CITY IN RUINS – In this photo taken on Oct. 8, 2017, soldiers patrol a section of the city center of Marawi as government forces continue to battle members of Islamic State-linked groups that laid siege to the provincial capital of Lanao del Sur. (JEOFFREY MAITEM)
MANILA, Philippines — An additional P6 billion may be made available to compensate of the victims of the Marawi siege in 2017, a Mindanao lawmaker said on Sunday.
Surigao del Sur 2nd Dist. Rep. Johnny Pimentel said the additional allocation for the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Fund will come from the unprogrammed appropriations in the 2024 national budget.
“The P6 billion is on top of the initial P1 billion in programmed appropriations for the compensation fund in 2023, and another P1 billion in programmed appropriations for the fund in 2024,” Pimentel, who is a member of the House committee on public accounts, said in a statement.
Previously, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) explained that unprogrammed appropriations are “standby funds” which are not automatically allocated and may only be released when certain funding conditions are met, such as when the government is able to raise additional tax or non-tax revenues.
The DBM said that for 2024, the government’s unprogrammed funds total to P731.4 billion.
While such conditions are yet to be met for the release of the funds, Pimentel said that he is confident that the government will “be able to mobilize the additional P6 billion” for the compensation fund.
“We all want the residents of Marawi to heal and succeed in rebuilding their lives, and we all want the city to fully recover and prosper,” the lawmaker added.
In May 2017, Marawi became ground zero in a five-month long battle between government security forces and groups affiliated with the Islamic State.
Compensation cost
The Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Law of 2022 provides compensation to lawful property owners for the destruction or damage of their properties during the siege.
Under the law, owners of damaged structures will be compensated at a rate of P12,000 per square meter if the structures are made of concrete, P9,000 if made of mixed concrete and wood, and P6,000 if made with light materials.
Heirs of siege victims who died due to the siege are entitled to P350,000. These rates are based on the implementing rules and regulations of MCB.
MCB earlier reported that from July to August 2023, it processed compensation applications for 4,762 claimants, with claims exceeding P17 billion.