I am Joto Banisil Jr., and this is my wife, Joanne. We live in Barangay Mocado Colony. We are one of those families whose houses were destroyed. Our house got burned. Before, our means of livelihood was to sell cell phones in the Market of Padian, and I had a pedicab rented by my friend while my wife stayed at home. Currently, we are settled in Bahay Pag-asa, and we are grateful to the donors of this project. Before, we used to live in tents. It was difficult since the weather is unpredictable, especially when it rains. But in Bahay Pag-asa, houses were well-built and ventilated. We have our basic needs here, such as water and electricity. We are able to sleep soundly, and we don’t have to worry when it rains. Whereas inside the tents, we can feel the scorching heat at 9 o’clock, I just let my children play outside because we cannot stand the heat. At 4 o’clock the cold weather comes, but we still struggle because of the frequent rain. We are thankful for your help because this project helped us evacuees. Thank you very much.
(This entry is part of Chapter 4: Envisioning the Future of Marawi City.)