CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 31 Jan) – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed the nine members of the Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) who would facilitate the tax-free payment of reparations for residents who lost properties and lives during the five-month fighting in 2017.
The appointment came more than six months after the deadline to promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11696 or the Marawi Siege Victims Act of 2022.
“The long wait is over,” said Drieza Lininding, chair of the Moro Consensus Group, who has been lobbying for the past five years for the compensation of Marawi residents who were affected during the siege.
Presidential Communication Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil confirmed their appointment on Tuesday as Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin administered the oath of office to its chair, lawyer Maisara Dandanum-Latiph, in Malacañang.
Bersamin signed the appointment of Latiph and eight members of the Marawi Compensation Board last January 13.
Latiph is a former legislator-member of the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority, the interim government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), during the Duterte administration.
Also appointed to the compensation board are Sittie Aliyyah Lomondot Adiong, Dalomabi Lao Bula, Mustapha Dimaampao, Jamaica Lamping Dimaporo, Mabandes Sumndad Diron Jr., Moslemen Macarambon Sr., Romaisa Lomentong Mamutuk, and Nasser Macapado Tabao.
Lininding said they expect the board to convene immediately and set the implementing rules on the distribution of the P1-billion compensation package for the affected residents.
The board is tasked to facilitate the tax-free payment of reparations to residents who lost residential and commercial properties during the fighting.
The law also grants private property owners compensation based on the sum of the current market value of the land and the replacement costs of structures and improvements.
The Marawi Reconstruction and Conflict Watch, a non-government organization, hailed the formation of the MCB, noting that five of its members are women.
“The government made good its promise to compensate Marawi war victims with a reparation board that is truly independent, inclusive and led by women,” the group said.
RA 11696 was signed into law by then President Rodrigo Duterte on April 13 last year and published in the Official Gazette on April 27. Reckoned from publication date, it became effective on May 12. The IRR is supposed to have been promulgated “within 60 days” or on or before July 12, 2022.
The board is tasked to promulgate the IRR of RA 11696. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
