Last of Seven Parts: The Tri-People Approach: Citizens’ Participation in Creating A Culture of Peace

Rudy Buhay Rodil

(Editor’s note: This article is a slight revision of the lectures the author delivered between the years 1999 and 2000 to two major audiences — the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility in Metro Manila and the Bishops-Ulama Forum, now known as Bishops-Ulama Conference, in Davao City.)

The marginalization experienced by the Lumad and the Moros in the last one hundred years are not perceived as acts of fraternal love from either government or settlers or corporate institutions. They have reacted to this each in their  own way. The MNLF led the Bangsamoro in an armed struggle for national liberation. The Lumad founded the Lumad Mindanaw and articulated their own desire for genuine self-determination in their own ancestral lands. Recent events and circumstances have changed for the better. Already we have the GRP-MNLF Peace  Agreement for the Moro people and we have the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act for the Lumad. The energy of sustained implementation must be consciously maintained by the people themselves. But how?

Some Basic realities to Consider

In creating a culture of peace in Mindanaw, we need to acknowledge some very basic realities or make some fundamental assumptions.  First is that Mindanaw is inhabited by a population that may be classified into three distinct segments, namely, the Lumad, the Muslims and the settlers. Second, at this point in our history, not a single segment of the population can claim Mindanaw as theirs any longer; Mindanaw is shared territory. Third, despite their differences, the three segments of the population are capable of working out a modus vivendi that can make Mindanaw a home of peace and harmony. There are more than enough examples of this.

What Mindanaw has taught us is that we can still be Filipinos, but the basis of our unity cannot be our differing experiences with Spanish or American colonialism. It must be our mutual acceptance of one another as distinct peoples in one nation, sharing the same territory. It must be our common vision crafted from present realities.

We have also learned that the major segments of the population must take part in identifying what is common among them and working out a modus vivendi from there. This is not something that can be the subject of negotiation between the GRP and the MNLF.

Perhaps, this is one moment in history when we must grapple with realities in a manner radically different from the way the colonizers did it for us. If we must unite, we must do so as distinct entities; we must do so as equals accepting and respecting each other’s unique identity and dignity — regardless of population size, and we must do so because unity in diversity is mutually beneficial and best for all concerned. This is an important first step in the creation of a culture of peace as well as in the unification of the Filipino people in this part of the nation. Balanced with one another, ethnicity can be an instrument for sustaining a peace culture – which, in turn, is a vital component for the development, not only of the autonomous region but also of Mindanaw and the Philippines.

Peace Credo; the Organic Whole;
Implications to Development

At a gathering of peace advocates and educators at the South East Asia Rural Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN), Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City, on July 4-6, 1996, called  Consultation-Workshop on Peace Education in Mindanaw with the theme: Journey to Peace and Harmony, which was jointly hosted by the Mindanaw Support and Communication Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (MINCARRD)  and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the participants produced, ratified and adopted  a Peace Credo in Filipino, now translated in 19 languages. The English translation here is mine. It is very appropriate to recall it here.

Kalinaw Mindanaw!!!

Lumad, Muslim, Kristiyano

Magkaiba, Magkaisa

Isang Diyos

Isang Lupain

Isang Adhikain

Kalinaw Mindanaw!

[English Translation]

Peace Mindanaw!!!

Lumad, Muslim, Christian

They are different, they can be one
One God

One land

One dream

Peace Mindanaw!!!

A Maguindanawon introduced the music. To a great extent the consciousness that was created in that forum has found a home in the heart of all peace advocates associated with Kalinaw Mindanaw.

What it advocates is that at the level of the people, we should encourage the tri-people approach in peace advocacy. This means creating a stream of unifying ideal among the Lumad, the Muslims and the migrants whose basic interests may sometimes be conflicting. It is molding a common agenda and a common vision; it is creating unity out of diversity. It is seeing ourselves as integral parts of an organic whole.

Following the idea of an organic whole, the same people will do well to see themselves as one with nature and the physical environment in which they live. Then from there, find the inter links, or the unifying thread among the various forces of nature. With a closer look, one can easily see the interactive roles of the various resources or forces of development in Mindanaw in the overall forward movement of the region and the country.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. A peace specialist, Rudy Buhay Rodil is an active Mindanao historian and peace advocate.)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 30 April) – Five of the six human rights activists who were ordered arrested last April 21 by the Regional Trial Court-Branch 12 in Davao City posted bail on Thursday.

They are facing charges of child abuse in relation to the presence of Lumad evacuees inside the Haran Evacuation Center of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines in Davao City.

In an order dated April 29, Presiding Judge Dante A. Baguio ordered the authorities to desist from arresting Bishop Hamuel Tequis, Rev. Daniel Palicte, Ephraim Malazarte, Lindy Trenilla, and Grace Avila after the five accused filed a cash bond worth P300,000 or at P60,000 each.

Jong Monzon, Secretary-General of PASAKA Confederation of Lumad Organizations in South Mindanao Region, one of the six accused “administrators and personalities” of Haran, did not post bail.

The judge set the arraignment and pre-trial of the six accused at 8:30 a.m. of July 16, 2021.

In a statement, Police Regional Office Davao director BGen. Filmore B. Escobal said the arrest warrant was issued for violation of Republic Act 7610, also known as Special Protection of Children against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act or Anti-Child Abuse Law.

He said the accused were responsible for the death of an infant inside the evacuation center during the pandemic and the failure to report the condition of children suffering illnesses and diseases to the City Health Office.

“Our ultimate aim is to end the exploitation of IPs (indigenous peoples) by fake revolutionaries, and UCCP Haran Administrators could be of help in achieving it. If the administrators of Haran could just use their voice to discourage IPs from supporting fake revolutionaries, they could just let them go back to their community, the people there would have been living in a suitable environment now,” he said.

He said several attempts have been made since 2015 to “rescue” the Lumads taking refuge at the evacuation center due to the complaints from their leaders and families that their relatives were allegedly brought to Haran from their homes.

