Chalssea Kate Echegoyen

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — On May 23, 2017, a military operation forced the capture of a top Islamic State-linked militant in Marawi City, which ignited what would become the longest urban battle in the country’s history.Troops clashed with militants from the Maute group and the Abu Sayyaf, groups that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law across Mindanao the same night.The battle for Marawi displaced more than 350,000 residents at its peak and left large parts of the city in ruins.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)’s Book of Memories initiative, launched in partnership with 31 affected families, captures both the stories of the missing and the objects they left behind.The torn denim was still stiff with the dust of a city that had been turned into a graveyard.For five years, Gloria Berden, 70, had kept her son’s jeans tucked away in a corner of her temporary shelter, a bundle of fabric that felt more like a shroud than an heirloom.“Sa loob ng limang taon, nasa bulsa ng punit na maong niya, na naitabi ko, ang pitakang ito,” Berden said.(For five years, this wallet was just in a pocket of his torn pair of jeans that I kept.)<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17795058241772024-0907_ICRC_IDOD_ZAM-2451.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Gloria Berden, 70, holds a picture of her missing son (Photo by Larry Monserate Piojo of the International Committee of the Red Cross)</div>“Isang araw, nakita ko ang maong at naalala ko siya. Kinapa ko ang bulsa, nakita ang pitaka, at biglang napaiyak. Hindi ako makapaniwala na sa tagal ng panahong iyon ay buo pa rin ang mga gamit niya; ang pitaka, hindi nagalaw, kahit na limang taon na ang lumipas,” Berden recalled.(One day, I saw the jeans and remembered him. I found the wallet in a pocket and I cried. I couldn&#x27;t believe that after all the time, his pants and the wallet were still there)The wallet had no money but was heavy with the ghost of the boy who used to deliver water for a living. “Kung buhay pa siya, sa tingin ko matutuwa siyang makita na inaalagaan ko ang pitaka niya. Hindi ko na ito iniiwan ngayon, kahit saan man ako pumunta. Lagi itong nasa akin,” she added.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17795099664462024-0831_ICRC_IDOD_ILI_Aminah-Lomala-9806.jpg" style="width:650px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Aminah Lomala, 35, wears a piece of an old watch left by her missing husband. (Photo by Larry Monserate Piojo of the International Committee of the Red Cross)</div>A few shelters away, Aminah Lomala, 35, wears a piece of frozen time on her left wrist.It is a watch, part of a “his and hers” set her husband bought when he was a tricycle driver.They had a pact: If he wasn’t home between 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., she would call. If there was no answer by 10 p.m., they both understood that something had gone terribly wrong.On May 23, 2017, her husband did not call, nor did he come home. The battery died years ago, but Lomala refuses to replace it. To make the watch tick again would be to admit that time has moved on without him. “Suot ko pa rin ang relo na ito noong lumikas kami ng bahay namin,” Lomala recalled. “Palagi niyang sinasabi sa akin na isuot ito, kahit ano pa man, kahit na maubos ang baterya.”(I was wearing this when we fled our home. He told me to always wear it whatever happens. Even if the battery runs out.)<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17795100328802024-0901_ICRC_IDOD_MAR-0004258.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Marivic Alsis holds a rusty steel saw her younger brother left behind. (Photo by Larry Monserate Piojo of the International Committee of the Red Cross)</div>In the hands of Marivic Asis, the relic is a rusty steel saw. Her younger brother, a construction worker, had left it for safekeeping just before the fighting escalated. He told her: &quot;Huwag kang mag-alala, ate. Susubukan naming makalikas kung kaya namin. Pero, ipagdasal mo kami.”(Don&#x27;t worry, ate. We will try to leave if we can. But pray for us.)He never made it out. Now, the saw sits unused, its teeth dull with rust, a jagged reminder of a builder who never got to finish his own life.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17795100742592024-0901_ICRC_IDOD_MAR-0382.jpg" style="width:650px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Rusty steel saw left by Asis&#x27;s younger brother. (Photo by Larry Monserate Piojo of the International Committee of the Red Cross)</div><div style="text-align:left"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17795101408172024-0907_ICRC_IDOD_ZAM_Fatima-Ismael-Anjao-2648-cropped.jpg" style="width:650px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="650"/>Mariam, 64, holds a pair of shoes left by her missing daughter, Neng. (Photo by Larry Monserate Piojo of the International Committee of the Red Cross)</div>For Mariam, 64, the memory is held in a pair of shoes. She gave away most of her daughter Neng’s belongings to others in need, but she could not part with the shoes. Neng wore them every day to teach the Qur’an in Basak Malutlut in Marawi. She was a daughter who refused to sleep anywhere but tucked beside her mother’s side. “Kung makikita niya na itinago ko ang mga sapatos na ito, malalaman niya kung gaano namin siya kamahal,” Mariam said.(If she sees that I kept these shoes, she will know how much I love her.)