Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao News January 2016

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Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao Archived News
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Wars of ancient history were about possessions, territory, power, control, family, betrayal, lover's quarrel, politics and sometimes religion.

But we are in the Modern era and supposedly more educated and enlightened .

Think about this. Don't just brush off these questions.

  • Why is RELIGION still involved in WARS? Isn't religion supposed to be about PEACE?
  • Ask yourself; What religion always campaign to have its religious laws be accepted as government laws, always involved in wars and consistently causing WARS, yet insists that it's a religion of peace?

WHY??

There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance:
  1. The Bullies. They want you to tolerate them so they can continue to maliciously deprive you. Do not believe these bullies teaching tolerance, saying that it’s the path to prevent hatred and prejudice.
  2. The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.

ARMM gets P10.1-billion budget for infrastructure

By Ali G. Macabalang

Cotabato City – The national government has allocated P10.1 billion for infrastructure projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for this year.

While the ARMM infrastructure budget remains the smallest among all the regions in the country, the allocation would have to suffice to support peace and development in the region, according to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-ARMM Secretary Don Mustapha Loong.

The infrastructure subsidy would be implemented with maximum transparence to the optimum benefit of the general populace in ARMM,” Loong said.

The ARMM share will be allocated by the DPWH central office for its regional office in the autonomous region to implement.

Regional Legislative Assembly Speaker Ronnie Sinsuat and Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman signed late last month Muslim Mindanao Autonomy (MMA) Act No. 325 of 2016.

The local law appropriates the P10.1B subsidy to construction, upgrading, and operation or maintenance of roads, highways, bridges, flood control, water supply systems, sea and air ports, and other infrastructure projects excluding buildings.

In last four or five years, the DPWH-ARMM has gradually shed its former image of being one of the two most corruption-laden agencies in the autonomous region. Such feat earned regional and national awards for the leadership of the agency in 2013, 14 and 2015, it was learned.

Reforms in the DPWH-ARMM began in 2012 when President Aquino, through Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson tasked Assistant Secretary Emil Sadain to fix lapses in engineering management and operations in the autonomous region, official reports said.

The budget was increased to P1-billion under the Arroyo government. The subsidy was budgeted annually by the ARMM legislative assembly in what Sadain once lamented as graft-prone allocations for “gravelling and re-gravelling of local roads.”

MILF gets agricultural equipment, farm animals

(Bureau of Public Information)

COTABATO CITY – About P26 million worth of agricultural equipment, planting materials and farm animals were turned over to beneficiaries in six Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camps on Wednesday, January 6, in a ceremony held in Simuay in Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao provinces.

Secretary Proceso Alcala of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the turnover is part of the Camp Transformation Program launching of the department, which aims at converting former MILF camps into “peaceful and productive communities.” The initiative was organized by the Camp Transformation Task Force and the DA’s-Farmers’ Assistance Program.

Senen Bacani, former Agriculture Secretary and member of the government peace panel in the southern peace talks, said the initiative is part of the normalization process stipulated under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the MILF and the Philippine government in March 2015.

The farmer beneficiaries comprise 145 combatants of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) decommissioned in June 2015. The Annex on Normalization of the CAB indicates that socio-economic programs will be provided and that such programs will be undertaken for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and development of the decommissioned members of the BIAF and their communities and the transformation of the six MILF camps identified by the peace panel.

The camp transformation program is an initial confidence-building measure under the Bangsamoro peace process with the end in view of turning the camps into peaceful and productive areas.

The farming equipment and implements turned over include six heavy-duty farm tractors with complete accessories; six units cassava grater; six units corn sheller and six units of hand tractor. Also distributed to the beneficiaries are 1,200 bags of palay seeds; 1,200 bags of palay fertilizers; 1,200 bags of corn seeds and 1,200 bags of corn fertilizers.

The other planting materials include 1,300 seedlings of rambutan, lanzones, jackfruit, coffee, achuete and guyabano. Eighteen carabaos were also provided for a livestock dispersal project.