“There were allegations that personalities behind UCCP Haran are exploiting the IPs and utilizing them for activities that are against the government. While some IP minors are being engaged as NPAs (New People’s Army),” he said.

He said families housed inside the evacuation center were going through “a tough situation, with limited food and water and deplorable sanitation.”

As of 1:45 p.m. Friday, Jay Apiag, Karapatan Southern Mindanao Region secretary-general, has yet to comment on the incident.

In a statement Friday, the Promotion of Church People’s Response called the charges against the accused another example of the “weaponization of the law under the Duterte administration.”

“The Promotion of Church People’s Response stands in solidarity with the UCCP and the affected Lumad to call for peace-building and healthy resolution of any identified weaknesses in the administration of the UCCP-HARAN ministry with displaced Lumad. We stand firmly on the imperatives of Christian faith that guide the mission and ministries of Bishop Hamuel Tequis and other leaders of the UCCP.

“Furthermore, we sound the alarm on these latest efforts to label as ‘terrorism’ what is clearly Church ministry; this is another manifestation of the clear and present dangers for increased repression and oppression under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and other similar laws,” the statement added. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)

CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 17 June) – Bishop Raul Dael of the Diocese of Tandag in Surigao del Sur will join a provincial investigation team on Friday to look into the June 15 killing of three Lumad farmers, including a 12-year old girl in what the military claimed was an encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA) but what human rights groups decried as a massacre.

Fr. Raymond Montero Ambray, consultant of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Tandag told MindaNews that Bishop Dael and he will join a provincial probe team on Friday, June 18, to investigate the killing in Sitio New Decoy, Barangay Diatagon in Lianga. Ambray said the probe team was initiated by the provincial government.

In a statement, the Sabokahan IP women, a grassroots women organization based in Davao, said the three fatalities were Lumad farmers who were out harvesting abaca when they were allegedly “brutally killed and raped” by the soldiers, an allegation that Brig. Gen. Allan Hambala, commander of the Army’s 401^st Infantry Brigade, denied.

Hambala claimed that thick jungle foliage in Sitio New Decoy, Barangay Diatagon in Lianga prevented Army soldiers from seeing a 12-year old girl among the NPA during the encounter.

He told MindaNews in a telephone interview that the soldiers saw an armed man firing a gun at them, prompting the 12-man Special Forces team to retaliate.

“Once the firing started, it was all go. The terrain was covered with thick jungle foliage,” he said, adding the encounter at a jungle trail beside an old logging road lasted for ten minutes.

It was while searching the area after the shootout when the soldiers found the dead minor, he said.

Hambala said the bodies were brought down to Diatagon, Lianga town where they were autopsied by a PNP SOCO team.

The military identified the victims as Lenie Perez Rivas, 38 years old; and Willy Salinas Rodriguez, 20 years old, both members of the Manobo tribe.

Hambala withheld the name of the slain minor. But Sabokahan IP women and Karapatan named the 12-year-old as a student of the Lumad school Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS).

Harvesting abaca

They said the elder Rivas and Rodriguez were members of the grassroots organization Malahutayong Pakigbisog alang sa Sumusunod (MAPASU).

The Sabokahan IP women alleged that the three Lumads were  farmers who were harvesting abaca.

In a statement, the Save Our Schools (SOS) said the three victims were cousins. It said Lenie Rivas was 21 and Rodriguez was their cousin.  The elder Rivas and the 12-year old were sisters.

The SOS said the victims’ aunt was informed by witnesses that the victims, “with three other young farmers, took a break from harvesting or stripping abaca, went down to the poblacion intending to buy rice when they came across the military who without warning opened fire on them, killing the three while the other three ran for their safety.”

It said the families of the victims learned about the incident at around 10 p.m. “after soldiers presented to them the lifeless body of Angel, wrapped in plastic and tape. Soldiers said they were pursuing a New People’s Army fighter and a gunfight ensued.”  The bodies of the elder Rivas and Rodriguez were allegedly found in a separate location, the SOS said.

Hambala welcomed the probe team, particularly the presence of the Bishop of Tandag.  “We welcome the fact finding mission so we can clear our name against these allegations,” he said.

He insisted that the June 15 encounter was “legitimate” and that the soldiers fought with members of the NPA, the two older fatalities allegedly belonging to the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee.

Hambala said the soldiers found an AK-47 rifle, two caliber .45 pistols, backpacks, ammunition and two anti-personnel mines with detonating cord and electrical wire attached to a switch around the three dead bodies.

Prior to the June 15 encounter, Hambala said the Special Forces team figured in another encounter with 20 NPA rebels in Sitio Tibog, Mabuhay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur on June 14.

Hambala said the soldiers captured a 15-year-old Manobo minor who told them of the presence of another rebel group in nearby Sitio New Decoy.  (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)

I. 2015

The forest emerald faded
and red the valley turned
as embers devoured the commune

The dawn cracked with bullets
on the heads of two datus
and a blade slashed Emok’s neck

Wails echoed across Andap
walls shake
this village school

Forest leaves snapped off
and embrace the blood-soaked soil
Blood red the sun

The busaw howls
the tribe departs
a season of blood

II. 2021

A year of pandemia
but other things can kill

the Manobo girl dreams
of dances and harvests in their fields

but as abaca leaves were gathered
she and her family were collected

by bullets laced
with words from the busaw

smash their inner bodies
rape their lands for the coffers

the nightmare sets in again
as their blood cries for Magbabaya

(Tyrone Velez is a freelance journalist and writer)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 07 August) — The independent film festival Cinemalaya stages its 17th season with its second online festival from August 6 to September 5, featuring two award-winning Mindanawon films, a documentary on Marawi evacuees and a full-length film shot in the country’s highest peak Mount Apo.

A House in Pieces (documentary)

Directed by Jean Claire Dy and Manuel Domes
Screening Dates: August 6, 8 and 10.

Countless news coverage and documentaries on the Marawi crisis often tell the story of the military’s five month battle against a band of ISIS inspired fighters, and sometimes leave the Marawi citizens, the Meranaws, at the fringes, portrayed as hapless evacuees or angry survivors.

