Since the establishment of the Mohammad Ali B. Dimaporo Gymnasium at Mindanao State University or MSU in Marawi City, regular Sunday masses have been held here for the Catholic residents, students, faculty members, and employees of the university.

And the bombing on December 3 that took place during one of these masses at the gymnasium, which resulted in the death of four people and injured over 50 others, shocked MSU.

• 'Part of us died with them': Mindanao State University mourns Marawi bombing victims

Mindanao State University has identified and paid tribute to the victims, including faculty member Evangeline Aromin from MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, students Janine Arenas and Junrey Barbante from the College of Business Administration and Accountancy, and resident Riza Daniel.

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According to Atty. Shindik Abantas, secretary of the university and spokesperson for MSU, they are still in a state of shock over the severity of the bombing especially since two students and one faculty member were among the casualties.

"We are devastated but you know, kung terror groups ang kalaban, we eill not give them the success that they want. They want to devastate us, damage us or break us but we are not broken. We will not give them the victory that they want. MSU will stay," he said.

MSU, Abantas said, has faced various challenges like martial law, rebellion, the Marawi siege, and the pandemic, but it has never been defeated. Instead, the university always rises and becomes stronger in the face of every challenge, he said.

"MSU is MSU. We are getting better pa nga every time na may nangyayari. Despite the Marawi siege, despite the pandemic akala nila matutumba ang MSU, wala nang mag-aaral dito pero now we rank as one of the top university sa Asia. So we will rise up even stronger than this. In fact 'yung coordination natin sa national government, local government made MSU even safer," he said.

Although classes for MSU students are still suspended, the university's offices remain open.

Atty. Abantas admitted that the fear among the MSU community is still present, but they are addressing it through psychosocial intervention for students, faculty members, and employees.

• Marawi blast: NSC points to lapse of security in MSU

Nearly a thousand students have chosen to temporarily return to their respective provinces based on the advice of their parents.

They were escorted by buses from various local government units, including Surigao, Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga Peninsula, Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Butuan City, Cotabato City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Davao Region.

Abantas emphasized that only a small portion of the 13,000 students from MSU-Marawi have decided to go home to their provinces.

The government has ordered them to resume classes once the situation returns to normal and MSU is deemed safe.

"PNP, AFP and the LGU have declared na safe ang university. We are discussing institutional coordination with the AFP, PNP and LGU para masustain ang security," he said.

Abantas said they did not receive any text messages indicating an impending attack.

Although MSU has its security forces, they still need the assistance of government security forces when dealing with terrorist threats.

"Mayroon din kaming sariling info gathering sa university na may security, pero in this particular thing na ang kalaban mo ay isang organized terror group we rely on government, walang capacity ang MSU, hindi kami NDP, PNP or AFP," he said.

He also rejected rumors that MSU employees were involved in planting the bomb.

"We categorically deny, based on our internal investigation that...involved mga employees ng MSU. Chineck naming ang ranks namin,“ Abantas said.