The five of the six MILF camps –Abubakar, Omar, Badre, Rajamuda and Bushra – are located in the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, two of the five component provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Camp Bilal, the sixth camp is located in Lanao del Norte, which falls under Region 10, or Northern Mindanao.

More than 1,000 participants witnessed the ceremonial turnover including MILF members and local chief executives. It was led by Agriculture Secretary Alcala; peace panel member Bacani, DA Assistant Secretary Edilberto de Luna, national focal person for Camp Transformation Program; Alexander Alonto, ARMM’s Agriculture and Fisheries secretary; and Amalia Jayag-Datukan, DA-12 regional executive director.

Sec. Alcala said since 2011, 30% of DA’s total budget was allocated to Mindanao.

DepEd-ARMM to continue reform efforts

By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Education officials will continue this year their reform efforts meant to improve even more what was touted in the past as the most corrupt agency in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

John Magno, ARMM’s education secretary, on Friday said officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the autonomous region have had remarkable reform feats in 2015, among them the enlistment of duly licensed, proficient teachers and the removal from the agency’s payrolls of “ghost teachers.”

He said it was in 2015 when the DepEd-ARMM also achieved optimal breakthroughs in implementing education programs assisted by German and Australian benefactors.

The DepEd-ARMM hired close to 3,000 licensed teachers from late 2014 to middle of 2015 to hasten the regional government’s literacy thrusts in far-flung areas in the region.

The ARMM covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in mainland Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Magno on Wednesday presided over the DepEd-ARMM’s first executive committee conference in Cotabato City, where senior education officials discussed lengthily their reform programs for 2016.

“The meeting was very fruitful,” Magno said.

Magno and ARMM’s incumbent chief executive, Gov. Mujiv Hataman, are jointly overseeing the operation of DepEd-ARMM.

The present ARMM administration also had removed, in a cleansing process that started in 2012, hundreds of “ghost teachers” in the DepEd-ARMM’s old payrolls.

Magno said he and Hataman caught the ire of some small, recalcitrant groups for introducing reforms in the operations of DepEd-ARMM, but continued with their efforts to improve the agency’s operation just the same.

The DepEd-ARMM was notoriously known during the time of past governors as the most corrupt agency in the regional government, plagued with ghost teachers and non-existent schools that served as conduits for releases of regular operation funds from its coffer.

Many non-licensed teachers were taken in, before Hataman got to the helm of the regional government in December 2011, only because they were recommended by politicians.

Hataman first assumed as appointed caretaker of ARMM in December 2011 and was, subsequently, elected as the region’s eighth elected regional governor during the area’s May 13, 2013 polls.

DA to launch agri program to transform MILF camps into peaceful communities

(PNA), JMC/PR/SSC

SULTAN KUDARAT, MAGUINDANAO (PNA) -- Current and former agriculture secretaries will turn over initial agricultural equipment and materials to the farmers of six previously acknowledged Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camps in Maguindanao and Lanao provinces Wednesday, Jan. 6.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala will lead the service presentation ceremony of the farmers’ assistance program with former DA Secretary and Philippine government (GPH) peace panel member Senen Bacani at the Bangsamoro Leadership Management Institute in Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

The program is an initial confidence-building measure under the Bangsamoro peace process with the end in view of transforming these areas into peaceful and productive communities.

The initiative was organized by the Task Force Camps Transformation (TFCT), in partnership with the DA-Farmer’s Assistance Program and is part of the normalization process stipulated under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the MILF and the Philippine government.

Among the equipment and materials that will be turned over to farmers in the MILF-acknowledged communities are six units of heavy-duty 90HP farm tractor with complete accessories; six units of cassava grater; three units of hand tractor; 1200 bags of palay seeds and fertilizer; and 1200 bags of OPV corn seeds and fertilizer.

Also part of the assistance are planting materials such as 300 pieces of assorted rambutan, lanzones, jackfruit seedlings; and 300 pieces coffee, achuete, and guyabano seedlings. Eighteen carabaos will also be turned over for distribution to local farmers in conflict-affected areas.