A House in Pieces delves deeper on the Meranaws and humanizes the crisis.  The Meranaws interviewed in this documentary, a young couple, a businesswoman, and even an ISIS recruit who lost his son in the battle, show their pain of losing their homes, their memories and the uncertainty of their future.  The title of this documentary depicts the state of Marawi as told by its citizens.

Weaving this documentary entailed time and risks for its directors Jean Claire Dy and Manuel Domes from Germany.  But both directors share a common purpose of focusing on narratives to draw out peoples’ tales on conflict and peace.    These tales will make viewers see Marawi as broken pieces that may take years or decades to be put together.

A House in Pieces was shown in international film festivals including the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival which awarded a grant for the film, and at the Kasseler Dokfest in Germany where it garnered the Golden Hercules Award.  The film has been screened on national online film platforms in the past two years.

The Highest Peak
Directed by Arbi Barbarona
Screening Dates August 7 to 9

Mount Apo, the country’s highest peak, has been featured in videos, photos and blogs as a trekking spot. But it is only in late 2019 that it became the setting of a full-length film.

A film featuring the highest peak of course involves trekking, and captivating shots of the mountain ranges covered in a sea of clouds, surrounded by mists and forests.

But Barbarona who copped best director awards from FAMAS and Urian in 2018, injects social messages in his films. Mount Apo is a fragile haven for the Lumad inhabitants who have become porters just to survive decades of neglect and exploitation from mining and geothermal companies.   Such problems rise in the dialogue from the characters, a Manila-based executive seeking a new purpose in life after a personal loss, who befriends his young Lumad porter who helped him in this journey.

The film was originally set for release at Sinag Maynila 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic.  It was shown at the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino in October 2020 which garnered Best Supporting Actor award for Henyo Ehem and Best Sound Design for Barbarona.

Cinemalaya also features 13 short films for competition in its Balanghai awards.  Other sections of Cinemalaya include Vision of Asia which showcases award winning Asian movies;  a section of indie full lengths and short films, documentaries and premiers of award winning indie films; a retrospective on Danny Zialcita films and a retrospect on past Cinemalaya winning films.

Viewers will have to go to the website KTX https://www.ktx.ph/ featured section on Cinemalaya to choose their films, priced between Php 150 to Php 250 per title, which provides viewers a 48-hour pass to watch the films online. (Tyrone Velez / MindaNews)

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 02 September) – Back in 2005, the nongovernment organization I used to work with assisted the Bukidnon-Daraghuyan tribe in Malaybalay City in the processing of their application for a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT). As it went along, I realized that applying for a CADT is a tedious, costly process, which gave me the impression that it has become another form of oppression for Lumads (indigenous peoples of Mindanao) who don’t have the resources for it.

I already lost count of the number of community meetings, consultations with neighboring tribal communities, government agencies and various stakeholders we held to obtain consensus and resolve and/or preempt conflicts related to the claim. This is aside from tracing the genealogies of the different clans comprising the tribe, writing their history as narrated by the elders, gathering proof of “since time immemorial” possession of the land, documenting cultural practices, among others.

Besides, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) required “validation sessions” with the community on the data and information. Nothing wrong with that except that the NCIP required 800 pesos per day in honorarium for each of their employee who attended those sessions. Upon learning this, I exclaimed to my officemates in disgust, “Sa ato pa, kung walay kwarta ang tribu, wala gyuy mahitabo sa ilang claim (So, if the tribe has no money, nothing will happen to their claim)?”

NCIP-Bukidnon made it clear to us that as per policy each provincial office could only process one CADT application per year owing to “budgetary limits.” But what incensed me is that they seemed unperturbed over exacting a pound of flesh from an impoverished community.

Fortunately for the claimant tribe, some foreign donors granted funds for the CADT application. Those funds defrayed the activities mentioned above as well as, the boundary survey (including honoraria for the NCIP surveyors from Manila, and materials and labor for the concrete boundary markers around the roughly 4,500-hectare ancestral domain), and printing of documents.

Now, here comes the audit report of the Commission on Audit (COA) flagging the NCIP regional office in Caraga for spending P1,064,219.06 for a workshop with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

COA said the meals and accommodations for the workshop, held at Amontay Beach Resort in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte in November 2020, “were not duly supported with sufficient and complete documentations… casting doubts on the propriety and regularity of the transaction… Moreover, the procurement was not done through a competitive public bidding.”

“Further scrutiny of the attendance sheet disclosed that there are alterations made with the date, and there are names listed that did not bear signatures of the participants,” COA said.

“The number of accommodations should have been equal to the number of participants indicated per meal or lower but not higher,” the agency added.

Last year, COA also asked the NCIP to justify its expenses amounting to P4.815 million in 2019 which state auditors said were mostly spent in activities conducted in high-end hotels and restaurants, according to an abs-cbn.com report published on Nov. 4, 2020.

“In the 2019 audit on the NCIP, state auditors noted that P3,835,897.50 were spent in 2018, and P979,695.93 in 2019 for meals and accommodations for various programs and activities of the agency in Region 10,” the report said. (Note: Region 10 includes Bukidnon.)

“It was observed that the said activities were mostly conducted at high-end hotels and restaurants where the food and accommodation was relatively high compared to other alternative venues,” the COA said.

Since the NCIP would scrimp when it comes to financing CADT claims, maybe we should ask if holding activities in those high-end venues had contributed more to uplifting the conditions of Lumads.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com.)

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 4 October) – Some ancestral domain claims of Lumad in Bukidnon have been granted recognition by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). Among them are the Talaandig inhabiting areas within or adjacent to Mt. Kalatungan in Talakag town and the Bukidnon in Baleteon, Brgy. Dalwangan, Malaybalay City, both in Bukidnon province.

Yet, the issuance of Certificates of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) has not meant security for the Lumad. The Talaandig in Talakag complained about the encroachment of big business interests and illegal logging in their area. They said a businessman is using tourism as cover for what they believe is his real agenda – treasure hunting. The same businessman, they alleged, has been harassing them with the complicity of some military and police personnel. If confronted, he would just say “magkita lang tas korte” (see you in court).

