From Mountains to Neighborhoods: Housing, Belonging, and the Peace–Poverty Paradox among Former Rebels in Philippine Government Housing Sites

Government housing has become the physical centerpiece of the Philippines’ reintegration strategy for former rebels, yet almost nothing is known about how its intended beneficiaries actually experience life inside these communities. This study explored the lived experiences of former rebels resettled in government housing sites in Region 10, Northern Mindanao, focusing on how they describe daily life in the resettlement communities and how they view their sense of belonging and inclusion. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, data were gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with twenty purposively selected former rebels across two housing sites, the Pineville Housing Project in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, and the CDO Midland Valley Homes in Cagayan de Oro City, complemented by observation and documentary analysis, and were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. Findings revealed that the resettlement experience is defined by a striking duality. Participants expressed deep gratitude for the housing assistance and consistently described their present lives as peaceful, secure, and family-centered, in sharp contrast to the fear and displacement of their years in the armed movement; the house itself emerged as a powerful symbol of recognition, dignity, and a second chance at civilian life, and home ownership, safety, and participation in community affairs nurtured a growing sense of belonging. At the same time, nearly all participants struggled with persistent livelihood and economic difficulties as they transitioned from self-sufficient mountain-based subsistence to a cash-dependent settlement economy, and some continued to feel uncertain and incompletely accepted owing to stigma and the absence of formal ownership documents. The study concludes that former rebels live a peace–poverty paradox: physically safer and symbolically restored, yet economically insecure, and that housing functions as a necessary but insufficient foundation of reintegration whose promise is completed only by sustainable livelihood support and genuine social acceptance. The relational, identity, and structural dimensions of community cohesion arising from these experiences are examined in separate companion papers.

Former Rebels, Reintegration, Government Housing, Community Cohesion, Belonging, Lived Experiences, Phenomenology, Philippines

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