DBM releases P1B for Marawi victims

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday approved the release of a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) of P1 billion for the 2024 Marawi Siege Victims Compensation. In a statement, Budget Secretary Amenah said the allocation would financially compensate 574 beneficiaries and recipients, particularly those who had structural damage and death claims during the 2017 siege. "As a daughter of Mindanao, I can say that the P1-billion Marawi Siege Victims Compensation is a huge help so that our fellow countrymen in Marawi can fully recover," Pangandaman said. She said the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. "wants to provide sufficient support and resources to affected families to help them return to a normal life." The DBM said the financial assistance would provide "much-needed support for recovery and rehabilitation" and that the compensation covers "claims for both fully and partially damaged structures, as well as for lives lost during the conflict." Republic Act 11696, a law that provides compensation for the victims of the Marawi siege, created the Marawi Compensation Board. The Siege of Marawi, which lasted from May 23 to Oct. 23, 2017, killed 168 soldiers and 87 civilians fighting against Islamic State rebels and displaced 1.1 million families.