The P1 billion fund set aside in the 2024 budget to compensate Marawi residents affected by the 2017 siege of lawless elements in the city remains untouched as of August, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the utilization rate of the compensation for Marawi siege victims stands at 57.42% in 2023 and 0% in 2024.
“The release of the same [compensation for Marawi siege victims] is subject to the submission of actual compensation claims. To date, the MCB (Marawi Compensation Board has not yet requested the release of its fiscal year 2024 appropriation for this program,” Pangandaman told GMA News Online.
Congress has started deliberation of the proposed budget of different agencies for 2025. The national government has requested a P6.352 trillion appropriations for next year to fund its expenditures.
Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Adiong said the budget for compensation of Marawi siege victims had low utilization rate due to a significantly reduced amount of compensation for the beneficiaries.
Adiong said this when asked how the implementation of the aid distribution will proceed as provided under the Marawi compensation law when the proposed 2025 budget for the said law is only P1 billion, down from P2 billion from the 2024 budget.
“The problem, based on the last oversight committee that we conducted in the Senate, is the valuation standard which is the fair market value. Some eligible beneficiaries of these compensation packages felt that the valuation is problematic because it will reduce the amount the claimants will get),” he said.
“The arrangement is [somehow between a] willing buyer and willing seller. They will go to the area, go to the property and then determine kung ano, how much the destroyed property is worth…they will value and they will assess. Eh hindi na naman kami nagbebenta (The people are not selling their property to begin with),” he added.
The lawmaker then said that the Marawi compensation law needs to be amended because it was passed to serve justice and foster healing among people who lost everything and were traumatized by the five-month siege. He added it was not for individuals who want to sell their property.
“There is an issue in utilization rate because some of the families might have already submitted all the requirements…but after their vetting process and they are able to finally receive the compensation package, they back out because of the lower rate. Because the Marawi compensation law is not something that should deal with the fair market value alone,” Adiong said.
“It is not an issue of [if there is] a willing buyer and willing seller. This is a social justice piece of legislation. That point [of social justice] was not really appreciated in the way the government pays the eligible beneficiaries,” he added.
Amending the Marcos compensation law, Adiong said, should do away with the fair market value amount as a basis for compensation.
The fair market value clause was introduced by the Senate in the bicameral conference committee before then-President Rodrigo Duterte signed the measure into law in April 2022, according to the congressman.
“We need to focus on the valuation mode. The agreement that we had now with our Senate counterpart is to revisit the law and introduce an amended bill so the Marawi compensation board will have a wider elbow room to determine which valuation mode to use so they can faithfully adhere to the principle of social justice system,” Adiong said.
“The question [now] is how fast can we provide and how [receptive] recipients are of the actual payment. Hindi naman nagbebenta. Nasiraan kami [ng ari-arian]. Kailangan maintindihan natin na ‘yung [Marawi] Compensation Board is [there] for social healing, to deliver a social justice piece of legislation,” he added.
Likewise, Adiong said that he has also reached out to Pangandaman, and that the DBM chief assured him that a larger budget will be allocated for the Marawi compensation law provided that the utilization rate will increase.
“We initially requested a higher amount, but even if we get our desired amount and it remains unutilized, then it would be inefficient to do that. If we request for more, it should also reflect the utilization rate,” Adiong said. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
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