"Three years after the displacement of our sisters and brothers in Marawi"
STATEMENT OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS

The bloody and violent siege that took place in Marawi is still alive in the displacement of our sisters & brothers 3 years later, today.

That is 1,095 days of worsening poverty and violence that they have suffered because we still have not made their pain a priority.

This pandemic makes displacement for those who call Marawi home even more painful. We need to rebuild their home. Dahil habang tayo ay nakakulong sa ating mga tahanan, karamihan sa kanila ay wala pa ring mauuwian. Washing hands, social distancing, staying healthy and earning income despite everything are especially heavy when you have not even been given the opportunity to properly recover economically, socially and psychologically, from the trauma and pain of a bloody war.

Bugbog na bugbog na sila.

We must turn our eyes to those who suffer the most: the children of Marawi. Ang mga bata ay patuloy pa ring hindi nakakapasok sa paaralan. Habang ang iba sa kanila ay napipilitang magtrabaho at maging tagapagtaguyod ng kanilang mga pamilya, o kaya ay mag-asawa.

Ang mundong ibinabahagi natin sa 120,000 Pilipinong anak natin ay mundo ng karahasan. Over 120,000 children of Marawi will lose their childhoods if they spend their most crucial years in displacement, never getting to know what normalcy means.

Hindi sapat na puro pag-asa na lang ang binibigay natin sa kanila. We need to bring them home.

COVID-19 will prolong, but should never overshadow this. Karapat-dapat lang na maramdamang muli ng mga anak at kababaihan ng Marawi ang kaligtasan sa kanilang tinubuang-lupa.

We are actively seeking ways to push for the rehabilitation of Marawi through consultations with government agencies and partnerships with civil society organizations. I'd like to thank those who work day and night, giving eyes and lending hands to the alleviation of this humanitarian disaster. Only together can we quicken the healing of Marawi.

Mga kapatid, hindi man kayo maaaring magtipon-tipon sa pagdiriwang ng Eid'l Fitr, maaari pa rin nating ipanalangin ang pagbangon at kapayapaan ng Marawi. Kasama ninyo kami; hindi kayo nag-iisa. Kailangan natin ang isa't isa, at nakasalalay ito sa ating lahat.

Huwag natin kakalimutan ang Marawi hangga't ang bawat babae, lalaki, bata at matanda, ay hindi pa nakakauwi muli nang ligtas.