THE minority bloc in the House of Representatives backs Malacañang’s plan to provide additional P1 billion for the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Fund.
“No expense should be spared to enable the residents of Marawi City to rebuild and renew their lives,” Libanan, a 4Ps party-list nominee in Congress, said.
“We must stress that adequate victim compensation is absolutely imperative for survivors to fully heal and recover,” he said.
Libanan, a lawyer by profession and one-time chairperson of the House Committee on Justice, was referring to the proposed 2025 national budget with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr seeking an additional P1 billion for the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Fund.
Congress initially approved P1 billion for the fund in 2023, and another P1 billion this year, without counting unprogrammed appropriations, according to Libanan.
The Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Law of 2022 mandates reparation benefits for lawful owners of property destroyed or damaged, either totally or partially, during the five-month armed conflict between government security forces and terrorist groups.
The law also repays owners of property demolished pursuant to the Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Program, as well as the heirs of those who lost their lives, or are legally presumed dead on account of the siege.
The 2017 Marawi siege, also known as the Battle of Marawi or the Marawi crisis, left the city in ruins, and dislocated over 200,000 residents.
More than 95 percent of structures within the city’s main areas of 24 barangays were either heavily damaged or totally destroyed principally due to heavy aerial and artillery bombardment by government forces.
The Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) concluded on July 3, 2024 the application period for claims related to the siege.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “House minority backs more funding for Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Fund.”
