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Sunday, November 24, 2024 Vol. 20 No. 46
P25.00 nationwide | 4 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
LONG SHADOW OF MARAWI SIEGE
7 years on, compensation for Marawi terror victims still a slog
AERIAL view of Marawi City, known as the “Summer Capital of the South,” along the shores of Lake Lanao in Lanao del Sur, Mindanao. The city continues its recovery from the devastating five-month siege that began in May 2017 and ended in October, which devastated residential, cultural and commercial properties, displacing countless residents and reshaping its vibrant landscape. MARY GRACE VARELA VIA DREAMSTIME.COM
F
By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
ARHANA HAJI HASSAN fled Marawi City in 2017 when the ISIS-linked Maute Group wreaked havoc for five months and intense gunfights broke out between government forces and terrorists. Approved 1168
Claims filed 14495
To rebuild her family and her life, she turned to the Marawi Compensation Board, a body formed under a 2022 law to pay Marawi residents who lost their properties. She moved to Quezon City and used that money to open a stall at Commonwealth Market. “She wanted to save money be-
cause her house was old and it was hit by a depression, so she only got a small amount,” Hassan’s letter told senators at the budget hearing of the Marawi Compensation Board on November 5. Tragedy, however, has befallen the mother again. Her business in the metro went down in flames.
BM GRAPHICS/ED DAVAD
Out of 14,495 compensation claims filed by Marawi residents, only 1,168 have been approved as of November 15.
IN this October 19, 2017, file photo, armored personnel carriers are positioned near the bullet-riddled “I Love Marawi” landmark sign, center, at the “Main Battle Area” where pro-Islamic group militants are making a final stand amid a massive military offensive of Marawi City. AP/BULLIT MARQUEZ
The ordeal of Hassan mirrors the broader hardships facing displaced Marawi residents. Eight years after terrorists struck the “Summer Capital of the South,” victims of the conflict have yet to reclaim their stability and security.
Disruptions in process
THE Marawi Compensation Board, tasked with bringing even an iota
of economic stability, is grappling with challenges in giving that. For one, its funds are drying up. Maisara Dandamun-Latiph, the board’s chairperson, reported that it has exhausted nearly 80 percent of its budget for fiscal year 2024 to disburse funds to a measly number of claimants. “P350 million na lang po ang aming [budget] before the end of
the year at paubos na rin po ’yong allocated for 2023 to 2024 [Our budget till the end of the year is down to P350 million and the fund allocated for 2023 to 2024 has dried up],” Dandamun-Latiph told senators at the budget hearing. Out of 14,495 Marawi residents who filed for compensation claims, only 1,168 claims have Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.9770 n JAPAN 0.3817 n UK 74.2638 n HK 7.5781 n CHINA 8.1440 n SINGAPORE 43.8067 n AUSTRALIA 38.3999 n EU 61.7843 n KOREA 0.0422 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.7088 Source: BSP (November 22, 2024)