BASILAN Rep. Mujiv Hataman urged the Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) to develop a roadmap on how it will go about its huge task of compensating tens of thousands of Marawi siege victims.

“Dapat, sa buong limang taong buhay na ipinagkaloob ng Kongreso sa Marawi Compensation Board ay ma-compensate nito ang lahat ng ating mga kababayang taga-Marawi na nawalan ng mahal sa buhay, gumuho ang mga tahanan at napulbos ang mga kabuhayan nang dahil sa Marawi siege,” Hataman said in a statement.

The Mindanoan solon is encouraging the MCB to formulate a five-year roadmap.

“Yes, Congress can always extend its life, but it is always good to aim high and achieve all the objectives of the Board within the time allotted to it. ‘Yan ang kailangang pag-aralan ng MCB,” Hataman, former governor of the now-defunct ARMM, said.

“And kailangan din kasi makita ng DBCC kung ano ang complete plan and strategies ng MCB to justify a bigger allocation in the budget. Sana nakalagay doon sa roadmap saan napunta ang first P1B, kung naging effective ba ito o hindi, at bakit kailangan ng bigger allocation? Saan at paano gagamitin?” he added.

The Basilan lawmaker lamented that for the second straight year, the Development and Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) has allotted only P1 billion for the Marawi Compensation Fund.

“The DBCC allocated only P1 billion for the Marawi Compensation Program for 2023 and 2024. Does this mean that the Marawi victims will get only P1 billion for every year that the MCB is in operation? Mukhang hindi kasya ang P5 billion sa compensation, baka nga hindi man lang maka-kalahati,” Hataman noted.

During the hearing of the joint congressional oversight committee on the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act of 2022 last Sept. 11, the MCB said that from July 4 to Aug. 31, it received a total of 4,762 filed claims, which translates to roughly P17.46 billion for claims filed in just two months.

The MCB expects an estimated 23,489 claimants booked until the end of December 2023.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Jester P. Manalastas