MARAWI CITY (MindaNews / 23 May 2026) – Lying on a cold floor, cramped—words you wouldn’t imagine experiencing during rest. But if you think this isn’t real, this is the nightly reality in many homes in Bakwit Village when they sleep. Inside the cramped space of Aisah Pundugar’s home, an Internally Displaced Person (IDP), their condition resembles sardines in a can. With her husband, children, and relatives—totaling nine people—they move cautiously within their 20-square-meter dwelling. “I arrange them at night on the bed, while we sleep on the floor. Some stay near the bathroom because we don’t fit,” Aisah calmly shared. The children sleep on the bed, and the couple on the floor. Aisah’s life is just one of many shaped by hardship in Bakwit Village in Pindolonan, Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur, following the historic Marawi Siege of 2017. After their original homes were destroyed in clashes between soldiers and rebels, they had no choice but to flee and start anew in temporary shelters. Beyond the lack of space, they endure frequent power outages and scorching heat. Aisah’s children often strip down or sleep on the cement floor when the heat becomes unbearable. “When it’s hot, we go outside, but at night, they lie on the cement because it’s too hot,” she added. Aside from the heat, Aisah struggles to provide for her family. Her husband takes odd jobs, a far cry from their welding shop livelihood in Marawi before the war. To supplement their income, they extended their home with wood to establish a small store, funded by the Unlad Pamilyang Bangsamoro Program of the Ministry of Social Services and Development in BARMM. “I used it as capital to help with my children’s education and daily expenses,” Aisah said. Often, when her husband earns little, they consume goods from the store and replenish them when he earns more. As her children grow, space in Bakwit Village homes remains limited, worsened by the expiration of housing contracts. Instead of free relocation and land being granted to war victims, new policies threaten to require rent payments for the shelters. For Aisah, this is an added burden for displaced families like hers, and she dreams of a better future for her children. (Jamyla A. Guinal, Alkhairia Rangiris & Jazheel Sarino/S’bang Ka Marawi) This feature article is part of the S’bang Ka Marawi Reporters’ Fellowship Training on May 9–10, 2026. Supported by Mindanao Institute of Journalism/MindaNews, International Media Support (IMS), IDEALS Inc., and Bread for the World. #RememberingMarawi #9thCommemorationMarawiSiege