The Lumad added that the businessman blocked the right of way of owners of lands adjacent to the CADT area apparently to pressure them into selling their estates to him.

Moreover, many outsiders have laid claim to lands inside the domain using tax declarations. The Talaandig expressed fears the declarations might be converted into Torrens titles, a scenario that could result in a lengthy legal battle. They said the most they can do for now is ask the local government to refuse tax payments using these instruments and render the occupancies as illegal.

The Bukidnon tribe in Baleteon faces a similar problem. In 2014, or six years after the tribe’s claim was approved, a group of outsiders arrived and settled in the area without the Lumad’s consent. Some of these persons reportedly sold part of the area to another individual.

The intruders have since refused to leave the area, arguing they would only do so if the tribe can show them the original copy of their CADT. This sounds like a subtle accusation that the Lumad are lying about the status of their claim. But since they don’t want the conflict to worsen the Lumad opted to just wait for the document, which the NCIP is yet to release 13 years after the approval of the application.

Leaders of the tribe are also worried that the cases filed in 2005 against them by the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Office in relation to their occupancy of the area are yet to be dismissed. The tribe members were accused of squatting, leading to the demolition of their dwellings after the Regional Trial Court in Malaybalay granted DA’s petition to eject the claimants. The DA claimed the Baleteon domain as part of the agency-run Malaybalay Stock Farm.

DA Region 10 had opposed the CADT application of the Lumad based on the following arguments: 1) The claimants received 253.4551 hectares from President Ramon Magsaysay in 1954 through Proclamation 73, but that they sold their lands; 2) It was only in 1994 that the claimants entered the area, and that there is no proof that they had claimed or occupied it prior to that year; 3) Proclamation 637 creating the Malaybalay Stock Farm only covered 785.2675 hectares after it excluded the 253.4551 hectares given to the claimants through Proclamation 73; 4) The Malaybalay Stock Farm is reserved for public welfare and service.

But the NCIP noted that the claimants’ time immemorial occupation of the area is supported by, among others, tax declarations dating as far back as 1916, 1939 and 1949, their intimate relationship to the land as can be gleaned from the written accounts of their customs and traditions, and their birth certificates and marriage certificates. NCIP also cited the 1887 and 1918 maps in Dr. Madronio Lao’s book which mentions Dalwangan as one of the oldest settlements in Bukidnon, bolstering the fact that there were already indigenous inhabitants then.

The Commission added that the fact that the claimants were listed as among the beneficiaries of Proclamation 73 only proves that they were already in the area as early as 1954, negating DA’s claim that they only entered in 1994.

“The claimants and their ancestors may have been displaced from their ancestral domain as a consequence of this government program/project, but it does not and cannot disqualify them from acquiring formal recognition of their right over their ancestral domain. They did not leave their domain but were forced to leave therefrom. IPRA expressly includes within its ambit the ICCs/IPs who have been displaced from their domain as in the case at bar…” NCIP Region 10 Director Datu Tommie Labaon said in his executive report to the NCIP En Banc dated October 7, 2008, recommending for the approval of the Baleteon ancestral domain claim.

One need not be a lawyer to understand that with the approval of the CADT the cases  against the Lumad in Baleteon no longer have a legal basis.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 01 December) – Only 51,500 individuals in the city were vaccinated against COVID-19 during the first two days of the three-day national vaccination drive that started Monday, way below the local government’s daily target of 49,104 or a total of 147,313 for the entire duration, the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force said.

Dr. Michelle Schlosser told Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) Wednesday that the city has done its part in preparing for the massive vaccination drive from logistics, vaccination sites, and human resources.

But she added that there remain people who are hesitant to receive the vaccines due to misinformation.

“We have people helping each other out, including our councilors to Vice Mayor’s office. It boils down to the cooperation of the people. There is vaccination hesitancy. The people should be responsible enough to have themselves vaccinated. We encourage them to broaden their understanding about vaccination, so that we can reach our target of herd immunity,” she said.

The city aims to vaccinate 1.2 million individuals or 70 percent of the local population.

Schlosser said efforts have been undertaken to combat misinformation, particularly in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas like the far-flung Marilog and Paquibato Districts where health authorities are penetrating to spread word on vaccination.

“We are reaching out to our Lumad brothers and sisters who are not yet open about getting vaccinated. We’ve conducted a series of dialogues with tribe leaders, and we’re seeing some improvements now,” she said.

She said the only way to change the behavior of the people is to inform and educate them.

As of November 19, the city government reported a total of 1,010,811 individuals jabbed with the first dose and 908,101 who are fully vaccinated.

On November 30, the Department of Health-Davao reported 15 new COVID-19 infections in the city, bringing the total cases to 53,778 with 156 active, 51,840 recoveries, and 1,782 deaths. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 15 April) – Holy Week doesn’t only remind Christians, Roman Catholics in particular, to reflect on the meaning of the crucifixion, it also brings to the fore some elements of local culture that add color to the celebration. Vestiges of indigenous beliefs, rituals that look bizarre, and renewal of kinship and community bonds manifest alongside the faithful’s observance of piety and abstinence.

Neighbors in the provinces would cook and share among themselves native delicacies like tabirak, binignit, suman and biko. On Good Friday, households would light candles as the procession carrying the image of the crucified Christ and His grieving mother passes by, a gesture of oneness in faith.

It is during the Holy Week that churches and pilgrimage sites swell with worshipers, although that may no longer be the case with COVID-19 still around. More candles are lit, more flowers are offered before images of the crucified Messiah, and more prayers try to find their way to the doors of Heaven. Solemnity reigns in everyone’s heart.

Indeed, for many Filipinos, Christendom’s most important event brings solace from the promise of redemption, and revives practices that define our own conception of spirituality and human solidarity.

There is, however, the phenomenon of folk Catholicism that has found its way into the heart of the celebration. This is shown in the practice of penitensiya (penitence) where people, mostly menfolk, engage in apparent acts of masochism like self-flagellation and literally mimicking the crucifixion as their extreme way of atoning for sins.