In addition, certificates of commitment from the DA will be given during the event for the upcoming delivery of 16 units of non-motorized bancas; 160 units of fish traps or "baliyat"; 12 modules of goats (one module is composed of 4 female goats and one male goat); 18 heads of cattle; 6 units of corn sheller; 6 units of corn mill. Said equipment and farm animals will be turned over to local beneficiaries in a span of two to three months.

These areas are in the vicinity of former MILF Camp Abubakar as-Siddique, Camp Badre, and Camp Omar ibn al-Khattab in Maguindanao; Camp Rajamuda in North Cotabato and Maguindanao; Camp Bilal in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur; and Camp Busrah Somiorang in Lanao del Sur.

Prominent individuals such as Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Sabbihi Hataman, ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa Alamia, Bangsamoro Development Agency Executive Director Mohammad Suib Yacob, Maguindanao 1st District Representative Bai Sanda Sema, and Maguindanao 2nd District Representative Zajid Mangundadatu were also invited to attend the event.

The event is expected to be joined by more or less 1,000 participants, including members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) and the farmer-beneficiaries.

The implementation of such confidence-building measures is undertaken through the Joint Task Forces mandated to help transform the MILF camps into peaceful and productive communities.

ARMM sees more investments coming in 2016

(PNA), LGI/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Jan. 6 (PNA) -- With a whooping PhP6.5 billion investment in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2015 as barometer, the ARMM's Regional Board of Investments (RBOI-ARMM) is expecting to draw more investments this year.

The agency is targeting to generate at least PhP900 million worth of investments and 900 new jobs in 2016, conservative figures considering what the regional government has achieved last year," according to Atty. Ishak Mastura, RBOI-ARMM chairperson

In 2015, RBOI-ARMM posted PhP6.5 billion worth of new projects, way over its original investments target of only PhP700 million.

Mastura said within January, RBOI is expecting to approve a PhP1.3 billion oil palm plantation in Maguindanao. If plans pushes, it could erase its target during the first quarter of 2016.

Mastura also announced new ventures in the region that included the PhP45 million industrial waste treatment facility in Polloc, Maguindanao and an PhP80 million water facility.

He said the region’s economic potentials -- rich in raw materials and an emerging market for goods and services -- have been generally overlooked by the business sector in previous decades but this has changed significantly in recent years.

Mastura said investors continue to put money in the region because of their trust in the good governance initiatives of the present ARMM administration.

He attributed the investors' confidence to the Mindanao peace process. Notably, he said, investments started coming in after the signing of the GPH and Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace agreement in 2014.

“2015 was the best year so far because the region has posted the highest value of investments in the 26-year history of ARMM,” Mastura said.

In 2015, RBOI recorded an increase of 70 percent in the total value of investments registered compared with Php3.867 billion in 2014. Likewise, 4,894 jobs were created, 43 percent higher compared with 3,433 new jobs registered in 2014.

In a statement, RBOI-ARMM said it approved eight major investment projects in 2015 led by Al-Sahar Agri Ventures Inc., a Cavendish banana plantation in Maguindanao with a PhP3.7 billion project. It was the largest single investment in the history of the ARMM.

Chan C. Mining Inc. also invested PhP742 million for a nickel ore project in Tawi-Tawi. Lamsan Power Corp., meanwhile, had a 5.5-megawatt power plant expansion project worth PhP687 million in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

Other investors in the region are:

Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading Corp. in Panglima Sugala. Tawi-Tawi;

DS3 Fuel Tanking and Services Inc., a petroleum project operating at Polloc Free Port, Parang, Maguindanao;

Maguindanao Enegry Farms Inc. based in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao for a 474 hectare-napier grass plantation;

Matling Industrial and Commercial Corp., a cassava starch milling plant in Malabang, Lanao del Sur; and

Southsea Industrial Energy Corp, an oil refinery project in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi.

