Mindanao State University

MSU Main Campus Marawi City

CONTRIBUTION OF MORO/LUMAD WOMEN IN

PEACEMAKING/PEACEBUILDING

Prepared for:
Professor Salimah Sumaguina

Prepared by:
Barlizo, Jamila Therese E.

Project in History 003 – 003

 ABSTRACT

Mindanao, a Philippine Island off the coast, has long been a shelter for Muslims.
Objectively, the conflict in Mindanao has both vertical and horizontal dimensions, as it is
the culmination of a nearly 40-year secessionist conflict against the Philippine state, as
well as a conflict between Mindanao's "Tri-people": The Moros, Lumads, and settlers, all
of whom are fundamentally Christians from the islands of Luzon and Visayas. Peace
building efforts in the islands have been raised to a certain level of intensity. With the
hopes to avoid war and conflict, initiatives toward achieving peace have been
documented, but mostly, those which are wanting of stories involving women in the
peace building processes. This paper attempts to collect information based on the
interviewee’s experiences and observations on peace building, to acknowledge her
contribution to the society as a peace maker and educator to the young learners and soon
future leaders in the country and to explore and discover the contributions and
participations of Filipino women in areas of peacemaking, conflict prevention and
conflict resolution, particularly to tri- people of Mindanao. This paper particularly placed
its major focus on the contributions of Filipino women in peacemaking and their role to
maintain peace and prosperity, which determines their preparedness to influence foreign
events, for good comprehension. To become an effective peacebuilder in the chosen field,
we must be a credible agent of the peace message. You should walk you talk.

Keywords: Peace Building, Tri-People; (Lumad, Moro/Muslim and Christian), Peace,

Filipino Women
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract i

Table of Contents ii

Introduction 1

Purpose 3

Scope 3

Content of the Interview 4

Conclusion 6

References 7
INTRODUCTION

Mindanao is home to a diverse population of individuals from various

ethnolinguistic and religious backgrounds. Peace is the war cry of Mindanao, a culturally
diverse island in the southern Philippines. According to literature, Mindanaoans have
been confronted with life's aberrations for generations, including economic, political,
social, and spiritual ones. Mindanao has met several projects for peace and development
in its quest to rise above the vicissitudes, some of which have failed, and others are still
in the process of completion (Kamlian, 1999).

Over the previous three decades, Mindanao's population has been divided into
three primary groups: Lumad, Moros or Muslims, and Christians also called Settlers or
Migrants (Rodil, 2013).

Lumad is a Cebuano Bisayan word for "indigenous." The Indigenous Peoples

chose this name because when the thirty or so Lumad tribes meet for regional assemblies,
Cebuano, the language of Cebu in the Visayas area of central Philippines, is their lingua
franca. Previously, Muslim and Lumad were grouped together as National Cultural
Minorities. The Moro Struggle in the Southern Philippines 4 Mindanao Minorities. The
Lumad are made up of thirty or more Indigenous Peoples tribes and sub-tribes. They are
the indigenous residents of the majority of mainland Mindanao, with the exception of
Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, which remain the territory of the Moros to
this day. Beginning in 1997, the Lumad began to refer to themselves as Indigenous
Peoples, in accordance with the practice of international bodies such as the United
Nations, but more specifically, in accordance with the enactment of the Indigenous
Peoples Rights Act of 1997 by the Philippine Congress.

The term Moro was coined by Spaniards to describe Muslims who occupied the
Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years, from 711 to 1492. When the Spanish colonizers
discovered Muslims in the Philippines, they dubbed them Moros. For many years, the
Muslims of Mindanao resented this designation because it came from Spaniards who
waged war on them for the majority of the colonizer's 333-year stay in the Philippines.
They are indigenous to Mindanao and became Muslims when Arab traders-missionaries
arrived, married into the local population, and spread Islam beginning in the 14th century,
in Tawi-Tawi in the late 14th century, and in Central Mindanao in the early 16th century.
They now constitute the majority in the five provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del
Sur in Central Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in Western Mindanao, and
fifteen municipalities in neighboring provinces.

The third significant group consists of Christian migrants and their descendants
from Luzon and Visayas. They currently make up the bulk of the population of
Mindanao, accounting for around 79 percent of the total population in the area (Census of
the Philippines, 2000). In 1913, Christian migrants began to flock to Mindanao as a result
of resettlement efforts run by the colonial authority of the United States of America and
the nascent Philippine state. These immigrants and their descendants became the majority
in most of Mindanao's provinces in less than 60 years.

