In April 2016, following a series of consultations between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the City Social Welfare and Development Office and other partners in Zamboanga, a profiling exercise for home-based internally displaced persons (IDPs) was conceptualized. The main purpose was to validate the relevance of existing lists and obtain up-to-date information from home-based IDPs who decided to take part in the exercise so that the government, as well as other humanitarian and development actors, can make informed and consultative decisions while designing and targeting their assistance programs, including protection interventions.
Following a piloting phase in June 2016, the full-blown profiling was conducted in July-August 2016 and reached 6,474 families from 66 barangays in Zamboanga. Of these, 1,135 families were assessed to be potential home-based IDPs based on the documents they presented. The profiling revealed that most home-based IDPs are living in barangays of Sta. Catalina, Sta. Barbara, Talon-Talon and Rio Hondo.