Sixty-five percent, or PhP4.3 billion, of the combined value of the new projects approved by RBOI-ARMM in 2015 were agri-based while 24 percent, or PhP1.5 billion, were energy related. The rest, or PhP742 million, were on mining and quarrying.

DSWD-ARMM to resume payout of 4Ps cash grants

(PNA), BNB/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Jan. 5 (PNA) –- The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DSWD-ARMM) on Tuesday announced the resumption of payout of cash grants to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Maguindanao after months of delay.

Rahima Datumanong Alba, DSWD-ARMM officer in charge, said DSWD-ARMM is not responsible for the unfortunate turn of events which led to the delay in the release of the said funds.

“The delay of the payment of grants for unpaid periods started when conduit Globe Exchange Inc. (GXI) failed to replenish the fund from the previous payouts to its merchant partner Loaded Marketing,” Alba said in a statement.

The suspension took effect in October last year.

Prior to this, DSWD-ARMM, through conduits GXI and Loaded Marketing, was paying Period 5 (September-October) and Period 6 (November-December) of 2014 as well as unpaid grants starting Period 6 of 2012.

Alba said the releases for Period 6, covering the months November-December in 2012 and for the same period in 2014 to 22 towns of Maguindanao, will start on Thursday.

Beneficiaries in the towns of Barira, Matanog, Parang, Datu Blah Sinsuat, Upi, Sultan Mastura, Sultan Kudarat, North Kabuntalan, South Upi, Mother Kabuntalan, and Datu Odin Sinsuat (Dinaig) in Maguindanao’s first district have been officially informed of the payout date.

Also expected to receive are 4Ps beneficiaries from the towns of Datu Hoffer, Shariff Saydona, Datu Unsay, Datu Saudi, Datu Piang, Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Guindulungan, Talayan, Talitay, Pagalungan, and Pagagawan all in Maugindanao’s second district.

Based on DSWD-ARMM data, GXI has previously released a total of PHP373,852,600 cash grants to 120,286 beneficiaries in Maguindanao.

The Land Bank of the Philippines remained to be the authorized disbursement agent of the DSWD for the nationwide distribution of cash grants. It also authorized money transfer agents to deliver the grants.

To ensure accountability and to ensure beneficiaries get what is due them, Alba reiterated that DSWD-ARMM agency continuously monitors the distribution of cash grants across the region.

The 4Ps is the national government’s flagship poverty alleviation initiative, providing grants to the poorest households in order to improve health, nutrition and education of children.

Each beneficiary receives PHP500 per month per household for health and nutrition expenses and PHP300 per child every month for educational expenses. Households with three qualified children would receive a monthly grant amounting to PHP1,400.

Foreign firm eyes Basilan for banana plantation

By A. Perez Rimando

COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao—An international agricultural company is eyeing 5,000 hectares of land in Basilan for banana plantation.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman said John Paul C. Parrine, president of Unifruitti Group of Companies, told him that they were considering ARMM as an investment area after Parrine had personally visited a banana farming venture in Datu Paglas town.

This town became a model for development when its late mayor, Ebrahim Paglas, partnered with a multinational firm to develop some 1,000 hectares for a banana farm using rebel returnees as workers, Hataman said.

Parrine told Hataman last week that Basilan and other parts of the region have fertile lands suited for banana plantation which, if properly developed, could boost socio-economic growth and development.

ARMM Public Works Secretary Don Mustapha Loong noted that Parrine found it easy to invest in Muslim Mindanao and his company did not wait for the eventual setting up of the Bangsamoro entity to replace the ARMM as through the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Basilan District Engineer Soler Undug said the recent completion of the Basilan circumferential road could play a key role in the realization of Parrine firm’s proposed project.

Parrine said he had partnered with the World Bank and the Department of Agriculture’s Mindanao Rural Development Program to develop his Basilan banana plantation project, adding his firm has also eyed Camp Iranon in Maguindanao as another area for banana plantation.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said some 3,000 hectares of the camp are now being prepared for planting Cavendish banana to be bankrolled by the World Bank through MRDP.

