Marawi, Philippines - May 20, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of check posts at Saduc Proper; damaged buildings
2. Various of residents cleaning up house
3. SOUNDBITE (Tagalog) Norhanipa Mapandi, resident, Saduc Proper:
"We were very sad to have left this place. Our grandmother left this house for us, and we had to abandon this house back then."
4. Various of abandoned houses, bullet holes on walls
5. Various of military vehicle driving
6. SOUNDBITE (Tagalog) Norhanipa Mapandi, resident, Saduc Proper:
"We want to continue living here. Our life is here, we grew up here; we are used to this kind of life. This is our home. We will not go anywhere else."
7. Various of residents cleaning area outside houses

Residents of Marawi City in the Philippines are gradually returning to rebuild their homes which suffered heavy damages during clashes between government forces and militants a year ago.

Extremists and terrorists attacked Marawi City in May of 2017, triggering a five-month siege that left large swaths of the city in ruins. At least 1,200 people were killed in the war to retake the city and nearly 354,000 residents or more than 77,000 families in and around the besieged city were displaced.

Saduc Proper, the closest Barangay witnessing the intense combat during the Marawi crisis, reopened to public on Friday.

The Barangay, however, still carries deep scars left behind during the war. Public facilities including local schools were severely damaged, while bullet holes are visible on the walls of many buildings. Some streets even have scattered shells.

As the area reopened, some residents returned to clean up their houses and even the approaching street. Since these houses were abandoned for over a year, locals have no other choice but to toss away a lot of their personal belongings now.

"We were very sad while leaving this place. Our grandmother left this house for us, and we had to abandon it back then," said Norhanipa Mapandi, a local of Saduc Proper.

Despite all the mess around, locals are hopeful to revive their lives right where they once belonged. Mapandi even considers herself lucky as compared to those living across the river.
"We want to continue living here. Our life is here, we grew up here; we are used to this kind of life. We will not go anywhere else," she added.

President Rodrigo Duterte in October declared the city liberated after five months of air strikes and gun battles to retake the once scenic city.