Settlement Status

In total, 41 percent of the households had been displaced at some point over the 10 year period prior to the survey. At the time of the survey, 29 percent had returned home after being displaced, 7 percent had resettled elsewhere, and 4 percent were currently displaced. The resettlement status of 1 percent of the displaced was not reported. 59 percent of the surveyed households had never been displaced. The proportion of households displaced at the time of the survey was highest in Maguindanao (21%), compared to 4 percent or less elsewhere. Most households who had experienced displacement tended to return home, but selecting a new location (resettled elsewhere) was relatively frequent in Lanao del Sur (14% of the population, or 29% of those displaced in that province).

Figure 2: Current settlement

In terms of demographics, the head of the household’s age or gender were not associated with the settlement status. However, households currently displaced were more frequently headed by an individual with no or incomplete primary education level (48%) compared to those never displaced (17%), resettled elsewhere (21%), or returned home (36%). The results further show that settlement status varied by religious belief. Muslim respondents were significantly more likely to have experienced displacement (59%) compared to Christian respondents (20%). They were also significantly more likely to be displaced at the time of the survey (8% vs. 1%).

Figure 3: Settlement status by religious belief