PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed the nine-member Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) which would facilitate the tax-free payment of reparations for residents who lost properties and lives during the five-month fight in 2017.

Presidential Communication Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil confirmed their appointment today as Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and administered the oath of office to its chair, Lawyer Maisara Dandanum-Latiph in Malacañang.

Bersamin signed the appointment of Latiph and eight members of the Marawi Compensation Board on January 13, this year.

Latiph is a former legislator-member of the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority, the interim government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) under the Duterte administration.

Also appointed to the compensation board are Sittie Aliyyah Lomondot Adiong, Dalomabi Lao Bula, Mustapha Dimampao, Jamaica Lamping Dimaporo, Mabandes Sumndad Diron Jr., Moslemen Macarambon Sr., Romaisa Lomentong Mamutuk, and Nasser Macapado Tabao.

“The long wait is over,” said Drieza Lininding, chair of the Moro Consensus Group, who has been lobbying for the past five years for the compensation of Marawi residents who were affected during the Marawi siege.

RESPITE. A construction worker lives in an abandoned building inside the Most Affected Area in Marawi City. File photo by Froilan Gallardo

Lininding said they expect the board to convene immediately and set the implementing rules on the distribution of the P1-billion compensation package for the affected residents.

The board was created under Republic Act 11696 and is tasked to facilitate the tax-free payment of reparations to residents who lost residential and commercial properties during the fighting.

The law also grants private property owners compensation based on the sum of the current market value of the land and the replacement costs of structures and improvements.

The NGO, Marawi Reconstruction, and Conflict Watch, also hailed the appointment of MCB noting that five of its members are women.

“The government made good its promise to compensate Marawi war victims with a reparation board that is truly independent, inclusive, and led by women,” the group said.