(AL Jazeera Media Network) Marawi, Philippines – Maisara Dandamun-Latiph’s office sits on a hill overlooking the ruins of Marawi, the southern Philippine city that was destroyed during a five-month battle with hardline fighters linked to the ISIL (ISIS) group in 2017.
Dandamun-Latiph was named chairperson of the Marawi Compensation Board in 2023, after years of promises to rebuild the city came to nothing.
Now, Marawi residents are finally beginning to receive payouts, in a compensation process that also must navigate a frayed and fragile trust.
“We want the people to be on board with us,” Dandamun-Latiph told Al Jazeera. “The people deserve nothing less than very good service after what has happened.”
Marawi was destroyed after the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups launched an attack in 2017, holding on to the city during a five-month siege before the Philippine military recaptured it.
Of the more than 1.1 million people who once lived there, most have not returned.
The administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte released more than $200 million in funding to rebuild Marawi. But rather than new homes, the money went mostly to public infrastructure projects, such as a new lakeside stadium and convention centre, which stand in the ruins.
“It’s normal for [residents] not to be so trustful of government, especially with what happened,” Dandamun-Latiph said.
The Marawi Compensation Board was created by an act of congress in 2022 to handle claims of wrongful death and damaged or destroyed property. Last year, President Ferdinand Marcos appointed Dandamun-Latiph, a respected lawyer and civic leader, as its chairperson.
The board has received 14,495 claims so far and has approved 596, totalling about $16.8 million for destroyed structures and civilian deaths. Some 87 civilians died in the siege, with Amnesty International accusing ISIL-affiliated fighters and the Philippine military of human rights violations.
All claims are processed in batches in the order they are received, said Dandamun-Latiph, who stressed the need for fairness in both determining compensation and hiring staff for the office.
“It has to be based on merit,” she said. “Otherwise, this office will fail.”
