Manila: Singapore has promised to assist in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of conflict-torn Marawi City, Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

After meeting with his Singaporean counterpart, Dr Ng Eng Hen, on Tuesday in Manila, Lorenzana said the city state had committed itself to help in reconstruction efforts by letting the country use C-130 military transport aircraft to help ferry supplies and other materials needed for the effort.

“The use of the C-130 to help transport supplies and provision of training regarding building up cities are things the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) could readily avail,” Lorenzana said.

Fifty-eight days of fighting in Marawi City have reduced large areas of the city to rubble as air strikes, artillery bombardment and brutal house-to-house fighting raged. While officials like AFP Chief Eduardo Ano said it may only take days before the conflict ends, there are still much to be done in terms of totally eradicating Mate and Abu Sayyaf militants from the area, not to mention efforts needed for the rehabilitation and construction of Marawi City.

“The challenge posed by violent extremism is a problem for all of us in the region, hence the Philippines can now count on the support in the fight against the Daesh-inspired Maute/Abu Sayyaf in Marawi City,” Lorenzana said.

Aside from providing help in transporting supplies and materials, Singapore had also offered to provide the AFP with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities — something that the country currently lacks.

Singapore is a leader in the Southeast Asian region in terms of drone technology but is yet unclear if the country would allow the use of its unmanned aerial vehicles or manned aircraft in ISR.

“Minister Ng also offered the utilisation of Singapore’s Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Risk Reduction Centre to galvanise foreign contributions for the reconstruction of Marawi. Originally put up to coordinate foreign assistance to Southeast Asian countries devastated by natural calamities, Minister Ng said the centre could likewise be used for Marawi’s rehabilitation,” Lorenzana said.

As of Sunday, the conflict had killed 45 civilians and 97 government combatants. The cost in terms of lives lost to militants stand at 411.

Earlier, US Ambassador Sung Kim had offered the services of two Cessna 208 planes for ISR in Marawi City.