NEWS/UPDATES: Global Xchange volunteers hear Mindanao lecture from the experts

Amid the growing tension between government soldiers and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the province of Lanao del Norte and while all kinds of forums regarding the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) are being facilitated all over the country, 19 young volunteers of the Global Xchange Programme chose to seek better understanding of the Mindanao situation at the Balay Mindanaw Peace Center last August 26.

The Global Xchange programme is a six-month exchange programme which gives young people from different countries a unique opportunity to work together, to develop and share valuable skills and to make a practical contribution where it is needed in local communities.

Ten of the volunteers come from various places all over the Philippines while nine are British nationals. These volunteers, aged 18-25, are under the batch name GX7, and has strategically chosen Iligan as their host city. Since June this year they had immersed themselves in the different rural communities in Iligan. The group has sought temporary shelter in Cagayan de Oro when the armed conflict heightened in Lanao starting August 18. They were among the very first to fled Iligan.

Comfortably seated in the carpeted floor of the peace center, the volunteers’ curious eyes were attentively focused on Prof. Rudy “Ompong” B. Rodil as he journeyed back through Mindanao’s history, some 33 years ago, stressing on the ethno-history of Mindanao

Ompong, a respected and well-known Mindanao historian from Iligan City, is a member of the GRP panel in talks with the MILF. Because of the surprising move of the Iligan City Council to declare him as persona non grata, he has to leave Iligan and stay in Manila. On this day, Ompong flew all the way from Manila to Davao, then managed to come to Cagayan de Oro, to the Balay Mindanaw Peace Center who warmly welcomes him all the time.

“For one to understand better the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, one must know and understand the history of Mindanao first,” stressed Prof. Rodil.

The group’s hunger for knowledge on the Mindanao situation was further satisfied with Sylvia “Ibing” Okinlay-Paraguya’s sharing. Like Prof. Rodil, Ibing is also a GRP panel member in talks with the MILF. A courageous woman and a real Mindanawan, Ibing is a Higaonon herself. She was born and raised in Impasug-ong, Bukidnon. She is also the Executive Director of MASS SPEC and the Chair of the Mindanao Caucus for Development NGOs.


Sylvia “Ibing” Okinlay-Paraguya

In her presentation, Ibing shared the impacts of the armed conflict in Mindanao. She also presented salient points on the MOA-AD, time-lining the discussions and exploratory talks on ancestral domain way back to 2004. Ibing further explained that the MOA-AD is not the final peace agreement. Yet this is just the start of a more deepened and thorough discussion. “It should undergo legal framework,” she stressed

“It is not easy in the panel (GRP), it is a difficult work, I just hope for the best,” ends Ibing.

Balay Mindanaw also shared a video documentary presentation titled “The ‘Other’Peace Process,” Balay Mindanaw’s simple contribution of building peace in Mindanao.

The lines of John Denver’s song, “I wanna live, I wanna grow, I wanna share what I can give …” echoed in the hall as everyone joined hands in the closing. A teary eyed Prof. Saturnina “Bebot” Rodil of MSU-IIT joined the group singing. For the past few days, Prof. Bebot, who also happened to be the wife of Ompong, has seen the heartbreaking situation in the evacuation centers in Iligan. She’s been going around from one evacuation center to another, facilitating mobilization and distribution of relief goods.

GX7 program is about to end in two weeks. The group felt that the program is so affected with what is happening in Lanao, they could have helped the communities, but they just could not do it. They are not allowed to go back to Iligan.

“We’ll just take this on and move forward. This is a good culmination for the program. This is what we wanted in the beginning. We could have learned the theories first before we were exposed to the realities,” shared Jay Ancheta, program officer of GX7.

The group, however, felt fortunate to have visited Balay Mindanaw Peace Center and got a face-to-face meeting with Ompong and Ibing. They were all the more inspired as they proceeded to Xavier University later in the afternoon to assist the Kristohanong Katilingban sa Pagpakabana (KKP) in the campaign for the mobilization of relief for the evacuation centers for Lanao del Norte.

Cagayan de Oro may not be directly affected by what is happening in Lanao del Norte but there are individuals and organizations who initiate activities that would support and promote better understanding of the Lanao situation. Balay Mindanaw is among these organizations. Clearly, the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, shortly dubbed by some as MOA on AD, has not been widely understood by many, especially the general public.

Helping Build Empowered and Sustainable Communities in Mindanao. Helping Build Peace.