Mindanaotoday.com | TFBM gears up for 2022 Marawi peace week celebration
By: Apipa Bagumbaran
MARAWI CITY – As the rehabilitation efforts continue to gain momentum, a series of free events and activities to promote peace and unity is scheduled to begin here Tuesday, May 17, and continue until May 23 for this year’s Marawi Week of Peace.
This, as the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM), its member line agencies, local government units, and development partners commemorate the heroism and unity displayed during the 2017 Marawi siege.
The week-long commemoration will kick off with a business conference and trade fair to support local micro, small and medium enterprises and IDP-led enterprises which are seen as key to sustaining the rehabilitation and Covid-19 pandemic recovery.
The trade fair, to be set up at the gymnasium of Marawi City Hall from May 17-23, will feature not only an exhibit of local products and cuisine but also free services such as free pedicure, manicure, sugar and BP check, haircut, tribal certification, birth registration orientation, national ID registration, rice distribution, legal assistance, and business one-stop-shop.
Medical services will also be provided on May 17-20 while free architectural designs will be offered for homeowners from the most affected area (MAA) of Marawi on May 17-19.
Various completed infrastructure projects will likewise be inaugurated such as the Sarimanok Sports Stadium, Marawi Convention Center, School of Living Tradition, Marawi Museum, Rizal Park, Ramadhan mosque, barangay complexes, and road infrastructure inside the MAA.
A series of peace conversations with women, youth, hostage survivors, and former extremists and rebels will also be conducted, as well as training on entrepreneurship, product development, and skills training.
Permanent shelters in barangays Gadongan and Patani are also set to be turned over to identified beneficiaries.
The Marawi Week of Peace was launched in 2018 under the theme “Peace Starts With Us: Give, Work, and Share” to strengthen social cohesion between and among stakeholders through collaborative activities to deliver socio-economic support and promote spiritual development and continuous engagement.
“We do this every year to remind us of the destruction if there is war and the damage it causes to the people and properties, and to make us take to heart the importance of peace],” said assistant secretary Felix Castro Jr., TFBM field office manager, emphasizing the importance of peace in achieving prosperity and progress. (APB | PIA Lanao del Sur)