MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB) approved the list of the first 4,000 martial law victims to be given partial compensation and requested the release of P300 million for them.

“The claims of martial law victims have been processed,” said Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella on Tuesday, March 28, during a Palace news briefing.

“HRVCB sped the process of evaluating and releasing of claims of martial law victims as part of its commitment to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s goal to expedite the release of the claims,” he added.

The list of 4,000 names has been submitted to the Office of the Executive Secretary. The names can be read on the HRVCB official website.

Of these, 2,661 are “conclusively presumed victims” while 1,339 are new applicants, said Abella.

The Department of Budget and Management has acknowledged receipt of the HRVCB’s request for the release of P300 million for the partial compensation from the Bureau of the Treasury.

The exact amount to be given to each claimant is determined by a complex system of allocating points based on the extent of suffering of the martial law victim.

But Abella said the HRVCB allotted a total of 23,567 points to the first batch of 4,000 victims.

The HRVCB and the Land Bank of the Philippines have also signed an agreement on the use of the bank’s cash card facility as the platform for paying claimants.

In a January meeting with Duterte, the HRVCB and martial law victims’ groups agreed to an “initial payment” of 50% of the compensation in 2017.

There are around 75,000 martial law victims in total, according to the non-government Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA). – Rappler.com