People adversely affected by the 2017 Marawi siege have filed a total of P17,456,836,830 in claims from 4 July to 31 August this year, the Marawi Compensation Board told lawmakers on Monday.
But the board said the 4,762 claimants represented only 19 percent of the estimated 23,489 individuals directly affected by the five-month armed conflict between government forces and the combined Maute and Abu Sayyaf terror groups.
The siege ended on 23 October 2017 with the surrender or killing of the remaining militants. The conflict left over 1,100 people dead, including 44 government troopers. It displaced over 350,000 people.
MCB chairperson Maisara Dandamun Latiph told a hearing of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act of 2022 that the claimants included those whose properties were destroyed in the fighting.
Other claimants had relatives who were killed or who were wounded during the siege which prompted then President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao, Latiph said.
"These (figures) are based on verified application claim forms that were filed under oath," she said, adding that the filing was just the first step in a process that includes multi-layered evaluation by lawyers and engineers.
So far, only 220 applications had been assessed, while 120 claims totaling P395 million had been processed, the MCB official said.
Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa said the MCB needs at least P89 billion to compensate all the war victims. The government initially allocated only P1 billion for compensation under Republic Act 11696, or the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Law.
The law tasked MCB to oversee the process of application and payment of compensation to qualified claimants. Compensation rates are based on the implementing rules and regulations of RA 11696.
Under the guidelines, a damaged structure would be compensated P12,000 per square meter if it was made of concrete, P9,000 per sqm if made of wood and concrete, and P6,000 if made of light materials.
5-year process
Owners of destroyed properties are to be paid P18,000 per sqm. (concrete), P13,500 (concrete and wood), and P9,000 for those made of light materials, mainly wood.
Compensation of P350,000 will be paid to the kin or heirs of each victim who died in the siege. Latiph said the board eyes to complete the compensation process within five years.
She said they are targeting to accommodate 200 claims daily, 150 recommendations a week, and 600 decisions a month.
Data from Task Force Bangon Marawi showed there were more than 17,000 households in the 24 barangays in Marawi City that were most affected by the conflict.
The Marawi siege was the deadliest conflict in the Philippines since the Moro rebellion in the 1970s. It was also the first time that the Islamic State was able to establish a stronghold in Southeast Asia.
