The residents of Marawi City can finally start rebuilding their homes and their lives now that the measure providing compensation to victims of the five-month long siege has been signed into law, Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said on Thursday.

“Matagal na itong hinihintay ng ating mga kababayan sa Marawi. Nagpapasalamat tayo sa Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa pag pirma sa mahalagang batas na ito (Our fellowmen in Marawi have long been waiting for this. We are thankful to President Duterte for signing this very important law),” said Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, in a statement.

“Marami na ang nagawa sa nakaraang taon sa ilalim ng Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program (MRRRP) pero hindi makukumpleto ang proseso ng pagbangon ng Marawi kung hindi maibabalik sa normal ang buhay ng lahat ng naapektuhang residente (A lot of things have been done under the MRRRP in the recent years but Marawi cannot complete the process of recovery if the lives of all its residents cannot return to normalcy),” Angara pointed out.

“Mas maagang tatayo ang Marawi City kung bibigyan ng kakayahan at kapangyarihan ang mga taga Marawi, kasama na dito ang pagbigay ng bayad-pinsala sa kanila,” added Angara.

Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, had sponsored the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act, Republic Act No. 11696 in the Senate. The law seeks to provide compensation to people whose properties were destroyed and who lost their loved ones during the infamous siege by Islamic State-linked militant five years ago.

Those who are also entitled to receive compensation are those whose property/ies were demolished during the implementation of the MRRP, including the search for and recovery of unexploded ordinance.

The law offers tax-free monetary compensation to the owners of residential, cultural or commercial structures within Marawi’s Most Affected Areas (MAA) and Other Affected Areas (OAA).

The MAA includes 24 barangays, namely Lumbac Madaya, South Madaya, Raya Madaya 1, Raya Madaya 2, Sabala Amanao, Sabala Amanao Proper, Tolali, Daguduban, Norhaya Village, Banggolo Poblacion, Bubong Madaya, Lilod Madaya, Dansalan, Datu sa Dansalan, Sangkay Dansalan, Moncado Colony, Moncado Kadilingan, Marinaut West, Marinaut East, Kapantaran, Wawalayan Marinaut, Lumbac Marinaut, Tuca Marinaut at Datu Naga.

On the other hand, the OAA covers eight other barangays, namely Saduc Proper, Panggao Saduc, Raya Saduc, Lilod Saduc, Datu Saber, Bangon, Fort at Wawalayan Caloocan.

Compensation will also be provided to the owners of private properties that were demolished as part of the implementation of the MRRRP.

Under the law, the Marawi Compensation Board will be created to administer the distribution of compensation to the claimants.

Angara also cited the work put in by the authors of the law, particulalry Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Senators Ronald Dela Rosa, Francis Tolentino, Bong Go, Imee Marcos; and Risa Hontiveros, as well as the House of Representatives for adopting the Senate version of the measure in order to facilitate its passage in Congress.