Yet, who should say what practices are more spiritual than the rest? There’s no way to settle the issue; beliefs are shaped by the experiences of each individual, each group, each community.

Even among some Lumads the Holy Week serves as a venue to deepen their own sense of spirituality. For instance, every Good Friday members of the Bukidnon-Daraghuyan tribe of Malaybalay City would gather at the peak of Mt. Kitanglad for a ritual. Interestingly, in one such ritual that I joined a few years ago, their shaman, Bae Inatlawan, invoked not just their deities but also The Christ to ask for blessings. Wow, I told myself, a marriage of indigenous beliefs and Christianity.

As a Catholic (albeit just a nominal one), I felt shame. Here are Lumads who find no problem believing in Nature’s spirits and the Son of Man at the same time. In contrast, I often heard Church people declaring the total incompatibility between animist and Christian practices.

I’m still wondering why those Lumads seem to have discovered that Magbabaya and Yaweh are just two different names of one Supreme Creator – the entity called the Great Spirit by America’s First Nations and Allah by Muslims – while [most] Christians haven’t.

Yet, while Christians tend to look down on animism they don’t notice that they too are still practicing it like when they observe “palihi” (a form of ritual) before harvesting crops, building a structure, or opening a business. Many still observe making the sign of the cross on a birthday celebrant’s forehead using blood from a slaughtered chicken.

So, there, the Lumads embracing elements of Christianity in their rituals, and Christians injecting animist practices into their faith. Who can explain in full this marriage of “contradictions”?

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com)

CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 21 April) – Police on Wednesday seized eight firearms from the security guards of an agricultural firm who were allegedly involved in the shooting Tuesday of presidential aspirant Leody de Guzman and Lumad farmers in Quezon town, Bukidnon.

Philippine National Police (PNP) 10 regional spokesperson Lt. Col. Michelle Olaivar said a team from their Regional Civil Security Unit which inspected the Kiantig Development Corporation found out that five of its security guards were not licensed and not wearing proper uniforms.

Olaivar said the guards also failed to show any certificate of authority from the Commission on Elections exempting them from the gun ban for the 2022 election period, which began on January 9.

She said the police team confiscated  two pistols, one revolver and five shotguns from Addis Security and Control Risks Inc. whose main office is located in Lauan Street, Nova Tiera Village, Lanang, Davao City.

“The inspection was administrative in nature. The five guards were not arrested because the firearms were not confiscated outside their post, which could violate the Comelec gun ban. We confiscated the firearms because they did not bear any documents,” she said.

The firearms were sent to the PNP Crime Laboratory in Camp Alagar in Cagayan de Oro to check if these were recently fired.

Olaivar said they are looking for more firearms since a team from the PNP 10 Scene of the Crime Operatives found empty 5.56 caliber shells (presumably from an M16 rifle) at the crime scene in Sitio Kiantig, Barangay San Jose in Quezon town.

De Guzman said a group of 50 armed men believed to be security guards fired volley shots at his party and 500 Manobo-Pulangiyon farmers who attempted to take over 900 hectares of land of Kiantig Development Corporation in Sitio Kiantig.

Five people including two of De Guzman’s aides were hurt in the shooting. De Guzman and two senatorial hopefuls, Roy Cabonegro and David D’Angelo, survived unscathed.

De Guzman’s  companion Nanie Abela, one of those injured, said the guards did not fire warning shots.

“They aimed their shots at us,” Abela said.

De Guzman said the shooting happened while Army soldiers and policemen were standing 100 meters away but did not respond.

Olaivar said the police cannot file a criminal case against the suspects because no one from De Guzman’s party and the Lumad farmers have come forward to file complaints.

In an interview on OnePH on April 20, Brigadier General Benjamin Acorda, PNP 10 regional director urged the victims and witnesses to cooperate in the investigation and trust the police.

“I want the investigation of this case to be solid so that it won’t just be dismissed. We assure the witnesses and victims that the police would remain neutral,” Acorda said.

The police official said Kiantig Development Corporation is managed by a certain Marco Lorenzo not Quezon town Mayor Pablo Lorenzo III as earlier reported.

Pablo Lorenzo III in his interview with Brigada News FM admitted he used to work with the company but was relieved because of his work as the chief executive of Quezon town.

The mayor said he met with the Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the Lumad farmers and the police on April 18, the day before the incident.

Bishop Noel Pedregosa of the Malaybalay Diocese condemned the incident and urges all stakeholders to engage in dialogue “for the sake of peace and of the integral and sustainable development of the Lumad”.

“The Lumad have the rights to their ancestral domains which for many years have been deprived from them,” Pedregosa said. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)

(Speech delivered for Rudy Rodil by his wife Bebot, during the launch of the book, Transfiguring Mindanao: A Mindanao Reader, at the Ateneo de Davao University on 22 June 2022. Rudy Rodil is one of 44 authors of the book) 

This Mindanao Reader is, to me, a historic testimonial of mutual acceptance among the peoples of Mindanaw-Sulu. 

Let me share the wisdom of Timuay Ramos, an Erumanen (Manobo) in Pikit, Cotabato. I heard him speak of this in a community meeting, said in Bisaya in 2003, and here I will express in my mixed English-Tagalog-Bisaya: view Mindanaw-Sulu as a kolon or palayok (clay pot in English) standing on three posts, represented by the Lumad, the Bangsamoro and the Settlers. 

Balancing depends on mutual acceptance among the three peoples of Mindanao-Sulu. Tilting the kolon will break the region. 

But how? The Lumad is approximately 10 percent of the region’s population, the Bangsamoro is 20 percent and the Settlers is the dominant 70 percent. 

Balancing the kolon cannot be based on population. Please feel the heart, it is here where we are kapwa tao, this is here where we are equal. The key is mutual acceptance. We are panagsuon or kapatiran among the people of Mindanaw and Sulu, emerging from the Austronesian-Malayo-Polynesian roots, now creating a new history. 

