Nine years displaced: Marawi siege survivors remain in limbo

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines – Sittie Norjannah Gambao, a 29-year-old Maranao, has moved settlements five times and now lives in the Boganga Shelter.

Gambao is one of the thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs or “bakwits”) calling for a safe and dignified return to their homes, nine years after ISIS-linked militants laid siege in Marawi City.

She lives with her mother, her child they call Bimbo, and the family of her brother. At the time of the 2017 siege, Gambao was a student at the Mindanao State University studying community development. Her family evacuated from Marawi and moved to Iligan City.

MOSQUE. A newly constructed mosque stands inside Marawi City’s Ground Zero. Martin San Diego/Rappler VISIT. Sittie Norjannah Gambao and her mother, displaced residents of Marawi City, look inside what used to be their home, on April 3. Martin San Diego/Rappler

A quick glance at Ground Zero evokes a place suspended in time. The ruins from the siege remain intact. But a closer look suggests that the passage of time is as much a destructive agent as the siege. Wild overgrowth has taken over abandoned houses. The Sarimanok Stadium near Lake Lanao is striking against the derelict buildings. Tarpaulins congratulating graduates and exam passers hang on damaged facades. A sari-sari store runs a free karaoke for customers.

At the time of interview in early April, Gambao said it was her first time visiting her grandfather’s house since the siege. The house sits on a corner lot. It has four floors. On the ground were broken concrete and shards of glass. Her grandfather used to run an aluminum and glass store.

Transitory shelters have become permanent residence for many internally displaced persons. In 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees counted 85,000 displaced individuals in Marawi. In 2025, the International Committee of the Red Cross said around 8,200 people are still living in temporary shelters.

“These shelters were never designed for permanent living, yet after nine long years, many IDPs are still trapped in deteriorating and unsafe conditions,” Marawi Advocacy Accompaniment, a coalition of IDPs, said on May 23.

“Worse, almost all IDPs are now paying rent, water, and electricity because agreements with landowners have already expired.”

SHELTERS. Hundreds of temporary shelters are still occupied in the outskirts of Marawi City, nine years after the Marawi siege displaced hundreds of thousands of the city’s residents. The temporary shelters have now turned to business opportunities for many of the original landowners. Contracts for the properties’ used as transitory shelters is only for five years. Martin San Diego/Rappler

Gambao said some of her neighbors have died without seeing their homes built again. Some of those who died did not get compensation. The transitional Bangsamoro government is still building housing projects. The latest of these efforts was a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday, May 24, meant for 150 housing units in Malimono village.

On May 23, bakwits and civil society groups peacefully marched at Ground Zero to call for housing, swift compensation, and a halt to eviction and utility fees in transitory shelters.

In a statement, the coalition stressed: “Ang realidad ng mga bakwit ang ang tunay na mukha ng rehabilitasyon. Hangga’t may bakwit, hindi magiging matagumpay ang rehabilitasyon ng Marawi.”

(The reality of the IDPs is the true face of rehabilitation. Until there are IDPs, Marawi rehabilitation is not truly successful.)

Writer, reporter, producer: Iya Gozum
Videographer: Martin San Diego
Producer: Jaira Roxas
Master video editor: Emerald Hidalgo
Graphic artists: David Castuciano, Nico Villarete
Supervising producer: Beth Frondoso

– Rappler.com