Marawi board sets process for siege victim compensation

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 24) — Six years after the city came under siege, the Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) signed the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the law that provides compensation to owners of properties destroyed during the five-month-long Battle of Marawi and the heirs of those who died.

On May 23, the anniversary of the 2017 siege, the board released a video showing the IRR signing for the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act which then President Rodrigo Duterte approved last year.

The IRR details the claims process to receive the payout. It shall be effective 15 days after its publication in at least two newspapers of general circulation.

MCB Chairperson Maisara Dandamun-Latiph earlier said ₱1 billion was set aside fo the initial payouts to victims.

She said they expect around 17,800 households from 32 barangays to file a monetary claim, which will be evaluated by the nine-member board.

The MCB has yet to announce the period of application for the claim.

Under the law, any owner of a residential, cultural, or commercial structure, or other properties in affected areas, is entitled to a tax-free payment from the government.

Compensation will also be given to the heirs of those killed in the war, which broke out between government forces and Islamic State-linked militants, as well as of those legally presumed dead.

According to Amnesty International, 920 IS-linked militants, 165 soldiers and 47 civilians were killed in the Marawi crisis. The conflict also displaced some 360,000 people in the city and surrounding areas.