QUEZON CITY -- Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Chairman Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario has branded the Senate’s approval on third reading of the Marawi Compensation Bill as a "huge boost" to the Maranaws.

In a statement issued on Monday night following the Senate's 23-0 vote, Secretary Del Rosario welcomed the measure to help the Maranaws affected by the 2017 siege to rebuild their lives.

The bill aims to provide compensation for the loss or destruction of private properties brought about by the five-month battle between government forces and Daesh-inspired terrorists more than four years ago.

“The Task Force Bangon Marawi welcomes the Senate's approval of the Marawi Compensation Bill as a huge boost to the morale of our Maranaw brothers and sisters who were affected by the infamous 2017 siege. They have long been clamoring for this legislation, and, hopefully it will soon be enacted into law,” said Secretary Del Rosario, who also heads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.

“This will ensure the totality of the government-led rehabilitation of Marawi City with the reconstruction of public infrastructures, which is now in the final stages. The compensation bill’s final approval will allow private individuals not only rebuild their properties but also rebuild their lives,” the housing czar added.

Senate Bill No. 2420, dubbed the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act, garnered 23 affirmative votes, zero negative votes and no abstentions.

"The vote indicates that our lawmakers are one with us in our commitment to build back better, peaceful and progressive Marawi City," Secretary Del Rosario said.

The Senate’s move came four months after the House of Representatives approved its own version of the bill.

The TFBM, along with its 56 implementing agencies, has been focusing on rehabilitating public infrastructures like school buildings, road networks, bridges, mosques, public parks, sports and convention complexes and public market since construction for such facilities went on full-blast in July 2020. 

Assistance from the bill, when enacted into law, could be used in the reconstruction of private properties like houses.

Secretary Del Rosario has been fully supportive for the bill’s passage into law, saying the measure will complement the massive government-led rehabilitation of the country’s lone Islamic city.

Also on Monday, the TFBM chief briefed the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) on the latest updates of the ongoing rehabilitation via video conference.

MinDA Chairperson Mabel Acosta inquired on how her agency and the TFBM can collaborate to further assist Marawi City rise better.

Acosta cited Secretary Del Rosario, along with the TFBM agencies, for his remarkable accomplishment in rehabilitating Marawi.

Secretary Del Rosario, for his part, reiterated the need for sustainment of livelihood assistance and the importance of maintaining peaceful environment specially after the rehabilitation works. (DHSUD)