How price the loss of Marawi siege victims?

How price the loss of Marawi siege victims?

WARS and conflicts are costly. Physical rehabilitation is not the only thing to be considered. The mental and emotional pain, the heritage infrastructure lost, all these are priceless. But how can you put a cost to this?

We recall that the martial law years impacted in billions worth of damage on Mindanao. The Marawi siege, its seventh year being commemorated this May 23, also reminds us of the massive destruction that has cost taxpayers billions. And we haven't yet started the full-scale awarding of claims of the estimated 12,000 claimants in "ground zero."

I am bewildered at how we cannot support peace-building as much when we are a developing country with little protection measures for war victims.

The awarding of compensation was the subject of a hearing presided over by Sen. Bato de la Rosa.

Claimants question the basis of the valuation used by the Marawi Compensation Board (MCB), to which it replies that it has adopted the 2021 Schedule of Fair Market Values of Real Property Assessment and Classification of the province of Lanao del Sur in accordance with the provisions of RA 11696 and the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano broached the idea of finding alternative or creative ways of determining the cost of claims to consider sentimental value. He reminded me that because the whole place was bombed, only the residents of the said location would be interested in building back on the same site. And thus, market values may not be necessarily useful because there are not many other interested property buyers outside the affected area.

MCB Chairman Maisara Dandamun Latiph continued to assert compliance with RA 11696, which mandates the board to determine the monetary compensation and award for the lawful owners of properties affected by the Marawi siege.