Experts estimate it may take anywhere from 50 billion to 90 billion pesos (S$1.3 billion to S$2.4 billion, US$1 billion to US$1.8 billion), but they are not sure how long the rebuilding process will take. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in October that six battalions of troops would remain in Marawi amid President Rodrigo Duterte’s calls for continued vigilance. About 30km from Marawi is Iligan, the nearest city and the halfway point from Laguindingan. This is why Marawi is sometimes called, jokingly, “the city of streamers and tarpaulins”, he said. After the terrorists overran Marawi in May, it took the military five months to retake it, street by bloody street.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 31, 2017 10:41 UTC