A Mindanao lawmaker appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent a measure providing monetary compensation for residents affected by the Marawi City siege.
Anak Mindanao Party-list Representative Amihilda Sangcopan said the immediate passage of the Marawi Compensation bill would help fast-track the promised rehabilitation to the war-torn city and the immediate return of the people to their homes.
“One doesn’t have to experience war to identify with the hardships of the people of Marawi.”
“One doesn’t have to experience war to identify with the hardships of the people of Marawi. As a member of Congress, we are hoping and praying that the Marawi Compensation Act be legislated and commuted to Malacañang to become a law before the end of the year,” Sangcopan said.
The bill already hurdled committee level at the Senate, while the House has already approved its version on final reading in September.
“Let’s all be part in the rise of Marawi to its old or better glory as a City.”
“The people of Marawi all wish to go home… Let us give them the chance to feel the normalcy of life back, a life they used to have four years prior. Let’s all be part in the rise of Marawi to its old or better glory as a City,” the lady legislator said.
The lawmaker said there should also be a law that strongly supports the dignity of every person and guarantees full respect for human rights, including the rights of indigenous cultural communities and other vulnerable groups.
“We wanted the basic principles and guidelines of international human rights and humanitarian laws on the right to remedy and reparation of persons whose rights were violated and whose economic, social and cultural rights were affected by armed conflicts are present,” she said.
During the commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the liberation of Marawi City from Islamic State-linked terrorists recently, President Rodrigo Duterte promised that his administration will double its efforts to complete the rehabilitation projects in the war-torn city.
“Let me take this opportunity to reassure the people of Marawi that the government is doing its best to expedite the completion of rehabilitation projects at the soonest time possible. We, in government, are strongly committed to bring back the city’s glory,” Duterte said in his keynote speech at the Rizal Park in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.
He said it is “very important” to rebuild the lives of residents of Marawi City that were destroyed following the siege that started on May 23, 2017, between government troops and the terrorists.
Duterte added that the government’s resolve is to restore damaged properties and revitalize disrupted socio-economic activities.
The bill proposes to institutionalize the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) to attain the objectives set in the Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Program (MRPP), as well as provide compensation to those who lost their homes and other properties to the siege.
A compensation subcommittee under the TFBM shall be formed to receive all claims and resolve claims filed within 30 working days.
Under the measure, lawful owners or possessors who have become internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of the destruction of their private property due to the siege may file a claim with the compensation subcommittee.
Private property owners shall be granted a replacement cost for loss or destruction of property resulting from the MRRRP.
The replacement cost shall be based on the current market value of the improvements and structure as determined by the implementing agency, a government financial institution with adequate experience in property appraisal, or an independent property appraiser.
While there is no specific amount regarding the allocation for compensation, the budgetary requirement shall be sourced from the following year’s General Appropriations Act upon ratification into law.