My Peace Credo: Kalinaw Mindanaw! Lumad, Muslim, Kristiyano. Magkaiba, magkaisa. Isang Diyos, isang lupain, isang adhikain. 

Kalinaw Mindanaw!

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 27 January) – The new Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Bukidnon urged his colleagues to give “special care and special attention to our indigenous peoples” to help protect and uplift their lives.

In a privilege speech right after taking his oath of office last week, lawyer Arbie S. Llesis, a Talaandig from Lantapan town, said IPs in Bukidnon comprise 60 percent of the province’s population and occupy 60 percent of its land area.

In previous statements, Llesis said there is an imbalance because the IPs remain among the poorest of the poor.

Llesis, who was elected by fellow IP leaders as IPMR on Nov. 25 last year, assumed the post more than a year after the resignation in October 2021 of Datu Laglagengan Richard Macas, who ran as 2nd District representative but lost to reelectionist John Flores.

He is the province’s third IP mandatory representative to the SP. The first, Datu Magdaleno Maida Pandian, served from March 2012 until his death in 2015. Datu Laglagengan Richard Macas, succeeded him and served from 2016 to 2022. The latter resigned in October 2021 when he filed for his candidacy for a congressional post.

In an interview with Kaglambaga Radio Program of Bukidnon State University’s DXBU on Dec. 9 last year, Llesis presented a platform of “emancipation from injustices against the IPs.”.

He expounded about his “father” and “mother” plans to ensure self-governance among the IPs, save “them from oppression, neglect and injustice,” and for equality and peace.

The 34-year old IP leader said during the interview that they intend to set up a Bangsa Lumad Legal Center and a Bangsa Lumad political party by 2025 to ensure these aspirations by the end of his term.

He also vowed to file ordinances and resolutions for the local government units to allot a bigger percentage of their budget to the IPs.

”If the Lumads claim to own the lands in Bukidnon, they should have a (fair) share of the bounty,” he said.

His plans to assert the rights of the IPs, Llesis said, do not intend to displace others. He said this is just to appeal for their just share and not to render others bankrupt, adding “We are only after the commensurate share of our resources.”

”Let’s pray it will be realized, justice and equality equals peace,” he said.

Llesis emphasized that he is an advocate of consultative and participatory governance, consensus and unity among the tribes. He noted in the interview the two types of Bukidnon natives, those born with Bukidnon blood and those who were born in Bukidnon.

He clarified that he only intends to claim what the law affords the IPs and is keen on the proper  implementation of Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997.

Royalty

RA 8371, Llesis said, provides that all development projects inside ancestral domains must obtain consent from the IPs. He said part of the consent-seeking process is an assessment of impact on the environment and culture. He added that from there, negotiation can be done to determine the sharing scheme.

He said that in all economic projects, the community is entitled to 1-percent share of the gross income as royalty or share.

He said the Lumads should have a good share of the bounty from the start of projects and not just be left to gather the leftovers.

He cited that hundreds of development projects have been introduced in the ancestral domains of the IPs but they have not enjoyed the economic benefits.

”The IPs are invited only to the opening to do the ritual and given only tokens like chickens,” he said.

Llesis is pushing for an inventory of all existing corporations operating in the province.

”Are they complying with these provisions of the law? If not, we can open negotiations,” he asked.    

He cited that IPs used to own the whole of Bukidnon, and when the settlers first came to the province the Lumad accommodated them in their lands.

”It’s time to return the favor. Now that the Lumads are at a state of disadvantage, it is your time to help uplift the IPs from their situation,” he added.

He cited the alleged disconnect between the disadvantaged situation of the IPs and the fact that they comprise 60 percent of the population and own 60 percent of the land (through ancestral domains).    

Issue of space

”The issue here is space. If indeed Bukidnon is our home, then it is just right for us to use a good room inside the house, not just in the back near the pig pen or chicken coop,” he said.

He cited that when the IPs hold rituals, they allot offerings even to elements they could not see.

He acknowledged that realizing the vision will not be easy.

He said there must be a system or mechanism that can address issues like land-grabbing affecting the IPs.

He said that sometimes they would approach the Integrated Bar of the Philippines only to be sent back to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

”IPRA has been implemented for 25 years but the impact is not felt on the ground,” he said.

He cited that several applications for a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title have not been processed or granted.

‘Father’ and ‘mother’ plans

Llesis said the legal center, considered as the “father” plan, will help address legal issues and give justice to the IPs who are the owners of the resources.

He described the “mother” plan as the intent to set up a political party for the tribes for their self and participatory governance. He said they intend to organize the party in the 20 towns and two cities and register the party before the Commission on Elections. He cited that organizing can be done in the first six to eight months, documentation in the ninth to tenth months and submission of application to Comelec by November to December 2023.

But he noted that he is only a representative of the IPs and the vision should be shared by the different councils of elders and other stakeholders.

If realized, he said, it will be the first time in the province that a political party has been set up by the IPs.

He cited that the “father” and “mother” plans are expected to bear more plans like the organization of the IP professionals, youth, senior citizens, business, farmers, among others to energize and synergize the (IP) population.

”There will be no successful IP struggle without the participation (of the different sectors),” he said, adding they will identify towns and barangays with sizable IP populations.

More IP share in LGU budget

Another specific plan, which he outlined during his radio interview, was the intent to create a general plan at the provincial level, which could be customized and adopted at the town and city levels.

He, however, admitted that since the budget for the local government units (LGUs) has been passed for 2023, they will just pursue “hangyo-hangyo” (appeal for negotiation). He said he intends to negotiate for a share of the IPs in the budget for the youth, gender and development, senior citizens, among others.

He noted that some LGUs have bigger budgets for ballpens and office supplies than for the IPs.

”We pray that our political leaders will help us in this. We ask the governor, the vice governor, board members, down to the mayors to help the Lumad,” he added.

Powers, duties of IPMR

The authority of the IPMR emanates from the community through the indigenous political structure, according to NCIP Administrative Order No. 03, S. 2018 or the Revised National Guidelines for the Mandatory Representation of Indigenous Peoples in Local Legislative Councils and Policy Making Bodies.

