Marawi nears closure, healing with passage of compensation bill

SIEGE CASUALTY The bullet ridden Mindanao Islamic Center (balcony photo), in a photo taken in 2017, stands amid ruined structures following the five-month war between government troops and Islamic State-linked terrorists in Marawi City. —JEOFFREY MAITEM

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Philippines — Abdullah Hakim, 34, a father of two, looks forward to moving into a permanent house when his financial capacity permits.

His family lives at Angat Buhay Village, a transitory shelter site in Barangay Sagonsongan here, after their house in Barangay Lilod Madaya was destroyed in the course of bombing runs during the five-month war in 2017, when Islamic State-linked armed groups laid siege to the city.

Their former home, built through hard-earned savings, stood on a riverbank which the government had already declared a “no-build zone.”

Hakim hopes his family can be included in an upcoming government compensation measure for those who lost their properties during the siege so they can start a new life by rebuilding their home in his parents’ property in Barangay Rorogagus.

The long-awaited compensation from the government is closer to being realized after the approval of Senate Bill No. 2420, or the proposed Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act of 2022, on Jan. 31.

Although the House of Representatives firmed up its own version in September last year, it chose to adopt the Senate version.

In moving for the House concurrence of SB 2420, Anak Mindanao Rep. Amihilda Sangcopan noted that the House Committee on Disaster Resilience, which sponsored House Bill No. 9925, and the authors of the measure have approved of the Senate version.

The House concurrence shortened the legislative process, and the measure is now awaiting the signature of President Duterte, who vowed in 2017 that “Marawi will rise again as a prosperous city.”

Compensation is expected to drive the massive rebuilding of private houses in the city and raise prospects for the eventual return of families to their previous communities.

A government profiling several years ago counted more than 15,000 families who were displaced from 24 villages in the city center that comprise what is now called the “most affected area” (MAA) of the battles.

PUBLIC INFRA SPENDING: Absent a compensation measure for destroyed private properties, the rebuilding of Marawi City involves public infrastructure, such as the House of Living Traditions, Marawi Museum, and the P180-million stadium as shown in these photos taken on Feb. 4. —PHOTOS BY RICHEL V. UMEL

Compensation scheme

As of Jan. 19, some 2,418 homeowners had applied for building permits, 865 of them had been granted by the Office of the Building Official. Some 95 houses were granted occupancy permits.

At present, the rebuilding that the government continually harps about involves public infrastructure which, displaced residents said, is useless if they are not able to return. Some of these projects are also faced with issues on land ownership.

Under SB 2420, compensation would be provided to those whose properties were destroyed and who lost their loved ones during the five-month conflict. Also entitled to receive compensation were those whose properties were demolished during the implementation of the Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program (MRRRP), including the search for and recovery of unexploded ordnance.

These properties should be located in the MAA—comprising of the villages of Lumbac Madaya, South Madaya, Raya Madaya 1, Raya Madaya 2, Sabala Amanao, Sabala Amanao Proper, Tolali, Daguduban, Norhaya Village, Banggolo Poblacion, Bubong Madaya, Lilod Madaya, Dansalan, Datu Sa Dansalan, Sangkay Dansalan, Moncado Colony, Moncado Kadilingan, Marinaut West, Marinaut East, Kapantaran, Wawalayan Marinaut, Lumbac Marinaut, Tuca Marinaut and Datu Naga.

Also included are properties in the so-called other affected areas, comprising of the villages of Saduc Proper, Panggao Saduc, Raya Saduc, Lilod Saduc, Datu Saber, Bangon, Fort and Wawalayan Caloocan.

The fair market value of land and lost personal properties, and replacement cost of destroyed structures are the general bases for providing compensation, which will be tax-free.

For properties covered by insurance claims, the compensation will be to the extent of the value not covered.

During the Jan. 31 deliberation of the measure, it was Sen. Risa Hontiveros who inserted a provision on the inclusion of those who lost their loved ones to the siege in the compensation scheme.

A nine-member Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) will be organized to oversee the compensation process.

Claimants will have one year from the time the MCB is organized to file for compensation.

Sen. Franklin Drilon and Sen. Sonny Angara clarified that funding for the actual compensation was not contained in the measure but would have to be included in the national budget beginning in 2023.

With the measure approved on third reading, an ecstatic Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, a native of Mindanao, thanked his colleagues for living up to the expectation of Marawi’s displaced, referred in government documents as internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Marawi Museum

Measure of justice

Beyond the monetary value, the group Marawi Reconstruction Conflict Watch (MRCW) said the compensation was also “a measure of justice” for Marawi IDPs.

“This legislation was passed unanimously by both Houses [of Congress] in recognition of the moral and legal obligation of the state in this long process of rehabilitation and recovery of Marawi City and its people,” MRCW said.

“Like the first drop of rain on the parched land that bore witness to the destruction of our beloved Islamic City of Marawi, the approval in Congress of the Marawi Compensation Act is a historic and monumental gesture that provides tangible support and full recognition to the pain and sorrow inflicted on those who lost loved ones and their homes in the 2017 war,” a joint statement of MRCW and International Alert Philippines read.

“For the Maranao, the law is the culmination of a long and arduous journey toward achieving justice for a people ravaged by war and stripped of their honor and dignity … We continue to stand in solidarity with the internally displaced people of Marawi and pay tribute to their patience, perseverance and courage,” the groups added.

P180-million stadium

Remembering victims

They hoped that the compensation would be the “first step toward closure, healing, and lasting peace.”

“Let us begin the real process of rehabilitation and recovery by remembering all of those who died, who suffered, and who continue to endure the grief and loss that will be theirs forever,” they said.

“After the long and harrowing process, I believe that it is now high time to give our brothers and sisters that semblance of justice that they deserve after all that they have lost during the infamous Marawi siege,” said Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra.

Bangsamoro Parliament Deputy Speaker Zia Alonto-Adiong said: “We have proven to the world that we value the rights of the IDPs and that we are compensating them for the pain and suffering that they have endured for the past four years. I believe that through this, we are moving as one nation by addressing the root causes of the conflict and ensuring its nonrecurrence by providing the safeguards needed to rectify the wrongs of the past.”

—WITH A REPORT FROM EDWIN O. FERNANDEZ

READ: Marawi IDPs welcome Senate’s approval of the Marawi Compensation Bill