PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to meet United States (US) Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim at the Malacañang Palace Monday afternoon, July 3.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the President was expected to discuss with Kim the possible assistance of the US for the recovery and rehabilitation of Marawi City, a home to 200,000 individuals whose houses were destroyed by clashes between government forces and the Islamic State-affiliated Maute group.
"We do not know yet but we have already gotten some information that they will help. We do not know if they are going to help in kind or in funds or whatever," Lorenzana said.
"I met Ambassador Kim last week and he said, 'If you need some help, let us discuss that.' That (US assistance) is included [in Duterte's meeting with Kim]," he added.
Duterte will meet Kim at Palace around 3 p.m. Malacañang is yet to release a statement on the possible agenda of the two’s meeting.
Amid Marawi crisis, the US has provided technical assistance to Philippine troops to help quell the insurgency in the southern Philippines.
The fighting in Marawi City has internally displaced around 72,000 families, as of July 2. It also resulted in the killings of 39 civilians, 336 Jihadist bandits, and 84 government troops.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella has said the Philippine government welcomes any foreign assistance for the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and recovery of Marawi City.
Abella has seen nothing wrong on foreign grants to the Philippines as it is a ‘shared commitment” of allied countries to fight against terrorism and seek for peace among the region.
“It is normal for friends and allies to support each other which need a helping hand. And after all, we have our shared commitment with our countries to combat terrorism and attain sustainable peace,” he said.
Lorenzana admitted that restoring normalcy in Marawi City will take time because lots of buildings have been destroyed because of the hostilities of the enemies.
He said the government troops are focused on clearing Marawi City of any left explosive devices, once the battle ends.
"The first thing that we would do after the fighting stops is to clear the areas of any left IEDs (improvised explosive devices) or any explosives. After which, we are going to allow the return of the civilians, of the residents of Marawi," he said. (VoxPop Philippines)
