03
Apr

Groundbreaking Ceremony of DRRM Building in Barangay Cawayan Kalaw, Marantao, Lanao del Sur

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MSU Main Campus - Marawi City > 16-Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions (SDG Goals) > Groundbreaking Ceremony of DRRM Building in Barangay Cawayan Kalaw, Marantao, Lanao del Sur

Mojahid C. Baraki, LPT, MA

March 24, 2025

As part of the ongoing implementation of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Transformation Program across seven pilot communities in Lanao del Sur, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Marantao to symbolize the commitment of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) in collaboration with Mindanao State University (MSU) in supporting MNLF communities.

The program commenced at 10:00 AM, with Mr. Abedin Pangcoga, a leader of the MNLF community, formally welcoming participants and visitors. Following this, Prof. Raihan Yusoph presented an overview of the project, detailing its development trajectory, the challenges encountered, and the success stories emerging from its implementation. Prof. Yusoph further underscored the community’s role in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the infrastructure.

Subsequently, Prof. Almahdi Alonto of MSU IPDM and Engr. Cahar A. Ali, a representative of the local government unit (LGU), delivered inspirational messages, emphasizing the integral role of MSU and the LGU in sustaining the initiative. Additionally, Chairman Roy Emam of the MNLF, alongside the building’s contractors, reaffirmed their dedication to the project’s successful completion. Prof. Mojahid C. Baraki provided a project status update, assuring stakeholders that the initiative is in its initial phases, with essential equipment scheduled for delivery in the coming months.

Following these speeches, the groundbreaking ritual commenced, with key officials and stakeholders actively participating in the ceremonial process, which was documented through photographs. The event concluded with a prayer (Duwa’a), invoking blessings for the success and sustainability of the project.

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About the author

The institute for peace and development in Mindanao (IPDM) was created by the MSU Board of Regents during its 182nd Meeting on December 7, 2001. The institute assumed the functions of two defunct units: the Muslim Christian Center for Peace Studies and the Muslim Mindanao Development Institute. It is now the central coordinating unit for all existing peace and development programs of the campuses of the University. MSU was established on September 1, 1961 as one of the government responses to the so-called “Mindanao problem.” The problem includes a violent struggle of segments of the Filipino Muslim population to redress long-standing grievances and assert Muslim selfhood and identity in the face of real and imagined threats of cultural and spiritual assimilation by the majority Filipino Christian population. The University was mandated to accelerate the “integration” of the cultural communities in Mindanao into the mainstream body politic and to accelerate the development of its service areas through instruction, research, and extension. In the pursuit of these objectives, the University also seeks to infuse spiritual and moral values, national consciousness and solidarity, and mutual understanding among Filipinos, which are necessary for peaceful coexistence and sustainable development. IPDM was therefore, created with the expectation that it would contribute to the easing of tensions and the promotion of justice and peace between Filipino Muslims and Christian by expanding knowledge, improving understanding and heightening sensitivity in relations between the peoples of Mindanao in particular, and the Philippines in general.