(Eagle News) — An initial assessment of the damage in Marawi is expected to be completed by Oct. 27.
Mina Marasigan, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council spokesperson, said that five teams with 145 members each were deployed in the war-torn city for this purpose on Monday.
She said 49 barangays are to be assessed.
On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi liberated from the clutches of terrorists who overran the city in May in a bid to establish a caliphate for the Islamic State.
This was a day after government troops killed Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute, leaders of the terrorist group.
Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief General Eduardo Año said despite the declaration, clearing operations to weed out the remaining terrorists—around 30 of them, including academician Dr. Mahmud Ahmad—would continue.
Colonel Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of Task Force Ranao, said the declaration made by the President was a “strategic statement” that would pave the way for the rehabilitation of the city.
