Bill to raise violent crime victim reparation filed

A first-term member of the House of Representatives has filed a bill seeking to significantly raise the compensation to victims of violent crimes like murder and rape from the current P10,000 maximum to up to P100,000.

Makati Rep. Luis Campos Jr. has filed House Bill 4529, which also raises to P3,000 from P1,000 the maximum amount of reparation to victims of unlawful imprisonment or arbitrary confinement for every month of illegal detention.

“Congress should now upgrade the ceiling for payable claims, for the benefit of sufferers of violent crime and illicit imprisonment or detention, especially those from povertystricken families,” Campos said.

The 24- year- old law that created the Board of Claims under the Department of Justice currently provides for a maximum of P10,000 to each victim of violent crime, and up to P1,000 per month to each victim of unjust imprisonment or detention.

Campos said the current compensation amounts do not account for cumulative inflation since 1992, when Congress first established the Victims Compensation Program under the justice department.

Under the law, all benefits paid by the Board of Claims are “without prejudice to the right of the claimant to seek other remedies under existing laws.”

This means the payments are on top of whatever indemnity that a rape victim, for instance, may be awarded by a court as a result of a judgment in a civil or criminal case filed against the offender.

The payments are meant to help reimburse the expenses incurred by claimants for hospitalization, medical treatment, loss of wage, loss of support, and other costs directly related to injury.

The Victims Compensation Fund administered by the DOJ gets recurring subsidy from one percent of the annual net income of the stateowned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and one percent of proceeds from the sale of military camps in Metro Manila by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.

The fund is also being supported by a portion of each filing fee in every civil case filed with the courts.

Congress granted the fund P10 million in seed money in 1992.

An average of 27 rape cases and 25 murder cases, among other violent crimes, are reported every day across the country, based on latest statistics from the Philippine National Police’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management.