THE Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) yesterday asked the Senate to approve their budget request for the hiring of 51 additional plantilla positions so it can expedite and complete the distribution of compensation to survivors of the Marawi siege of 2017 by the year 2028.
MCB chairperson Maisara Dandamun-Latiph said the present 122 personnel is not enough to attend to the distribution of compensation, saying they need an additional 51 Accountant IV personnel so they can resolve at least 3,000 claims per year.
Latiph said the MCB has received 14,495 claims, with a total compensation of P31.8 billion, since they opened the application in July 2017.
She said that filing of claims undergo processes and it is not automatic that they are granted, with each claim tackled for at least 22 days – four days for division hearing, seven days for decision writing, nine days for decision review, and two days for en banc deliberations.
Latiph said the MCB Is targeting to approve 2,160 claims this year with an amount of P5.8 billion.
She said the lack pf personnel is hindering the disbursement of the compensation, thus their request for 51 more personnel.
“Ang target naming every year ay 2,160 dahil yun ang kapasidad namin ngayon. Kung mapapabilis at madadagdagn ang aming manpower baka matapos namin ang 3,000 annually na target namin. By 2028, tapos na namin ang 11,000 (Our annual target is 2,160 because that is what we can attend to at present. If we can have additional personnel, we can meet the 3,000 annual target so that by 2028 we would have compensated around 11,000),” Latiph said during the Senate budget deliberations for MCB’s proposed 2025 budget.
She said the MCB currently has 122 personnel, but 46 lawyers and structural engineers are set to be recalled by the Office of the President by the end of the year.
With the current capacity of 2,160 claims a year, she said the MCB would only be able to compensate 8,969 survivors by June 10, 2028.
“Bale 9,000 ang kayang tapusin na claims pero may matitira pang 3,000 na maiiwanan sa DHSUD. Nasa batas kasi na after 5 years, ang DSHUD na ang magpapatuloy ng trabaho (We can process around 9,000 claims a year, but there will be a remainder of around 3,000 which will be left to the DHSUD [Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development], because under the law, DHSUD will be in-charge after 5 years),” she said.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III said the MCB’s request is “justifiable” based on its budget proposal of P36 billion in 2025, saying that huge amounts of money need accounting experts to disburse them.
He said the creation of plantilla positions can be done through a “short cut” during the plenary deliberations for the budget of the Department of Budget and Management.
The MCB is a quasi-judicial body that awards monetary compensation under RA 11696, or the Marawi Siege Victims’ Compensation Act of 2022, to survivors of the siege.
