MANILA: In a bid to facilitate rebuilding efforts in war-torn Marawi, Saudi Prince Mansour Bin Saad Al-Saud, assistant secretary-general at the King Faisal Foundation, visited the city in the southern Philippines last week. The Filipino Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Adman Alonto said it was Mansour’s first visit to the country, which was mainly aimed at analysing the condition of Muslims in Marawi, helping with rehabilitation efforts and the socioeconomic development of the Lanao del Sur province. Another purpose of his visit was to oversee how his foundation could help the Mindanao State University (MSU), the King Faisal Center for Islamic and International Studies and the King Faisal Mosque. MSU is the second-largest state university in the Philippines and has named one of its colleges after King Faisal. Jennie Tamano, Lanao del Sur provincial information officer, said the prince was received at the airport in Cagayan De Oro City by Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. on Oct. 25. Mansour was accompanied for a brief tour of the most affected area during the 2017 Marawi siege, where he saw the devastation left by the five-month war between government forces and local terrorists. The prince headed to the provincial capital where he was again received with a warm welcome. “I was able to speak to him. He said he was hurt for us after seeing the destruction left by the siege,” said Tamano. According to Tamano, she also learned that the prince “loves the Filipinos” as he grew up with a nanny from the Philippines, adding that Mansour’s children also have a Filipino as their nanny. “He also wanted to know about the intervention of the government during and after the siege. So we gave him a video presentation of what happened during the siege and how the provincial government helped during that time,” Tamano said. Alonto said Mansour’s visit was an offshoot of a previous visit from King Faisal Prize Secretary-General Abdulaziz Alsebail in September. Alonto said when they returned to Riyadh after Alsebail’s trip to the Philippines, he was called for a meeting with Mansour, who told the envoy of his keenness to visit Marawi City. In a post on social media, the prince was quoted as thanking Alonto “for giving (him) the opportunity and for making sure the success of his visit.” Mansour also thanked the governor of Lanao Del Sur and the MSU administration for facilitating his visit.