A woman lifts her hands in distress while looking towards thick smoke billowing from the war-ravaged town. Soldiers crack jokes aboard a military vehicle bound for the conflict zone.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

These and other pictures that captured the anguish, fear, and resilience of Filipinos during the battle for the control of Marawi City last year make up the set of photographs shot by Fernando Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News' deputy editor for multimedia, that was selected as a finalist in the Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018.

• Days Japan International Photo Journalist Awards 2018

The contest sought "photographs advocating the dignity of humans and nature."

The photo that bagged the top prize was about the "The battle for the last stronghold of Daesh. The old city of Mosul" submitted by Laurent Van der Stockt, a World Press Photo awardee.

Other pictures that won the major prizes were about the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar taken by Pulitzer Prize nominees Paula Bronstein and Arka Dutta, and World Press Photo winner Alain Schroeder.