THE DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the release of P1 billion for Marawi Siege victims.
“The Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) determined that 362 victims will receive monetary compensation from the P1-billion allocation under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF),” the DBM said in a statement on Sunday.
The funding shall be used to compensate “any lawful owner of a residential, cultural, commercial structure, 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.”
It will also compensate “owners of private properties demolished pursuant to the implementation of the Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Program, and the heirs of those who died and legally presumed dead, in accordance with Republic Act No. 11696 and guidelines to be promulgated by the Marawi Compensation Board.”
The DBM approved the issuance of a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) for the Marawi Siege under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for fiscal year 2023.
Under the law, the MCB is mandated to facilitate the compensation or reparations to qualified individuals that were affected by the Marawi siege in 2017. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