Women, on the other hand, are typically excluded from formal peace proceedings.
Since a result, mediators must urge conflict parties to acknowledge the relevance of
women's engagement, as they make a pioneering point for justice, peace, and security
while being marginalized in formal peace procedures. This firm action recognizes that the
peace process is invaluable not only for resolving the Mindanao war, but also for the
prosperity and development of the Filipino country, primarily through assistance and
contributions to Filipino women, who play an important role in conflict resolution and
prevention in the said nation.
Purpose

The purpose of this interview is to collect information based on the interviewee’s

experiences and observations on peace building, to acknowledge her contribution to the
society as a peace maker and educator to the young learners and soon future leaders in the
country and to explore and discover the contributions and participations of Filipino
women in areas of peacemaking, conflict prevention and conflict resolution, particularly
to tri- people of Mindanao. At this point, the nature of the accounts is laid down
authoritatively in order to establish a broader knowledge of all persons in a community,
to empower women in all elements of peace processes, and to pertain directing efforts to
guarantee that women's contributions are recognized and respected.

Scope

The scope of the study must have its major focus on the contributions of Filipino
women in peacemaking and their role to maintain peace and prosperity, which determines
their preparedness to influence foreign events, for good comprehension. It also underlines
how women use their God-given strength to combat terrorism and criminal activities that
endanger the country's peace and serenity. Women, on the other hand, routinely organize
at the grassroots level to promote peace, but their participation in official peacemaking
and peacebuilding procedures is restricted.
Content of the interview:

The following questions were asked during our convo in messenger app.

1. What is your perceptions of peace?

She said, “I see peace as an achievable thing. It is more than just an absence of
war/violence but a setting where people can live with the presence of social justice
through equal opportunity, fair distribution of power and resources, equal protection, and
impartial enforcement of the law. I am not dreaming for a perfect world, but I want to
build a sustainable future. A world where peace is more than just an interval between
wars.”

2. How does Moro/Lumad / women contributes to peace making?

Relate/tell us some of your experiences in mediation, negotiation, arbitration,

and/or conciliation.

She added, “I don't have any experience in the actual application of mediation,
negotiation, arbitration, and conciliation, but I teach these concepts to my students (my
contribution in peacemaking). There are sessions in my peace education class that we
discuss resolving conflict. It includes topics on responses to conflict, effective
communication for conflict resolution, active listening skills, conventional and
indigenous methods of resolving conflict.”

3. What are the barriers or factors that hinder your peacebuilding initiatives in
terms of physical and psychological aspect?

She continued, “Considering our current situation, one of the few challenges is the
mode of instruction. I believe that peace education is most suitable to be taught inside the
four corners of the classroom. I find it challenging to talk (interact) with my students
virtually when you can't see and observe their responses when we have activities due to
connectivity issues which I consider as a barrier.”

4. What do Moro/Lumad/ Women needs to become effective peace builders? What

do you need to become effective peacebuilder?
 She concluded, “As a peace educator and a peacebuilder that deals with students,
I believe that I have the power to affect lives. I must serve as a model for the qualities and
skills that my students should develop. To become an effective peacebuilder in my
chosen field, I must be a credible agent of the peace message. I should walk my talk.”
CONCLUSION

The informant was so relaxed when she shared her own story teaching peace as a
tool for unity. Her perception of peace was achievable in a community where there is a
social justice and enforcement of law. Ms. Espinido didn’t have any experience in the
actual application of mediation, negotiation, arbitration, and conciliation, but she teaches
concepts to her students as her contribution to peacemaking. There were sessions in her
peace education class that they discussed resolving conflict. It included topics on
responses to conflict, effective communication for conflict resolution, active listening
skills, conventional and indigenous methods of resolving conflict. She narrated that one
of the few challenges is the mode of instruction and believed that peace education was
most suitable to be taught inside the four corners of the classroom. She found it
challenging to talk (interact) with her students virtually when she can't see and observe
student’s responses when they have activities due to connectivity issues which she
considered as a barrier. She believed that woman have the power to affect lives and must
serve as a model for the qualities and skills that her students should develop.

To become an effective peacebuilder in her chosen field, she must be a credible

agent of the peace message. She should walk she talk.
References

Census of the Philippines (2000).

Kamlian, J. A. (1999). Bangsamoro society and culture: A book of readings on peace

and development in Southern Philippines. Iligan City: Iligan Center for Peace Education
and Research, Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Extension, MSU-I ligan
Institute of Technology.

Philipine Congress (1997). The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act .

Rodil, R. (2013, August 9). Lumad. (J. C. Trocio, Interviewer).