Mindanao to experience brownouts – NGCP

By JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL

COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao: The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Sunday declared a “yellow alert” as two government-owned hydropower plants in Lanao del Sur remain isolated from the Mindanao grid since the transmission towers were bombed on Christmas eve.

A yellow alert means there is a possibility of power deficiency and rotational brownout in the grid area, Melfrance Capulong, spokesperson of NGCP Southern Mindanao Capulong, explained.

The NGCP expects the supply situation to worsen starting today, Monday, when classes resume and employees in the government and private sectors return to work after the holidays, she added.

Capulong said the Agus 1 and Agus 2 hydro power plants remained disconnected from the grid as repair works on the steel towers have been hampered by a right-of-way issue. A Maranao resident and landowner of the facility site in Ramain town reportedly prevented NGCP field personnel from doing repairs until the government pays his right-of-way claim. The facility is located near Lanao Lake, adjacent to Marawi City.

Capulong pointed out that despite lower power consumption brought about by the cold weather and yearend holidays, the NGCP placed the Mindanao grid on alert level with the reserves falling below the required levels.

Based on the NGCP power outlook for Mindanao on Sunday, the island has 107 megawatts (MW) of reserves. But today, Jan. 4, the Mindanao grid will have only 24 MW of reserves.

Meanwhile, NGCP officials again appealed to the public, the local and national government, the police and military to help safeguard the steel towers to ensure that power transmission remains uninterrupted.

Similarly, the company also called on local community leaders to help identify the perpetrators of the bombings and negotiate with uncooperative landowners so that longer power interruptions may be avoided.

No perpetrator has been identified, arrested, or charged in court as far as the bombings carried are concerned. Likewise, no one has claimed responsibility for the acts of sabotage, although the lawless Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the past has been suspected and reportedly admitted to have carried out the attacks. This time the BIFF has been silent on the matter.

4,000 spend New Year in evacuation camps in Maguindanao, S. Kudarat

By Ferdinandh B. Cabrera

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 2 Jan) – More than 4,000 evacuees from villages in Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat greeted the New Year inside gymnasiums that serve as evacuation camps after fleeing their homes since Christmas amid threats of more attacks from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

A resident of Barangay Kauran, Ampatuan town in Maguindanao who requested not to be named said most men in their village were armed during New Year’s Day, fearing threats from the BIFF. The BIFF launched simultaneous attacks just before New Year’s Day on detachments of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade in nearby in Shariff Aguak, Shariff Saydona and Datu Piang towns.

The BIFF also attacked a week earlier, killing six farmers during Christmas. They were still mourning their loss as the New Year came.

Around 702 families, mostly Ilonggo settlers and Teduray tribesfolk, have sought refuge at the Kauran gym.

Relief assistance

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu visited the gym before New Year and distributed relief goods.

He also handed burial assistance to families of slain farmers amounting to P10,000 and a sack of rice. He arranged educational assistance for the children of those killed who were breadwinners of their respective families.

Mangudadatu said he wanted the children to avail of the province’s MagPeace scholarship program, which covers expenses for high school and college scholars.

The governor was emotional and teary-eyed when he met with widows and children in a short visit at the wake.

His brothers – Assemblyman Khadaffy, Mayor Freddie and businessman Jong – also extended financial assistance and joined him in the visit.

In Esperanza town in Sultan Kudarat, the local government unit has so far evacuated in the past days a total of 225 families, or more than 1,000 individuals, providing them shelter and safety in the local gymnasium.

Mayor Helen Latog said these residents live near the border of Maguindanao province that are also vulnerable to the attacks of BIFF.

Three residents from Esperanza were killed last Christmas at the height of the BIFF’s rampage.

Latog said the evacuees now stay at the gymnasium, but go to their farmlands in the morning to oversee their rice fields.

