P2 billion compensation for Marawi victims unfunded in proposed 2025 budget

At least P2 billion worth of compensation for the victims of Marawi siege is unfunded under the proposed P6.354 trillion national budget for 2025.

Based on the National Expenditure Program (NEP) accessible via the Department of Budget and Management website, only P1 billion under the Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) has been allocated for the Marawi siege compensation program.  The other P2 billion for the same item was placed under unprogrammed appropriations.

The proposed 2025 national budget states that items under the unprogrammed appropriations will only be funded when there are excess revenue collections in any one of the identified non-tax revenue sources from its corresponding revenue collection target; when there are new revenue collections or those arising from new tax or non-tax sources which are not part of, nor included in, the original revenue sources reflected; or, when loans for foreign-assisted projects are approved.

“[The] release of funds shall be subject to the submission of a Special Budget Request, and other relevant budgetary requirements in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations,” the budget documents read.

The NEP said that for excess revenue collections, the unprogrammed budget item will be funded provided that there is an issuance of a certification that remitted collections to the Bureau of Treasury from a particular revenue source has exceeded the corresponding revenue collections target.

For new revenue collections, the requirement is the issuance of a certification that remitted collections identified were not part of, nor included in, the original revenue collection targets reflected.

In the case of funding the approved loans for foreign-assisted projects, the issuance of a Special Allotment Release Order covering the loan proceeds should be subjected to submission by the agency concerned of a Special Budget Request, together with the physical and financial plan, project profile, and a copy of the perfected loan agreement, as approved under pertinent laws, rules, regulations, and guidelines issued.

Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur lawmaker Zia Adiong and Deputy Minority Leader Mujiv Hataman have been calling for a sufficient budget for compensation for the victims of the Marawi siege, which dates back to 2017.

Last May, Adiong said that the MCB, which is mandated to provide financial remuneration to the victims of Marawi Siege, needs P5 billion annually for five years to cover all of the victims’ claims.

Under the 2024 national budget, the MCB got P2 billion in funding.

“There are 2,000 claims already verified. The problem is you have verified claims, and the fund is not really enough,” Adiong, chairperson of the House Ad Hoc Committee on Marawi Rehabilitation and Victims Compensation, had said.

“The P100 million worth of claims is just one school. And there are 24 barangays completely destroyed. All these barangays will file claims. It would need a budget of, at least….each year, hindi po bababa ng P5 billion ang kailangan (the budget needs at least P5 billion),” Adiong added.

The MCB, provided under the Marawi Compensation Law and established in 2024, will exist for five years. 

The claims provided for by MCB include structural damage claims, including those of privately owned businesses, death claims, and residential claims.

In September 2023, Hataman said that more than 4,700 claims worth P17.46 billion have been filed before the Marawi Compensation Board. —LDF, GMA Integrated News