President Rodrigo Duterte. | PHOTO: PCOO / Facebook
ILIGAN CITY — The House of Representatives acted to shorten the process for enacting the Marawi compensation bill into law by adopting the version firmed up by the Senate on Monday.
During its session on Wednesday, the House concurred with Senate Bill 2420, effectively terminating the need to convene a bicameral conference committee to reconcile two versions of the measure.
In September last year, the House passed Bill 9925, providing a scheme to compensate owners of properties destroyed during the five-month war spawned by the siege on Marawi City by Islamic State-linked terrorists.
The Senate version includes compensation for those who died or were presumed to have died in the war. It also pegged the compensation on the fair market value of the destroyed properties.
In moving for the House concurrence of SB 2420, Anak Mindanao partylist Rep. Amihilda Sangcopan noted that the House Committee on disaster resilience, which sponsored HB 995, and the authors of the measure, have approved of the Senate version.
Earlier, the network Marawi Reconstruction Conflict Watch (MRCW) urged the House leadership to adopt the Senate version to hasten the legislative process.
The measure now goes to the Palace for President Duterte’s signature.
“We are hopeful that we can have this law signed before the 18th Congress adjourns,” said Maranao activist Drieza Lininding.