Althea Gonzales

Conflict drove 360,000 Filipinos from their homes last May. Months after the city was liberated, destruction and unexploded bombs prevent many from going home.

Solaiman and Saada Alip were counting the days to their retirement when conflict in Marawi City broke out a year ago. They were trapped for 16 days as the conflict raged on.

Take part in United Nations in the Philippines’ Sustainable Development Goals campaign! We’re looking for crowdsourced entries for the Filipino version of the “We the People for the Sustainable Development Goals” video, which will be launched on this year’s UN Day celebration.

March is International #WomensDay!
Did you know that women and girls make up about half of any refugee, internally displaced or stateless population? Stripped of the protection of home, women and girls face specific risks. Those who are alone, pregnant, disabled, elderly or the sole head of their household are especially vulnerable.
Join us in honoring the formidable women who are rebuilding their lives, helping their communities, and inspiring a generation. Their courage and determination motivate us every day.

The Philippines and the United Nations are celebrating 72 years of partnership this year! Join us on 24 October for #UNDayPH 2017 and find out how you can take action for the Sustainable Development Goals!

Here's what UNHCR was able to do in response to the displacement in Marawi City. In view of UNHCR's community-based approach, projects initiated in response to the Marawi conflict and displacement had the objective of improving the conditions of internally displaced persons both in evacuation centers and home-based settings.

Even as displaced families begin to return to their homes in Marawi City after more than six months of conflict, the situation remains dire. A tough road to recovery and rebuilding awaits those who have returned and those still living in displacement. UNHCR Advocate Atom Araullo visited Marawi City this week to meet with displaced families and evacuees who have returned home.
This season of giving, join us in sharing the gift of hope to Marawi IDPs.

After waiting for years on end in legal limbo, former refugees Maher Mohammad Al Raee and Kamran Karbasi can now exercise their rights as Filipinos. Maher and Kamran were naturalised as Filipinos in January 2017, decades after they first came to the Philippines after fleeing their home countries because of war and persecution.

MMEIRS hypothesizes that if a 7.2 magnitude earthquake from the Marikina Fault System hits Metro Manila, the tremor would reach a maximum magnitude of XIII within Metro Manila. The PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale designates the number as “very destructive”.

Unbeknown to many, DLSU’s Alternative Learning System (ALS) compound stands along Fidel Castro St., just a few steps down the road from Br. Andrew Gonzalez Hall, near the DLSU Retreat House and beside the DLSU Pre-School. There, the University offers a non-formal educational system to some 50 out-of-school youth, children, and adults from neighboring barangays.

With most of the lobbyists hailing from Visayas and Mindanao, the farmers had to shell out anywhere from P7,000 to P10,000 each in order to travel to Quezon City, where they set up makeshift tents that served as their living quarters in front of the DAR compound in Diliman. Most of them are landless farmers who have long-established issues with their respective landowners and implementation of CARP.

We need to shift the mindset of “it’s always been that way” to “it doesn’t have to be that way,” because we deserve better.