MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur--As the rehabilitation of the war-torn city continues, theTask Force Bangon Marawi inaugurated the sixth mosque repaired inside the city's most affected area.
TFBM chairperson Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario on Thursday, March 3, led the ribbon-cutting of Macaorao Mosque in Barangay Tolali signaling the completion of the rehabilitation of the religious site, which was damaged during the five-month siege in 2017.
Del Rosario said the rehabilitation of Islamic places of worship was in compliance with the instruction of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to prioritize the repair of mosques to contribute to the social healing of Marawi residents.
"Ito ang pang anim, meron pa tayong tatlo na ongoing and more will be coming para maayos natin at marepair, mareconstruct ang more or less 30 masjid na nasira during the Marawi siege. Patuloy nating gagawin ito para eventually magkaroon na tayo ng total recovery and total rehabilitation in Marawi," he said.
[This is the sixth, we still have three ongoing and more will be coming for us to repair, to reconstruct the more or less 30 mosques that were damaged during the Marawi siege. We will continue to do this so that eventually we can have total recovery and total rehabilitation in Marawi.]
The other five religious sites repaired and already turned over to administrators were the iconic Grand Mosque, Masjid Disomangcop, Darussalam Mosque, White Mosque, and Marinaut Mosque.
Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra expressed his gratitude to TFBM for realizing the repair and reconstruction of damaged mosques. "Alam natin kung gaano kahirap ipatayo itong mga religious establishments dahil may prohibition under our Constitution na yung pagpapatayo ng religious establishments ay hindi pwedeng pondohan ng government funds. Pero dahil sa pagpupunyagi at paghahanap ng solusyon ng ating mahal na Secretary, ang chairman ng TFBM ay nakahanap siya ng paraan," he said.
[We know how difficult it is to build these religious establishments because there is a prohibition under our Constitution that the construction of religious establishments cannot be funded by government funds. But due to the efforts by our dear Secretary in finding a solution, the chairman of TFBM, has found a way.]
Gandamra also thanked the private donors who extended financial support for the repair of mosques in Marawi citing its significance to Muslim identity.
Macaorao mosque Imam Hadji Usman Ibrahim likewise conveyed his appreciation to TFBM for repairing the mosque. "We express our gratitude and accept this beautiful mosque...We are so glad that there are people with golden hearts. Sukran LGU Marawi, Sukran Task Force Bangon Marawi. May the Almighty Allah bless you," he said.
According to him, Macaorao mosque can accommodate around 200 Muslim worshippers, especially during Salatul Jumu'ah or Friday prayer. (APB/PIA ICIC)
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