Philippine Daesh's 2017 siege victims claim for 800mil pesos in compensation
The victims lost family members and properties in the five-month siege.
LANAO DEL SUR: Philippine authorities have reportedly received claims totalling 800 million pesos from people whose family members were killed and properties destroyed during a siege by pro-IS terrorists on a southern city in 2017.
Chairperson of the Marawi Compensation Board Maisara Dandamun-Latiph said in a report that the claims were filed by at least 2,013 residents since July 4.
More than 1,200 people, mostly militants including foreigners, were killed while thousands of residents were displaced during the five-month battle between Philippine government forces and militants who laid siege on Marawi city in Lanao del Sur province to carve out regional territory for the Middle East terror group.
For one, Latiph said, the family of Yasir Naga, a former member of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the now-defunct Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, filed a claim of 53 million pesos for Pacasum College, their ancestral house and commercial building shelled during the fighting.
“In Marawi city, there are many families like Naga who lost their properties in 2017 and all of them are seeking compensation. There are small property owners who lost their buildings too. The 1 billion-peso compensation money would not be enough to cover the expenses,” she told Minda News.
Latiph said she explained the situation during the hearing of the House Ad Hoc Committee on Marawi Rehabilitation in Manila last week.
“On July 4 alone, we processed the claims for 800 million pesos in one single day,” Latiph said.
The Marawi Compensation Board is seeking a bigger allocation in the 2024 budget from Congress, it was reported further.
Under the Marawi Siege Victims’ Compensation Act 2022, the government provided a tax-free 1 billion-peso compensation for Marawi residents who lost properties or family members during the battle.
Latiph said they will appeal for more funds from Congress to compensate the claims of thousands of Marawi residents.
“The amount we would request from Congress would depend on the claims filed and received by the board after we have them reviewed,” Latiph was quoted as saying, adding the board received 21 claims so far from families whose members were killed in the fighting.
Latiph also said the relatives of those killed will receive a compensation of 350,000 pesos for each filed claim and clarified that the board had not made a payment to the 2,013 claims filed before their office.
“The money is still intact with the Department of Budget and Management. We have not even started reviewing those claims yet,” Latiph said according to the news site.
Meanwhile, Lanao del Sur’s first district representative Zia Alonto Adiong reportedly said the House Ad Hoc Committee on Marawi Rehabilitation is “seriously” considering granting the board’s request for additional funding and has taken steps to discuss the matter with House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
The battle left Marawi in ruins to this day with thousands of residents still living in displacement camps.
Government forces liberated the city from the clutches of terrorists in October 2017 after killing siege leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute.