DBM to support compensation for Marawi siege victims

MANILA — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has vowed to provide necessary support for the nine-man Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) as it fulfills its mandate in granting monetary compensation to the victims of the 2017 Marawi siege.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman made the commitment when she met Friday with MCB chairperson Maisarah Dandamun-Latiph at the DBM office in Manila.

The agenda of the meeting includes discussion on the budget, funding sources, and the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act (RA) 11696 or the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act, the DBM said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page.

The DBM has also pledged that it will fully support the rehabilitation and recovery of Marawi City, she added.

“The rehabilitation and recovery of Marawi City is a project that is close to my heart as a fellow Maranaoan,” the Budget chief said.

The meeting was held barely a week after Dandamun-Latiph took oath as MBC chair.

RA 11696 mandates the MCB, composed of a chairperson and eight members, to disburse compensation to qualified claimants “at the earliest time possible.”

Under the law, the board is tasked to facilitate the tax-free payment of reparations to eligible claimants who lost residential, cultural and commercial properties in the Marawi siege.

RA 11696 also grants private property owners compensation based on the sum of the current market value of the land and the replacement cost of structures and improvements.

The law mandates the filing of claims for compensation with the MCB within one year after its has been duly organized and in accordance with the implementing rules and regulations.

Failure to file an application within the one-year period shall be deemed a waiver of the right to file the same, according to RA 11696.

The MCB shall receive an operating budget not exceeding PHP50 billion which shall be taken from the current year’s appropriations of the Contingent Fund. (PNA)