Mayor Majul Usman Gandamra and his indestructible devotion in rebuilding the city of his youth

A young Majul Usman Gandamra remembers Marawi City in Lanao del Sur as a relatively peaceful environment in his growing up years. It was a time when people could enjoy picturesque sights of mountains, rolling hills and the calm Lake Lanao, side by side with the promise of progress with Marawi once bustling as the trading hub of Lanao del Sur.



Spending half his life in the Islamic City which he proudly calls home, the industrious and optimistic adult Gandamra grew into had every faith Marawi could reach its destined potential someday, especially after his immersion in the much developed capital of the Philippines where he eventually spent some time for work. Everything good he saw, he envisioned for his beloved city - and he was prepared to do what it took to make them happen.

This very same desire for Marawi's development, after all, has been instilled in Gandamra's heart and consciousness for as long as he can remember given how many of his forebears had long offered their lives in public service.

When time came for Gandamra to carry out his family's sworn vow to take part ensuring the continued progress of Marawi, the political route initially failed the city's devoted son, who lost his bid for Assemblyman in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2008.

Three years later, however, following the tragic turn of events in the region infamously known as the Maguindanao Massacre, Gandamra's reputation as a patriot preceded him and was appointed by then-President Benigno Aquino 3rd among the replacement of ARMM officials who tendered their resignation over the bloody debacle.

By 2013, Gandamra's unsullied intentions were all the more pronounced given his brief yet productive track record as a first-time public servant, so much so that he deservingly earned the trust not only of his city but the rest of Lanao del Sur's First District who eagerly voted him as their representative to the ARMM.

Continuing the call of public service, Gandamra willingly heeded his people's plea in 2016 to come home to Marawi and lead them to progress when he ultimately ran and won as mayor that same year.

Suffice it to say, to be mayor of Marawi City is what constituted the true fulfillment of the mission and legacy he inherited as a Gandamra. And for the dutiful descendant of the city's stewards, the responsibility came only at the right time. By then, he was armed with five-years of valuable experience from a larger scale of government work, a good part of which in the critical post of state auditor, a graduate of law and a bona fide Bar passer.

'I've always believed that we shouldn't just aspire [to be elected into government] but we also have to prepare ourselves [for the task],' was one of Gandamra's simple but very wise words for The Sunday Times Magazine in a virtual interview.

Rightly emphasizing that genuine development can never be possible without education, the 49-year-old added, 'Through my study of the law, I became more confident in pursing the path of my destiny.'

With no control over other people who choose to achieve their goals with violence rather than lessons from history, experience, set rules and even from the people's very desires, his plans for the city were blown into pieces barely a year into his office with the debilitating Marawi Siege.

Considered as 'one of the fiercest urban battles in the country's history,' the siege of Marawi began on May 23, 2017 when terrorists opened fire on a small group of soldiers sent to the city to capture terrorist leader Isnilon Hapilon.

'People thought it was a usual occurrence here in Mindanao. [Just another incident] where rebels would arrive in the territory to destabilize the system while the government troops would come in right after and take the situation under control. But for this time, in the Marawi Seige, it took us five months to repose the city.'

By then, thousands of lives had been lost and more than 300,000 individuals been displaced, as President Rodrigo Duterte finally declared the Liberation of Marawi on October 17, 2017. Almost a week later on October 23, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana effectively called off combat operations in the city.

The fighting over, another difficult struggle had just begun for Marawi City. A city left in ruins, a people rendered desolate and all signs of past progress obliterated, Gandamra steeled himself to start over, completely aware how Marawi had painfully regressed, far back from the place of his youth.

But again, education and experience prepared Gandamra for the gargantuan task ahead. Fueled by his generations' old devotion to the city and the renewed trust the people gave him in his 2019 reelection, this story finds this man of clear intentions and of his words at the helm of Marawi City on the rise again.

There remains much to be done, especially with the interruptions brought about by the pandemic, but all the same, what a story indeed - with high hopes - can Mayor Majul Usman Gandamra share today.

When the siege took place, where were you and what immediately went through your mind at that time?

Actually, when the siege happened, we were here at city hall and stayed here for a few days. They were attempting to enter the city hall, overrun it and later on, they want to raise their flag.

During that time, our authorities cannot even get inside. So, us civilian authorities and some of my relatives stayed in the city hall to protect it from being overrun by the Isis-inspired group.

Of course it was normal to feel fear at that time but it was fear not for my own safety but for the people who were with me in the city hall and our families. I'd say that's one of the most dangerous time in our whole life - there was the high probability of bloodshed because the city was already encircled [by enemy forces].