<div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17795103663802024-0901_ICRC_IDOD_MAR-0225.jpg" style="width:650px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="650"/>Litisia Palahang, 64, embraces an old guitar owned by her son. (Photo by Larry Monserate Piojo of the International Committee of the Red Cross)</div>Litisia Palahang, 64, fills the quiet of her home with loud music to drown out her son&#x27;s absence.She said her son was a man who lived for rock songs and his guitar, often strumming along to the radio on Sunday mornings. Now, his guitar is a silent sculpture in the room. “Hindi namin maiwasang maalala siya, at bumabalik ang mga alaala,” Palahang said.(We cannot avoid remembering him and reliving his memory.)<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17795104214602024-0906_ICRC_IDOD_ZAM_Agustina-Mangumpit-0628.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>(Photo by Larry Monserate Piojo of the International Committee of the Red Cross)</div>Agustina Mangumpit, 68, holds a holy rosary. Her son was a sacristan, a “convent boy” who worked tirelessly to save enough money to enter the seminary one day. He wanted to be a priest. Now, her mother prays the beads he once hoped to lead. “Umaasa akong buhay pa siya. Umaasa akong nawa’y hindi magbago ang kaniyang mabuting ugali; napakalambing niyang bata,” she recalled.(I hope he is alive. I hope that his good manners have not changed. He is such a good boy.)“Kung pumanaw na siya, sumalangit ang kaniyang kaluluwa, dahil wala na tayong magagawa pa.”(If he is dead, I hope he goes to heaven. We cannot do anything more.)<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17795104706582024-0906_ICRC_IDOD_ZAM_Agustina-Mangumpit-0665.jpg" style="width:650px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="650"/></div>Agustina Mangumpina holds a holy rosary owned by her missing son. (Photo by Larry Monserate Piojo of the International Committee of the Red Cross)<div></div><div> </div><div> </div>Eight years after the siege of Marawi ended, families of those who disappeared during the conflict continue to seek answers, holding on to personal belongings as the only traces of missing loved ones. <div> </div>For at least 31 families documented by humanitarian organization ICRC, these belongings are among the few tangible links to relatives who disappeared during the five-month siege of the city eight years ago. Johannes Bruwer, delegation head of the ICRC, said they have been helping people affected by the war since 2017. He said that extends to those whose relatives went missing during the conflict.“Ang pag-alala ay unang hakbang lamang sa paglalakbay patungo sa paghahanap ng mga kasagutan. Hindi ito sapat. Kailangan ng mga pamilya—at karapatan nila—na malaman kung ano ang nangyari sa kanilang mga mahal sa buhay,” Bruwer added.(Remembering is just the first step in the journey of seeking answers. It is not enough. The families need — and it is their right — to know what happened to theitr loved ones.)Sophia Aminolla, a sister of the missing, spoke to the 31 families who contributed to The Book of Memories: “Kung titigil tayo sa pag-alala at pagbibigay-pugay sa mga nawawalang tao, nangangahulugan ito na tumigil na tayo sa paghahanap sa kanila o tinatalikuran na natin ang ating layunin.” (If we stop remembering and honoring the missing, that means we will have stopped looking for them or that we have turned our backs on our goals.)For the 31 families, the “liberation” of Marawi declared on Oct. 17, 2017 is a story that hasn’t reached its final chapter. They remain the curators of a love that the war could not kill, waiting for the day when the objects are finally replaced by the touch of their missing loved one.“Nanak, nasaan ka man, kung buhay ka pa o pumanaw na, gusto kong malaman mo kung gaano kita kamahal. Sana nabigyan ka ng mahabang buhay,” said Rizmah Abdurazid, 53.(Nanak, wherever you are — if you are alive or have died — I want you to know how much I love you. I wish you had had a long life.)<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17795105436782024-0907_ICRC_IDOD_ZAM_Risma-Abdurasid-2587.jpg" style="width:650px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="650"/></div>Rizmah Abdurazid, 53, holds a picture of her missing son. (Photo by Larry Monserate Piojo of the International Committee of the Red Cross)<div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div>“Ngunit pinanghahawakan ko ang pag-asa na balang araw, maging araw, buwan, o taon, muli tayong magkikita. Mahal na mahal kita. Palagi kitang mamahalin.”(But I am holding on to hope that one day — even if it takes days, months, years — we will see each other again. I love you so much. I will always love you.)

On May 23, 2017, a military operation by the Philippine government forced the capture of a top Islamic State-linked militant in Marawi City, which ignited what would become the longest urban battle in the country’s modern history.

On May 23, 2017, a military operation by the Philippine government forced the capture of a top Islamic State-linked militant in Marawi City, which ignited what would become the longest urban battle in the country’s modern history.

The silent reliquary of Marawi’s disappeared

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The silent reliquary of Marawi’s disappeared

Chalssea Kate Echegoyen,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 23, 2026 12:29 PM PHT

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Updated May 25, 2026 05:17 PM PHT

Read More:

Marawi Siege

ICRC

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