marawi funds, can the delay really be blamed on DBM? No.

The policy is a given. It is part of what’s legislated in the GAA. Marawi implementors should be aware of this. They should not be using lack of funds as an excuse.

8/x People on the ground lament that there has been no significant improvement in Marawi. Take a look closer look at these slides on fund releases for housing and infra and you'll see why.

There are two critical dates to look at:

1. Date of SARO release
2. Date of OP approval

9/x And the slides on funding for Marawi infrastructure

10/x The approval of the funds for big-ticket reconstruction projects like housing and infrastructure were issued only between late 2019 to middle of last year while NCR was on lockdown.

The dates show that on average, it took 2-3 weeks for DBM to process the funds documents.

11/x Granted, we can all argue that it could have done in 1-2 days if Malacañang so wished. But looks like it didn’t.

Nonetheless, these reports suggest that bottlenecks can be attributed either to the Marawi Task Force or to those who review and approve project funding.

12/x So what really caused those delays? Marawi rehab implementors owe it to the Maranaos to explain why no significant reconstruction happened between 2018-2020.

Two years of inaction is a long time.

13/x Yesterday in the FOCAP presser on Marawi rehab, I said there is a need to link planning and budgeting for the whole Marawi reconstruction effort.

One thing to ask: is there anyone is charge of programming the rehabilitation effort on an annual basis?

14/x If they aren’t doing that, then the internally displaced peoples of Marawi can only expect further delays in the rehabilitation process.

At the rate things are going, Marawi won’t be reconstructed on the government’s own target date of end of 2021.

15/x If reconstruction is a failure, and the compensation bill remain pending in Congress, should they just wait indefinitely?

Please naman. It’s unimaginably difficult to live with the trauma of war. Give the Maranaos some hope to hold on to.