DBM: P1-B Marawi siege compensation fund included in 2023 budget

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Tuesday that the Marcos administration has earmarked P1 billion to compensate displaced persons and victims who lost their properties during the Marawi siege in 2017. 
 
In a statement, the DBM said the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Fund has been included in the proposed P5.268-trillion 2023 national budget under the P31-billion National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) or calamity fund.
 
“The Marcos administration thinks that, apart from rehabilitation of infrastructure, priority should also be given to the people of Marawi. This is the first time that the budget was allotted solely for victim compensation,” said Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

The DBM said the first budget for Marawi rehabilitation was included in the 2018 General Appropriations Act (GAA). 
 
However, it said that from 2018 to 2022, funds were allocated only for rehabilitation efforts, including infrastructure projects.
 
“The compensation will greatly rev up the rehabilitation process and recovery of the war-torn city, especially [for] our people,” said Pangandaman.
 
The Budget Department said that the P1-billion compensation fund would go to the following: 

• any lawful owner of residential, cultural, commercial structures, and other properties in Marawi's main affected areas or other affected areas destroyed or damaged, either totally or partially, on the occasion of the Marawi siege
• owners of private properties demolished pursuant to the implementation of the Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Program, in accordance with R.A. No. 11696 and guidelines to be promulgated by Marawi Compensation Board

The DBM said that the reparation fund is pursuant to the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Law or Republic Act 11696 signed into law in April 2022. 
 
The Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act of 2022, signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, aims to compensate those who suffered loss and destruction of property during the Maute terror group's months-long siege on the Islamic City of Marawi in 2017.
 
The law states that the amount necessary for its initial implementation shall be charged against the current year's appropriations of the NDRRMF for the MRRP or the Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Program, according to the DBM.
 
The DBM said that any additional funds required would be included in the annual GAA.
 
Under the law, any owner of residential, cultural, commercial, or other properties in Marawi’s most affected areas or other affected areas who meets the requirements is entitled to receive tax-free compensation from the government.
 
The legal heirs, as provided for by the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines or the Civil Code of the Philippines, shall also receive the compensation of the deceased owner.  — VBL, GMA News