But we didn't leave because we believed the government should still be under control of the situation. Thankfully, we survived.

It's heartbreaking that civilians got caught in the siege and that some of them and some government troops lost their lives.



What lessons have you learned from those dark five months in Marawi's history?

I keep telling my kababayans that this incident should be a great lesson for all of us not to be complacent. We should be socially responsible and accountable - when we see something that could potentially destroy our city, our home, we could not turn a blind eye.

Not because they are our relatives or they are Meranaws or Muslims or Christians like us, regardless of religious affiliation, when we see an attempt to destroy our land, we have to [inform and] cooperate with the government.

The government had always assured Marawi of its help to rebuild the city even before the conflict was resolved. That was when Task Force Bangon Marawi came to be...

Yes, but for the information of the public, the rehabilitation proper of Marawi started in July 2020 - that was the time that the funds intended for the construction of these projects were released to the different implementing agencies.

For instance, there are projects implemented by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), by National Housing Authority (NHA), Department of Transportation (DoTr) and other agencies in the government, including the local government in Marawi City, which is also tasked to implement some of the infrastructure projects here.

Of course, there was debris clearing in 2018 but that's a different phase of rehabilitation.

We also have to explain that there's the dynamics in the government. The process starts from Department of Budget and Management (DBM), releasing to the different agencies of the government, submitting project proposals, then there's the approval by the Office of the President and that took some years and months to really start these projects.

And then of course, by the time we were starting, the pandemic happened. There was a slowdown in the movements of people because of the lockdown and the workers who are not only from Marawi but also from nearby cities and provinces, could not come here.

Still, we remain optimistic. As of the moment, in terms of infrastructure projects that we already started, we are 50 percent done with the rehabilitation.

The ideal completion of the projects that have been started is December 2021. If not, we'll probably finish before the end of the term of the President in 2022.

High up in the most devastating effects of the bloody conflict is the displacement of countless Meranaws. Four years after the siege, do they have a place to call home and a semblance of normalcy in their day to day lives?

Even at the height of the fight, the national government, in coordination with us, already started planning the rehabilitation and they required us to submit a master development plan. There, we included the construction of permanent as well as temporary shelters so that we can relocate people, our constituents.

We actually fast tracked this and we were able to build more or less 4,000 temporary shelters that serve as communities with complete facilities. Of course, until now, we are also trying to improve the services being rendered there.

At the same time, permanent shelters and housing are being built for those constituents who will be permanently displaced, those who no longer have homes to return to on ground zero or those who have been living in permanent danger zones, like the lakeside.

For several months there have been ongoing turnover of permanent homes for beneficiaries. NHA is continuously building homes for our citizens, that's on top of other housing projects of UN Habitat in coordination with the Japan government.

Some of the sectors are being allowed to rebuild or reconstruct their houses at ground zero but not all sectors are allowed because there's also a massive construction of public infrastructures like roads, drainages and so on. After the completion of these projects, probably this year, they will be allowed to go back and start rebuilding or reconstructing their private houses.

Aside from that, our constituents are also waiting for the approval from the Congress of compensation bill that will help them rebuild their homes. That's also one of our clamors, for the bill to be passed [the Marawi Compensation Bill and the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act of 2020, filed in the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, seek to compensate residents with budgets between P20 and P30 billion]

With the physical rehabilitation of Marawi visible to us, what about the emotional and psychological rehabilitation of its citizens?

The Marawi rehabilitation and reconstruction is a holistic approach. We are addressing not just the physical infrastructure that were damaged but also the trauma that our people experienced. I would say it had caused distrust and mistrust - probably the people towards the government or the people towards the people.

As early as the Liberation of Marawi, there had been psychosocial intervention through the different concerned agencies - Department of Social Welfare and Development, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. We are also engaging our religious leaders so that they can help us convey to the people the psychosocial intervention they need.

Do you have a vision for an all-new Marawi City based on the goals you continue to pursue?

I am very optimistic that after completing all of these projects, Marawi City will be transformed not just physically. Its people will also undergo transformation - they will be socially responsible and accountable.

We will no longer be bystanders just letting the government do all the work but we too, as individuals, we will take the initiative to better our city. And if ever another siege occurs, we the citizens ourselves will not let that escalate [to the same degree as the Marawi Siege] and nip it in the bud.

This hope might be a long shot because of the long-standing tradition and culture that we have but we have to do it, we have to show to the world that we know how to co-exist with our people, with other religion. We have to send out the message that everyone is welcome here in Marawi City - they don't have to fear living with us and in investing in us.