Philippines: Families honour Marawi missing for International Day of the Disappeared

The families have been living in uncertainty for many years. They continue to deal with ambiguous loss, where they cannot mourn their missing relatives properly because of the absence of their bodies. Some of the families are struggling to secure their government-mandated benefits such as insurance due to the absence of death certificates and the lack of legal status for missing persons. Others continue to hope that their missing loved ones are alive.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has been advocating for the rights of the families of the missing. It is the authority’s responsibility to search for and identify missing persons, as specified under international humanitarian law (IHL). Under IHL, it is the right of the families to know what has happened to their missing kin.

With the 10th anniversary of the Marawi conflict happening in May 2027, the families of the missing are hoping that they will finally have the answers that they have been searching for.

After the gathering in Paseo de Santiago, the families travelled to the Maqbara cemetery in Marawi City, where unidentified remains of people who died in the 2017 conflict were buried. The visit gave them the opportunity to honour and remember those who are missing. For some families, this is the first time that they have visited the cemetery. Photo: Amer Hassan Sanggacala/ICRC

In Maqbara, the families also wrote messages of hope and love for their missing relatives. Photo: Amer Hassan Sanggacala/ICRC

A separate gathering of the families of the missing occurred in Marawi City on 26 August 2026, where the participants remembered their missing kin and discussed the progress  of the new Marawi Family Association. The association advocates for the rights of the families of the Marawi missing. Photo: Amer Hassan Sanggacala/ICRC