Ruined by War, a Stricken Philippine Town Starts to Reawaken

For months, hardly anyone walked the streets in the dead atmosphere in the impoverished town of Butig, below the mystical Lake Lanao, following a five-month siege in the Islamic city of Marawi that ended nearly two years ago.

Butig was the stronghold of the Maute brothers, who led the Marawi siege in May 2017, driven by their allegiance to the Islamic St…