House panel OKs bill for reparations board flexibility

[MikeLigalig.com]

House panel OKs bill for reparations board flexibility
By Filane Mikee Cervantes

MANILA, March 2 (PNA) -- A House of Representatives' panel has approved a bill that seeks to give the Human Rights Victims' Claims Board (HRVCB) more flexibility to complete its reparation process for victims of human rights abuses during Martial Law.

The House committee on Human Rights approved House Bill 4574, authored by Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte.

The bill seeks to amend Republic Act 10368 or the “Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013”.

Vice committee chair Amin Partylist Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman said HB 4574 was a priority bill since the claims board had only until 2018 to perform its mandate.

Sorsogon Rep. Evelina Escudero, who sponsored the bill during the hearing, cited the need to further amend RA 10368 to give the HRVCB more flexibility in fulfilling its mandate, especially with over 75,000 applications from victims of human rights violations during former President Marcos’ regime.

“RA 10766 was enacted to extend the Board’s existence until 2018. However, to maximize and ensure the effectiveness of the HRVCB, certain measures still need to be improved,” said Escudero.

The proposed amendments include an increase in the claims board's yearly appropriations and the budget ceiling to boost its capacity to adjudicate and perform its functions effectively; and the reduction of a mandatory publication of an original list of eligible claimants, from three times to just once, which is expected to hasten reparation.

"It is well within the mandate of the legislative to enact laws that will encourage utmost productivity, effectiveness and efficiency of our lead agency, and through these amendments to RA 10368, we will be able to accomplish such things,” said Escudero.

Under the bill, the HRVCB may hire additional contractual employees or contract a service provider since the currently law provides a 15 percentage ceiling in contracting additional contractual employees of the Board.

Belmonte said this limited the capacity of the HRVCB to adjudicate all the applications and to perform its other necessary administrative and operational functions.

The bill also provides that the operating budget of the Board shall be funded from the interest of the Php 10 billion fund, with Php 10 million as its initial operating budget.

The HRVCB has a yearly appropriation of not exceeding Php 50 million, but Belmonte said this allocation exposed the Board to the risk of deficit spending in the future.

During the hearing, HRVCB Chairperson Lina Sarmiento around 4,000 cases have been adjudicated out of the 75,000 claimants.

Sarmiento said unexpected huge turnout of claimants and the stringent evaluation and adjudication process set under its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) slowed down the Board's progress.

She, however, expressed optimism the Board will be able to fulfill its mandate on time with the passage of the bill. (PNA)

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