While affected residents of Marawi City see the lack of housing as a problem, some landowners see it as an opportunity—to raise the price of their property. For five months, government troops battled Islamic State-inspired extremists who laid siege to Marawi in May 2017, and flattened the city. Eduardo del Rosario, chair of Task Force Bangon Marawi, said he himself discovered the land price hike when the interagency task force was double-checking the cost of land needed for its programs, projects and activities. ADVERTISEMENTNavarro said that while land price speculation among some Marawi landowners was not widespread, it might be addressed with a strong statement by officials like Del Rosario. Last December, the task force said proposals for the rehabilitation of Marawi would be subjected to the Swiss challenge, instead of the customary public bidding.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 04, 2018 22:52 UTC