As a regular member of the local legislative councils and policy-making bodies, it is the primary duty of the IPMR to carry out at all times the collective interests and aspirations of the community.

Aside from sponsoring ordinances and resolutions and conduct committee hearings that will promote and protect the well-being and interests of his or her community and inclusion to the LGU annual budget the implementation of programs and projects relevant to the community, the IPMR should formulate the IP agenda with the community and conduct regular meetings with IP elders/leaders or the entire community.

The IPMR should also facilitate provisions for financial support for the implementation of the IP agenda, to include delineation and titling of ancestral domains, indigenous political structure documentation, formulation and implementation of Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan, selection of IPMR, community-based information and education campaign on IPRA, convening of the community for agenda formulation, and periodic reporting and assessment on the IPMR’s performance.

The IPMR should closely coordinate and collaborate with the NCIP on implementation of projects and programs, support the conduct of IP census within his or her area of responsibility during the first year of his or her term, and to perform such other powers and functions as the community may deem appropriate. (MindaNews)

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 27 January) – Agrarian reform beneficiaries and officials at the local water utility have protested the move by members of a Manobo clan to occupy an area in San Francisco and Rosario towns in Agusan del Sur planted to oil palm that they are claiming as their ancestral domain.

The claimants, who call themselves the Oyay Mansaloay Antod Ogow Bando Ugong (OMAUBAO) Tribal Clan Organization, started moving into the contested area in the last week of December last year. But it was only on January 24 that San Francisco Mayor Grace Carmel Paredes-Bravo received a letter dated January 23 from Bardo Bando, the municipal tribal chieftain, informing her of the claimants’ decision.

Bando cited the certificate of recognition of their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) application issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples on Dec. 14, 2022 as the basis of their move.

Citing a portion of the NCIP certification, Bando said that based on Section 52 of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) the recognition “effectively terminates any legal basis for the jurisdiction that may be previously claimed over the ancestral domain” on the part of the Department of Agrarian Reform and other government agencies claiming jurisdiction over the said ancestral domain.

In their general assembly on January 22, the Lapinigan, Ormaca, Maligaya, Mate, Cabantao Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association (LAOMMACA) decided to terminate their compromise agreement with OMAUBAO after they found out that even non-members of the Lumad group were harvesting palm oil.

LAOMMCA chair Menio Orcullo said that after they decided to invalidate the agreement they filed a complaint of qualified theft before the barangay council of Mate.

He said he initially agreed to allow some OMAUBAO members to harvest the oil palm fruits but that the latter violated the agreement by bringing in unauthorized harvesters.

At least 250 LAOMMCA members who were awarded by DAR with individual land titles covering 600 hectares some of which were planted to oil palm are in danger of losing their lands to the CADT application.

Apprehensive over the CADT application, the San Francisco Water District (SFWD) board passed a resolution reiterating their previous stand to exclude the 1,658 hectares of Mt. Magdiwata Watershed Forest Reserve Area from the claim.

Elmer Luzon, SFWD general manager, said the board would file an administrative complaint against the NCIP commissioners for using the words “terminate all previous jurisdictions,”  which he said is an abuse of discretion.

The SFWD resolution cited section 56 of IPRA, which recognizes property rights within ancestral domains that are already existing before the passage of the law.

The watershed, which is the only source of potable water for the 20 villages of this town, was declared as forest reserve by President Fidel Ramos through Presidential Proclamation 282 dated October 25, 1993.

SFWD has been in the forefront of protecting and rehabilitating the watershed over the last three decades. Its forest cover has since increased from 41 percent to 95 percent.

The forest used to be denuded, with about 900 hectares denuded by large-scale logging in the 1960s up to 1970s and the unabated tree-cutting activities in the 1980s to supply sawmills that proliferated in the town.

According to SFWD studies, only 695 ha of natural forest (41 percent) was left in the Mt. Magdiwata watershed in December 1997. Around 1,200 ha had been considered inadequate forest, open area grasslands, and small portions of man-made forest, oil palm and abaca farms.

In 2019, Bando  a.k.a. “Datu Hag-um,” who is also Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative in the town council here, assured they will not damage Mt. Magdiwata.

The conflict over the 7,680-hectare land has prompted Bravo to mediate in a series of meetings since last month, but no resolution has been reached.

Bravo, a lawyer, said overlapping claims on lands being claimed as ancestral domains and covered with titles as agrarian reform areas at the same time should be resolved by following the process set by the joint administrative committee composed of different government line agencies tasked to resolve the conflict. 

She said in an interview that there is an urgent need to exclude titled properties and forest reserve areas from CADTs since IPRA itself recognizes property rights.

She explained that based on the law, legitimate titles to privately owned lands issued before IPRA was enacted in 1997 and bought by another owner afterwards are still “tucked in” in legal parlance.

“We can’t say automatic takeover due to the NCIP certification. We should follow the proper process that should be obeyed by conflicting claims,” she said.

She said that even NCIP Caraga Regional Director Ordonio Rocero Jr. and his legal counsel acknowledged during their meeting in Butuan City on January 17 that IPRA recognizes existing property rights within ancestral domains.

Lawyer Marceliano Monato, NCIP provincial legal officer, stood pat that they should not be stopped from processing the CADT application unless ordered by a court.

Monato said that once the CADT is registered with the Land Registration Authority, there is a one-year grace period for those who will contest and want to cancel portions of the CADT area.

For his part, Ferdausi Cerna, former NCIP Caraga regional director, said a CADT will always prevail over any presidential proclamation since this claim of ownership is deemed to have existed “since time immemorial.”

But he added that along with the rights as CADT holders is the obligation to protect the environment.

Already, OMAUBAO had established boom gates and put up tarpaulins warning against “trespassing” in many oil palm areas.

Bravo said she has received reports that alleged armed men were roaming the area.

