MANILA - The government is planning to turn over by December the first batch of temporary shelters to residents displaced by the five-month conflict in Marawi City even as it looks to start full-scale rehabilitation in mid-2018.

Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chair Eduardo del Rosario said at the United for Marawi Summit Friday that the San Miguel Foundation has committed to build 5,000 units, covering the 2,747 temporary shelters the government initially needs to house displaced families.

The shelters will be put up in Sagonsongan in Marawi City and will be designed as a subdivision connected by a road to the provincial capitol.

Around 500 to 700 temporary shelters will be ready by next month, while the remaining units will be delivered in the succeeding months.

"We're promising to deliver a minimum 500 or maximum 600 to 700 housing units by Christmas," said Del Rosario in an interview.

As for permanent housing, Del Rosario said the government will take a look at extending housing loans to those interested.

So far, Del Rosario said 4,600 families still staying in 69 evacuation centers are up for resettlement.

Locals who fled Marawi City during the five-month siege are slowly returning to the city after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced the end of combat operations on Oct. 23.

The conflict displaced more than 200,000 residents from Marawi and thousands more from nearby towns.

• Marawi combat ops finally over: Lorenzana

The crisis, the biggest challenge the Philippine military has faced in recent years, claimed over 1,000 lives, mostly terror suspects, and left the Islamic city in ruins.

• LOOK: How war changed Marawi City
• 'Modernized Marawi' to rise from ruins, says rebuilding chief