Mangudadatu, in his visit at the evacuation camps, said when he saw the pictures of those killed, these reminded him of what happened to his family in 2009 also in Ampatuan municipality. His first wife Genalyn, his two sister and relatives were among those killed in the Nov. 23 massacre wherein 58 people died, 32 of them media workers. The Ampatuan clan has been accused as responsible for the carnage.

He described the killers as “beasts,” asking, “How could they sleep at peace with what they did?”

In his speech in front of hundreds of families gathered inside the Kauran Gymnasium, Mangudadatu condemned the brutality brought by the BIFF.

He stressed that the issue is not a conflict between Moros and Christians settlers but purely the banditry and terrorism of the BIFF.

“The lands owned by the Ilonggos were bought by the owners in good faith. They have tittles. There is no land conflict here when I investigated. These BIFF rogues just wanted to sow terror,” the governor pointed out.

Appeal to MILF, to civilians

Mangudadatu has called the attention of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) hierarchy to help government stop the BIFF’s vicious attacks.

“I am appealing to the MILF leadership. They should help the government in running after the rogue elements,” the governor said, adding that the rebel group should help attain peace in all communities in the Bangsamoro.

But Jabib Guaibar, the MILF’s Local Monitoring Team representative in North Cotabato, said their hands are tied. “We have no mandate or authority to run after them (BIFF) unless we are now part of the government,” he said.

BIFF is a breakaway group from the MILF which did not join in the peace process. It rejects the MILF’s Bangsamoro Basic Law quest and instead opted to push of an independent Islamic State in Mindanao.

Mangudadatu appealed to the residents to refrain from further igniting the conflict by avenging the killing of their relatives.

“Let justice prevail. We are one with you in running after these people and filing charges against them. I am also a victim like you, but we did not put justice in our own hands. Instead we let the due course of justice to work”, appealed the governor.

Deploying more troops

The 6th Infantry Division has pledged to deploy more troops in areas where farmers are usually attacked by the BIFF.

The farmers’ main problem now is how to till their farms and harvest their produce.

Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, in a meeting with local government officials in Mlang in North Cotabato, Ampatuan in Maguindanao, and Esperanza in Sultan Kudarat, recommended the deployment of additional troops in conflict zones.

“There is no letup in running against these demon BIFF rebels. We will provide more troops to areas where civilians are prone to attacks,” he said.

Exploring Lanao del Sur: 6 things the world is missing out on

By Potpot Pinili (Rappler.com)

From its breathtaking views to its rich culture, Lanao del Sur has stories to tell

MANILA, Philippines – In a land where tourism is largely unheard of, I ask myself, “Is journeying to Lanao del Sur worth braving the unknown?”

We may be familiar with the dance called singkil, or images of minarets and women in veils. We easily associate the titles sultan and datu, or names like Abdul and Sittie, with the words Muslim or Lanao.

And then there’s conflict, chaos, and bizarre customs. The complex entanglements we know most about Lanao, especially the southern half of it, Lanao del Sur.

With all of the unpleasant stories around, what could the beautiful ones be, the ones that are left barely untold?

In a two-week journey, I combed the depths of Lanao del Sur in search of fascinating spots, unique art, and sensational flavors. Setting out in a real-life off-the-beaten path adventure, I found what wonders have been kept from the world, in a land that is caught in dramatic episodes of struggle.

Breathtaking panorama

Dating back to more than a million years, Lake Lanao is one of the world’s ancient lakes, yet very few people know about it. It is the heart of Lanao del Sur, and where the Maranaos adopted its name, as people of the lake.

Most images of Lake Lanao are taken from the golf course inside the Mindanao State University campus in Marawi City. But if you want to catch her most sweeping and stunning panorama, travel westward to the rolling hillocks of Watu or way south to the foggy summit of Binidayan.

A smaller but equally serene lake is Dapao, in the quiet town of Pualas. Often missed by those who traverse the Marawi-Cotabato route, this placid and myth-filled lake is a hidden spot that is perfect for a dreamy paddle.

Historical antiquities

Small as it may seem, Taraka is a huge part of the history of the once undivided Lanao. It was one of the catalysts of the Islamization of the Maranaos in the 16th century and home to Baab Ur-Rahman Masjid, the oldest mosque in the province.

