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Bravo Filipino | Senatorial bet Bautista: Marawi reparations bill should be passed in PRRD’s term | According to senatorial aspirant Herbert Bautista, the Marawi reparations bill should be passed before the conclusion of Duterte’s tenure.
The planned Marawi Compensation Bill is not even being mentioned as an issue for President Duterte’s successor, according to a prominent political source in the Philippines.
It’s time for the Marawi Compensation Bill to be passed, says senatorial candidate Herbert “Bistek” Bautista, who recently spoke to an audience of business leaders about cooperatives.
As mayor of Quezon City for three terms, Bautista introduced tax reforms that increased revenues for important infrastructure projects in the metropolis’s largest city in terms of land area.
It’s a good sign that the Senate passed the Marawi Compensation bill on its third and final reading, Bautista, a senatorial candidate who advocates for Internet reforms, Livelihood for All, and Youth Welfare (ILY), said in an interview.
At least 300,000 people of Marawi City remain displaced nearly five years after terrorist organizations with ties to the Islamic State laid siege to the city. They are either living in dilapidated shelters or with relatives.
“The approval of Senate Bill 2420 or the Marawi Compensation Bill on the third and final reading was an encouraging sign,” stated Bautista. He was upbeat about the prospects of holding a bicameral conference committee meeting in the near future.
As soon as this is done, the bill would be sent to President Duterte for his signature, according to Bautista.
“The 18th Congress and the Duterte administration’s legacy to the Maranao IDPs and residents of ground zero in Marawi City will be the passage of the Marawi City Compensation Bill,” he stated.
Marawi residents who have lost their homes and livelihoods in the conflict should be given a “concrete mechanism to begin the true rehabilitation of individuals from Marawi,” he said.
Bautista remarked that if the bill is passed, it will be the result of the Maranao and other Muslims’ efforts and struggles.
According to Bautista, “I totally and without a doubt endorse” this. About 300,000 Marawi siege victims will benefit greatly from this, he added.
Marawi needs a compensation package urgently, he said, citing these numbers:
More than 83,000 families have applied for building licenses, but only 2,800 have been granted.
This year’s goal is to build only 2,800 permanent shelters, which will be completed by June.
In comparison to the 83,000 Maranao households affected, “even if we add all those numbers, that’s too insignificant,” Bautista remarked.
“Many Marawi indigenous peoples were compelled to leave Marawi City and move to other places to find work and shelter,” he said.
For this, Bautista expressed thanks and trust in his Muslim counterparts. Since I was mayor of Quezon City and chair of the Regional Peace and Order Council of the National Capital Region, they have always been loyal and enthusiastic about government undertakings.” (PR)
