GORDON CALLS FOR LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT EFFORT IN MARAWI

One year after the Battle of Marawi, Senator Richard J. Gordon called on his colleagues to ensure that a long-term development effort will be implemented in Marawi City to enable the people to live with dignity and progress.

"Today, I therefore rise to ask my colleagues to approve a resolution that would address first, the recovery efforts that must be exercised in Marawi City and to make sure that there is a long-term development effort that would allow people to live with dignity and progress in Marawi...," he said in a privilege speech.

Gordon noted that there are people who are still hungry in Marawi - food supplies are still scarce and livelihood has not been adequately provided for. He added that many people are in diaspora, so to speak, living with their families outside of Marawi, or for that matter trying to find ways to have ends meet.

"It is important that the Senate, therefore, lends its talents and skills into trying and influencing policy to make sure that we can further speed up the recovery of Marawi and hopefully make something better than what was before, including, perhaps, the development of Lake Lanao which can be the source of mass livelihood," the senator said.

Gordon also called on his colleagues to join him in honoring the soldiers, like 1st Lt. Kent Fagyan who sacrificed life and limb to protect the country's sovereignty.

"...at the same time honor the sacrifices of those who died, those who were wounded, those who are still in need of support from our country and I didn't say government because we need to support each other irrespective of what our ethnicity or our ethnic backgrounds are," he said.

"We don't have a tradition of victory in this country. We celebrate mostly our defeats. But history shows that all these little acts when you put them all together, it creates a ripple of hope or many ripples that can create a wave of patriotism in this country that is so important. At times, we take for granted our freedom. Not just at times, but most of the time, we tend to abuse our democratic privileges and rights because we don't know how it is to defend our country," the senator pointed out.