A resident walks back before reaching a fence set up by soldiers in Bangolo, Marawi City on March 19, 2018. Most of the commercial and downtown areas of Marawi City are still off-limits to residents who have been staying in tents and temporary shelters for more than two years. Froilan Gallardo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA — Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra on Tuesday called on Congress to look into the provisions of the Marawi Compensation Law, as the city marked six years since it was attacked by militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS).
Gandamra told ANC that while he welcomes the approval of the Marawi Siege Victim's Compensation Act's implementing rules and regulations (IRR), he fears that these may be "unproductive" as the compensation only covers residents from 32 out of the city's 96 barangays.
This would render 64 villages ineligible for compensation. Gandamra said he does not the reason behind the supposed discrepancy.
He urged the Senate and House of Representatives to review this, as the current IRR may result in some affected residents getting dissatisfied by being "left out" by the compensation program.
"Based on the series of consultations done by the members of the compensation board, marami pong nagsasabi na sana ay nakasama sila. Dahil hindi lang ho ang mga nasiraan ng kanilang pamamahay, but as well as... iyong mga nawalan ng kanilang mga ari-arian even outside the ground zero," Gandamra said.
(A lot of residents are saying they could have been included. Because not only did they lose their homes to the war, but even their properties outside the ground zero.)
"That is also why I am raising these issues dahil directly, from our constituents ay gusto nilang iparating sa ating Kongreso na sana magkaroon ng... revision or amendment doon sa existing law dahil sa ngayon po ay iyon po ang pairalin natin, ay marami pong ma-le-left out," he added.
(My constituents want Congress to know that they would like a revision or amendment ot the existing law, because if the current provisions would be implemented, a lot of them would be left out.)
The mayor said that six years since the Marawi siege, the city has "slowly but surely" returned to normalcy, with most of its public infrastructure projects done.
Rehabilitations have so far been focused on the "ground zero," or the part of the city that served as the main battle area between government forces and members of the IS-inspired Maute group. Gandamra said about P13 billion has been spent for rehabilitation efforts of this area.
In a forum on Monday, the Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) detailed some of the approved IRR, including how to identify victims entitled to compensation and the procedure for claiming it.
MCB secretary Saliha Lalanto said that the government would "only compensate destroyed structure, not including the land."
The IRR approval and signing came more than a year after former President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Marawi Compensation Bill into law. The law itself was signed five years since the siege broke out from May to October 2017.
"Mayroon mang mga hinaing sa ground, pero tayo po dito sa Marawi, ang ating mga kababayan ay very resilient," Gandamra further told ANC.
(Despite clamors from the ground, our fellowmen in Marawi are very resilient.)
ANC, ANC promo, Marawi compensation act, Marawi, Marawi siege, Islamic State, Maute group, Battle of Marawi, Congress, Majul Gandamra