DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Inside a leaking shelter just a few feet away from an overflowing trash heap, Nor-ainie Musa prepares for the day as she juggles three roles for today — a private school teacher, a mother of four, and an internally displaced person (IDP).
Living in a temporary housing site in the municipality of Saguiran, Nor-ainie is one of over 400 families who now face the threat of losing their homes again.
With the expiration of their temporary shelter contracts looming as 2026 approaches, these IDPs find themselves caught in another cycle of displacement.
Initially donated by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the temporary shelters were only meant to house the IDPs for a limited time after the 2017 Marawi Siege, where they shell out 130 pesos a month to maintain electricity in their shelters.
As the lease with PAGCOR ends, the uncertainty surrounding these families’ futures grows increasingly urgent. With their shelters situated on privately owned land, they now find themselves at the mercy of the landowners.
Unsure whether they will be able to extend their stay by paying rent or face eviction by the owners for personal use of the land, the reality that they still have no permanent homes weighs heavily on their daily lives.
Nor-ainie fears that the Marawi Siege, which forced them to flee eight years ago, may not have been their last eviction.
Today, she can only hope they will have a place to go once the contracts run out.
“As a sharer and not a house owner from Marawi, we don’t have a home. We have nowhere to return to,” she said.
Her words echo the struggles of many other IDPs in Saguiran who remain unable to return to their properties in the war-torn city due to a lack of financial compensation and the means to rebuild.
During the Marawi Siege in 2017, 300,000 Meranaws were displaced from their homes as government forces bombed the city fighting the extremist Maute groups that attempted to infiltrate the city.
Meranaw people and leaders decry the slow process of government’s rehabilitation programs of the city that took years to begin.
In the meantime, they are forced to make do with the crumbling shelters around them. From unpaved roads that flood during rain to unsafe water sources compromised by poor waste disposal, families endure harsh living conditions with limited support.
“When it rains, the water flows heavily along the roads and enters our homes. Most of the houses here leak,” Nor-ainie said.
Having lived in makeshift housing for over half a decade, these families have found ways to survive but not to live comfortably.
Samera Mangorinsung, a 43-year-old mother, said that keeping her sari-sari store helps them earn small income that still falls short of her family’s daily needs. “Some people don’t have jobs at all, which means we also can’t buy basic necessities like food,” she said.
For Nor-ainie’s family, the struggle is severe. Despite both she and her husband have jobs, her husband works at the Ministry of Social Services and Development, their income still fall short of covering their daily expenses that amounts to ?1,000. “It’s not enough,” she confessed. “That’s why my husband takes on extra work as a mechanic.”
But beyond financial burdens, Nor-ainie also faces social challenges. Discrimination, she said, is the most difficult part of being an IDP. “Because we’re not originally from here, people blame us for things that happen in the community even when we’re not involved.”
Samera, on the other hand, points out that the lack of livelihood as her greatest hardship.
With physical exhaustion brought on by poor living conditions and emotional distress stemming from uncertainty and alienation, the daily life for the IDPs of Marawi remains a constant struggle for survival.
As they stare at cracked walls and empty plates, many IDPs hope that the government will extend their stay in these inadequate shelters, even if only for a few more years. The fear of having to live on the streets remains all too real.
“I have nowhere to go. I just want to get a shelter here,” Samera pleaded. (davaotoday.com)
IDPs, Marawi
