By Paulo Loreto Lim

After President Rodrigo Duterte met with officers of the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB) and the Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), who had previously requested the president expedite the processing of claims, a preliminary list of 4,000 qualified Martial Law reparations recipients was released.
The meeting was also attended by Office of Executive Secretary (OES) Salvador Medialdea, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin Diokno.
During the meeting, the president discussed reevaluating claims based on the number of applications, which according to the HRVCB, amounts to around 75,000; revising the processing timeline; and collaborating with relevant government agencies and human rights groups.
The HRVCB said they will be releasing 50 percent of the monetary value to the approved beneficiaries, which the DBM tagged at P300 million in their acknowledgement receipt requesting the release of funds from the treasury.
The reparations were made possible by RA 10368, or the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013, however, since its passing, funds have yet to be released.
The HRVCB has until May 12, 2018 to complete reparations processing, wherein 45,000 applications still have yet to be resolved./WDJ