The mayor said the joint administrative committee should come up with a solution to prevent armed violence. (Chris V. Panganiban/MindaNews)

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 30 January) – During her younger days, Member of Parliament (MP) Froilyn Tenorio Mendoza would tag along with her mother in visiting far-flung indigenous peoples (IP) communities in the mountains of South Upi, a fourth class town in the province of Maguindanao del Sur.

Her mother, a teacher, had served as a volunteer to protect the rights and welfare of their fellow Tedurays, and it was those immersions that molded Mendoza to put the interest of her people paramount before anything else.

“I was exposed at an early age by my mother to see the plight of our fellow indigenous peoples. She told me – if we will not help them, who will? If they get help, it might just be temporary,” Mendoza recalled.

“Nakatulong yung pagsama ko sa aking nanay dahil na-witness ko talaga yung mga nangyayari. Sabi ko, mayroong hindi tama doon sa amin – lalo na yung sa aming tribu, doon nag-umpisa yung aking awareness (The early immersions with my mother helped a lot – I witnessed what’s happening. Something was wrong for our tribe. That’s when my awareness was awakened),” she added, referring, among others, to the human rights violations and encroachment on indigenous people’s lands by lowlanders.

She finished elementary and high school in her hometown South Upi, a landlocked municipality where farming is the major source of livelihood for its dominant lumad (indigenous peoples) population. Her parents encouraged her to study, which is an exception as many Teduray parents traditionally do not give priority to the education of their daughters, as they usually dropped out of school early to help their families or to get married.

Mendoza eventually graduated with a degree on Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, North Cotabato. She is also a licensed midwife.

After graduating from college, Mendoza volunteered at the Teduray Women’s Organization (TWO), where her mother was also a volunteer. The daughter conceptualized flyers about IP issues and cooked, washed dishes and served coffee, among other menial jobs, during meetings or community visits.

“Since I had no work after graduating from college, I volunteered with their group. I went with them in the communities to spread awareness on IP women’s issues,” she said.

From being a volunteer, Mendoza, a mother of two children, rose from the ranks to become the third chairperson of the Teduray-Lambangian Women’s Organization, Inc. (TLWOI), a grassroots-based federation of 35 women associations in the hinterlands of the then undivided Maguindanao province.

She cited dedication, hard work and the thrust of her fellow members in rising to lead TLWOI, an organization duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was previously known as the TWO. The group had its first assembly on September 24, 1994.

“Matagal-tagal na rin yung aking karanasan lalo na doon sa pagsusulong ng karapatan ng mga katutubong kababaihan lalo na dito sa Maguindanao (I have been involved for relatively a long time in pushing for the rights of IP women in Maguindanao),” Mendoza said.

With her long and active work among civil society organizations in Mindanao, particularly advocating the rights of indigenous peoples, she was appointed to the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) by the late President Benigno Aquino III. 

Mendoza was nominated to represent the IP community in the BTC, a body that was tasked to draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in accordance with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed in 2014 after 17 years of negotiations.

The key component of the CAB was the creation of a Bangsamoro autonomous region.

For inclusivity, the non-Moro indigenous peoples have been represented during the Bangsamoro peace process between the government and the MILF and in the BTC.

The BTC was dissolved after the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) was constituted following the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or Organic Law for the BARMM, popularly known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), in January 2019.

Mendoza, however, was not a member of the first BTA, the interim body tasked to govern the Bangsamoro region. 

The BTA’s mandate was extended after then President Rodrigo Duterte approved the cancellation of the first parliamentary election in the BARMM in 2022. It was moved to 2025.

The 50-year-old Mendoza was appointed in the second BTA by incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. as a nominee of the government. The 80-member BTA is led by the MILF with 41 nominees and 39 from the government.

As a Member of Parliament, Mendoza continued to show her concern and advocacies for the indigenous peoples in the Bangsamoro region, guided strongly by Article IV, Section 9 of the BOL, which recognizes the rights of non-Moro indigenous peoples. 

The Bangsamoro Government must recognize and promote the rights of non-Moro indigenous peoples within the framework of the Constitution and national laws, she noted.

Mendoza’s priorities include curbing domestic violence, which could benefit both Moro and non-Moro indigenous peoples in the BARMM.

The BARMM is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Marawi, Lamitan and Cotabato and 63 villages in North Cotabato known as the Special Geographic Area.

As part of addressing domestic violence that often victimize women and children, she pushed for the organization of women arbiters across the region, which can be utilized to settle domestic or community disputes before they can reach the trial courts.

Her office has also been providing various trainings to IP women to capacitate them to empower themselves and their communities.

As a Member of Parliament representing the IP communities, especially women, Mendoza is pushing for the passage of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act in the BARMM or the IP Code, a measure that seeks to protect and promote the rights and welfare of IPs in the region. 

The measure was filed in the first BTA but has yet to be re-filed in the current parliament.

In a speech last November during a campaign on Violence Against Women, Mendoza stressed that the IP code must reflect the Bangsamoro Government’s commitment to achieving a “moral governance that is inclusive and where no one is left behind.”

“The non-Moro IP women believe that a rights-based, gender-sensitive and grounded IP code has the power to transform the lives of indigenous peoples – men and women alike,” Mendoza said.

The Tedurays make up majority of the population of the IPs in mainland Bangsamoro region. The others are the Lambangian Baleg, Dulangan Manobo, Higaonon and Arumanen Ne Menuvu. She estimated the lumad population at 123,000 individuals.

Mendoza noted that her heart bleeds not only for the lumads in the mainland but also in the island-provinces of the BARMM.

As a BTA member, she has provided livelihood assistance to 14 women cooperatives, helped put up a water system, established a women’s handicraft center, and built a “School of Living tradition” for poor IP toddlers.

“These children can learn more of their own culture and tradition through the School of Living Tradition. We responded to their needs because they are very far from the town center,” she said.

Mendoza encouraged IP women to participate in the development, governance and policy-making processes for the benefit of all Bangsamoro women in the future. (Myrna Tepadan via MindaNews)

(Myrna Tepadan is one of the staff writers of the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO). This article was produced under a mentoring project initiated by the Mindanao Institute of Journalism with support from The Asia Foundation.)