Lanao Del Sur 1st District Representative Ansaruddin Adiong, Group of Civic, and non-government organizations have joined forces to urge Congress to adopt Senate Bill (SB) 2420 or Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act of 2022 that has been approved by the Senate during its third and final reading before the session recess this week.

Rep. Adiong, the author of the bill, stated in his Facebook account, “As the author of the bill, I have proposed to our good committee chaired by our hardworking Congresswoman Lucy Torres for the adoption of the Senate version. I hope we will be able to adopt it on Wednesday (February 2) before the adjournment so that we will no longer have a bicam (bicameral) and have the same forwarded to the President for his signature.”

Marawi Reconstruction Conflict Watch and International Alert Philippines, the group and organization that monitor the welfare of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) during the Marawi Siege in 2017, praised the Senate’s initiative to support the Bill and reiterated that it is justified the legislative’s commitment to their responsibility to the full recovery of the IDPs. 

Senate Bill 2420 aims to grant the compensation of displaced victims who lost their commercial and residential establishments during the Marawi Siege. The Bill stated the obligation of the state to provide concrete plans and solutions to the victims of the Siege in the long process of rehabilitation, recovery, and reconstruction due to the damages of the war. 

The Bill’s provisions seek to create the Marawi Compensation Board that will compose of nine members who are in charge to monitor the qualified beneficiaries of the Marawi Siege. The Bill also formed the Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Program that will compensate the casualties brought to the owners of private properties who are affected by development projects. 

Photo credit: facebook.com/HookyAdiongOfficial