Bill filed mandating aid for terror attack victims

Following the fatal bombing attack in Marawi City on 3 December, Senator Robinhood Padilla on Friday filed a measure seeking to establish an assistance program for terror attack victims and families of fatalities.

Under Senate Bill 251, or the Terror Victims Assistance Act of 2023, the State, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, is mandated to "provide financial, material, psychosocial and referral support and services to individuals and households who became victims of terrorism; and ensure the swift and efficient delivery of such support and services to them."

"In most cases, if not all, victims of these evil acts who suffered injuries and families of those who were killed during terror attacks are left on their own with mounting expenses, such as but not limited to: medical, burial, transportation, and even long-term rehabilitation," Padilla wrote in his bill.

The bill covers financial aid, burial assistance, material, medical and psychosocial support, and rehabilitation initiatives.

"The Terror Victims Assistance Program shall be established as a government program, through the DSWD, with eligible beneficiaries including immediate families of those killed and those who suffered injury," Padilla said.

He added that funds for the provisions of the SB 251 "shall be included in the government's annual budget."