The woes of the evacuee-victims of the Marawi siege continue. It remains unabated, far from alleviating. In fact, it is getting worse. In the latest twist of fate, they stand to be uprooted from the temporary shelters that will leave them gypsy-like wandering without a place to stay. The contracts of lease entered into by the government and landowners five years ago for the construction of evacuation centers they are now occupying are expiring next month. Where will they go?

The local government thru its Mayor, Sultan Majul Gandamra, is pulling all strings to save the situation. He convened a crisis committee to address the problem. Together with the National Housing Authority and other government agencies, they are now negotiating with landowners for the extension of the lease agreements. He has promised and is a bit optimistic that the evacuee-victims will not be pulled out from their temporary homes. It's a whiff of solace and fresh hope for the so-called Internally displaced persons to hear their leader's assurance. But it's a clarion call for the government to speed up the projects that will relieve victim-evacuees and bring them back to their condition antebellum.

Throwback weeks after the siege, the local government were in frenzy looking for a place to relocate temporarily the thousands of resident who have no place to stay. Others sought shelter from relatives in nearby towns. It was an emergency situation posing a gargantuan problem staring at the face of local authorities. They hurriedly negotiated with landowners for the lease of lands to construct temporary shelters. They succeeded in negotiating lease agreements for lands situated in barangays Sagonsongan, Boganga, Dulay and Patani. And among the terms is the duration of the five-year. Why 5 years? Mayor Gandamra said they did not expect the siege to last for more than 5 years. In the 1972 Marawi rebellion, the rebels occupied parts of the city for not more than 2 days.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, according to Rappler online news, reported "over 25,300 families or 127,000 people were displaced in the 2017 fighting" who need assistance.

Drieza Lininding, the chairperson of the Marawi rehabilitation monitor Moro Consensus Group, said in an interview that there are "still about 5,000 families living in temporary shelters five years after the Marawi Siege… (and) the Marcos administration has not even activated the Moro (sic) Compensation Board to ensure that those adversely affected…are given reparation funds based on a law.

Many of the displaced families would not be able to rebuild if they don't get compensation from the government because 'they lost everything in 2017."