Politicos urge Marcos to include Maranaos in compensation board

LEADERS in Marawi City are urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to name Maranaos residing locally to compose the nine-member Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) to make sure those affected in the 2017 siege will get their due.

“We prefer that those names in the board would be residents of Marawi and Lanao del Sur not just Maranaos who lived in Manila,” Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr., said.

Adiong said a selection of non-Marawi personalities to the board would not be acceptable to the leaders here.

Lanao del Sur leaders led by Adiong met here on Tuesday to draft proposals for the implementing rules and regulations of the Republic Act or the Marawi Siege Act of 2022.

Adiong said Lanao del Sur leaders came up with their own proposals for the IRR of RA 11696, a move that could put pressure on the government to name the nine-member MCB, the body tasked to oversee the compensation for thousands of residents affected during the 2017 siege.

The governor said they would need another day of consultation before the final draft of the proposed IRR can be sent to President Marcos Jr. and other leaders in Manila this month.

“The people of Marawi have been left behind for five years. They suffered long enough,” Adiong said.

Adiong said they would closely monitor the outcome of their proposed IRR keeping special attention on how President Marcos would name the nine-member board.

Republic Act 11696, or the Marawi Siege Compensation Act of 2022, passed into law by former President Rodrigo Duterte on April 13, 2022, mandates the board to promulgate the IRR to get the Post Conflict Needs Assessment and secure a substantial budget for its implementation in the 2023 General Appropriations Act

But after a hundred days in office, Marcos has yet to name the members of the board driving up the impatience of the Lanao del Sur and Marawi residents.