tube skirt), carried her newborn and another child who almost got lost. The family started walking towards safety and even under intermittent rain. After hours of walking in the dark, they arrived in Provincial Capitol of Marawi. From there, they were able to hitch a ride going to Buruun evacuation center. Upon the family’s arrival at the EC, they were provided with relief goods. Tarhata and her baby were also given medical attention. While Tarhata was thankful that her family survived the ordeal, she still worries for her elderly father – a homebased IDP – who relies on her for relief goods. Currently, her immediate needs in the EC were similar with other IDPs interviewed. The importance of having a tent inside the covered court-evacuation area is crucial for her and her family, due to the constant rain and drizzle that manage to get in the covered court. Also, she wanted work for her husband so that they would have money to buy their needs, and money to start anew. When asked about her message for the President, she rambles and said, “si Duterte di ko naman siya sinisisi, pero minsan sinisisi ko siya. Kasi, ano nangyari sa Marawi, barilan, putukan… Yung Marawi binomba na talaga nila, gusto na nilang mawala yung ano… Ano pa kaya ang babalikan namin sa Marawi?” (I don’t blame Duterte, but sometimes I do because of what happen in Marawi. Look at what happen to Marawi, gunfires, shootings… They really bombed Marawi, they really want to eradicate… What else can we look forward to in Marawi?) Tarhata and her husband admitted that they voted for Duterte; however, Tarhata is very disappointed with the President. She complained that, when he visited their EC he didn’t came inside the covered court to see their condition. She regretted voting for him, she said. That it was a waste of vote because of what’s happening in Marawi – the bombings and the worry that nothing would be left afterwards. Her last message to the President is more of a challenge, she said “Ang mensahe ko kay Duterte sana imulat nya yung mata nya. Makita nya kami, hindi puro story lang siya. Tingnan nya kami kung ano ang kalagayan namin sa gym… Sana makausap nya ang mayor dito kahit konting bahay lang mabigyan ang mga pamilya… Yun lang masasabi ko sa kanya, imulat nya ang mata nya sa mga mahihirap. Kasi totoo nga, mayaman po kayo, kami mahirap lang, walang mapuntahan… Oo nga pinagbintangan nya kami kung bakit nakapasok ang ISIS, eh ano naman paki-alam namin dun, mahirap lang kami…” (My message to Duterte is for him to open his eyes. To look at us, and not focus on his own stories. He should look at our situation inside the gymnasium… I hope he talks to the Mayor here, so they can give us a small house for the families… This is the only thing I can say to him; he should look at the poor people. Yes, it is true, he is rich, and we are poor; the poor that can go nowhere. He also accused us of letting the ISIS come in, in Marawi. But what do we care about that, we are just poor…) Face with the challenges and difficulties of an internally displaced person, Tarhata draws strength from her new born and from her children. She has to be strong for them, she said. Despite all that has happened, she is also thankful that her family is safe and that her father was able to get out of Marawi. ### Fatima, a solo-parent to eight (8) children; whose four children are still missing namely: Norhoda Lumabao (22 years old), Rashida Lumabao (21 years old), Prencess Farhana Lumabao (16 years old), Kadapi Lumabao (10 years old). Fatima, welcomed me into her tiny area at Buruun School of Fisheries, inside the gymnasium or covered court. When I finally settle down and sit near her, she began by telling me that she used to live in General Santos (GenSan) for eleven (11) years. She and her family lived there and managed a small business enough to raise her family until her husband died. They had to leave GenSan and go back home to Basak Malutlut, Marawi City. She narrated that all the money she raised while working in a Tuna company was poured into her small business selling 26