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Groups seeks higher budget for Marawi rehab, faster compensation of victims
The Marawi Compensation Board continues to process the claims of victims of the Marawi siege. (Photo from the MCB)
An independent multi-stakeholder organization has called for a higher budget for the rehabilitation of Marawi and faster compensation of the victims of the siege.
In a statement, the Marawi Reconstruction Conflict Watch (MRCW) appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and legislators to allocate a bigger funding for the process under the 2026 national budget to expedite the compensation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Marawi.
Data from the Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) showed only 2,178 out of 14,495 claims have been processed as of August 2025, leaving more than 12,000 compensation claims yet to be paid. This totals to P20 billion.
"We call for decisive actions such as increasing the programmed budget for Marawi compensation; providing a real-time updating system for claimants; and prioritizing the rebuilding of merit goods such as health and educational facilities damaged by the war," the MRCW said.
"This funding is more important than the tens of billions used for restoring infrastructure that is rarely utilized because IDPs have not been able to rebuild their homes inside the city in the first place,' it added.
The Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Program has a P1 billion proposed allocation under the 2026 National Expenditure Program.
The MCB opened the applications for claims, including structural property, death, and personal property claims, among others, in July 2023.
In May 2024, the MCB said it was eyeing to finish the disbursement of claims before the end of its term by 2028.
'At least 352 claims per month – that is the accomplishment rate needed to finish 12,000 compensation claims in the remaining 34 months until June 2028 when MCB becomes functus officio," Mcmillan Lucman, MRCW member and former Provincial Director of MILG-Lanao del Sur, said.
'The MCB has only resolved 2,000 claims so far. We hope to hear that the President will prioritize a speedy Marawi Compensation process. Marawi rehabilitation and rebuilding should focus on giving justice to war victims through the promised compensation,' Lucman said.
He added: 'If we are expecting a faster compensation process, the allocated programmed budget for Marawi IDPs should also be increased.'
Meanwhile, the MRCW also said the ground zero in Marawi remains in ruins eight years after the war.
'Marawi IDPs hoped that the compensation law would help heal the wound caused by the siege in 2017. More than eight years have gone by and Marawi's Ground Zero is still in ruins," said Mohammad Abas, MRCW member and executive director of Tabang Ako Siyap ko Bangsa Iranon saya ko Kalilintad ago Kapamamagayon (TASBIKKA) Inc.
"P10 billion worth of big-ticket infrastructure projects in Marawi are rarely used by IDPs because they cannot rebuild their houses without their rightful compensation," he added.
The siege, which started in May 2017, was perpetrated by the Maute Group and lasted for several months. Then-President Rodrigo Duterte declared the city freed from the group's occupation in October of the same year. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