Taraka is a treasure trove of heritage finds hardly any outsider has probably seen. In the Samporna-Tamano-Ayo-Sumpingan ancestral house are 3 huge Chinese stoneware jars called gusi or abdan. These tell us of their long trading relations with the Chinese people even before the Spaniards came to Lanao in 1891.

Interestingly, the house also kept a stone head called dibarosan, physical evidence of the existence of capital punishment during the ancient times.

Many homes all around Lanao del Sur are repositories of precious heirlooms such as carved chests, jars, jewelry, and handwoven textiles. But the most extensive collection of Maranao arts and crafts is curated at the Aga Khan Museum in Marawi.

Architectural marvels

Declared by the National Museum as a National Cultural Treasure, the torogan or the homes of Maranao royalties are living testaments of indigenous Philippine architecture.

The most popular and accessible is Dayawan Torogan in Marawi City. But farther south in Ganassi, Laguindab Torogan hides feeble and forgotten in a thick foliage. Despite its decaying condition, its surviving parts still scream of unrivaled craftsmanship. Such are its wood beams and posts that are meticulously carved with elaborate folk motifs called okir.

In the town of Binidayan, the Dimaporos have kept the only surviving lamin or a princess’ room. Sadly, it isn’t anymore perched on the roof of the torogan like in ancient times because the massive royal house is already gone.

If the mosques in Cotabato and Maguindanao boast of their grandness and bright colors, nothing comes closer to dramatic executions than those in Lanao del Sur.

Punctuating the bends of Lake Lanao, their mosques, like in Bacolod Grande and Raya Masjid in Balindong, showcase the grace of quintessential Islamic buildings hemmed by still waters.

But deeper into the town of Binidayan lies the theatrical solitude of a floating mosque on the islet of Polo near Maito-a-Balt Island.

Thriving traditional art

Tugaya is the Paete of Mindanao. But this art town is more than just about exquisite woodcarvings. It is also about foundry casting of brassware, back-strap loom weaving, hand-made tapestry stitching, and gold smithing. Nearly every home in this lakeside town has a craftsman whose skills and artistry are honed by time-honored traditions.

Unknown to many, the best weavers of the langkit or tapestry panels used in their most expensive garment called malong landap are found in Pualas. Here, the women still use the traditional back-strap weaving style in creating complex patterns that are uniquely Maranao.

Sensational flavors

When you come to Lanao del Sur, make sure you pack an appetite because their distinctive cuisine will take you on a gustatory spin like no other.

A typical Maranao dish is characterized by heavy use of coconut milk called tono and spices like turmeric or kalawag. Steamed freshwater fish and stewed chicken are staples interestingly served with yellow rice called kuning. But the star of any Maranao food fair is palapa, a condiment made of pounded scallion bulbs mixed with chili and coconut oil.

All of its culinary warfare comes to life during the Pagana Maranao, an extravagant banquet showcasing all of its homemade recipes decked in ornate table trays called tabak.

Proud, happy, hospitable Maranaos

Being hospitable is a trademark character of the Filipinos. And the Maranaos are among those that best represent this trait. They are sincerely warm and even lavish in hosting guests, especially when you are in their homeland.

Contrary to heartbreaking photographs that fill newspapers and fund campaign brochures, they are, in reality, a happy community, just like other communities that you'll find anywhere else in the country.

The Maranaos are the last to be Islamized among the Muslim groups but they are also the strongest defenders of its faith. Truth be told that many came to conquer them but no one ever succeeded.

Lanao del Sur’s royal-heavy society is marred by harrowing tales of generations of clan wars. Its rich tapestry of traditional arts and culture are torn by inescapable realities. Its people and faith are misunderstood. But behind all of these quandaries are also wonderful truths that are barely recognized by the world.

With all of its unalloyed beauty, refine culture, and caboodle of treasures, surely, I am glad to have braved the unknown.

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