Maranao women want Maguindanao style gender dev’t program

Attached photo: Maranao women gathered on Thursday at the provincial gym of Lanao del Sur to call for speedy recovery from the May 23, 2017 Marawi siege, through cohesion similar to Maguindanao’s gender development program model. Assisted by Lanao Sur Vice Governor Bombit Adiong, Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu (inset) brief the women.

MARAWI CITY – Thousands of Maranao women gathered here on Thursday to band together for speedy recovery from the havocs of the bloody Marawi siege, expressing desire for prompt replication in Lanao del Sur and this city of Maguindanao’s gender development program model.

The day-long convergence was hosted at the provincial gym here by Governor Soraya Alonto-Adiong and her son, Vice Governor Mamintal “Bombit” Adiong Jr., who invited Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu as event guest speaker to brief the audience on the evolution of his provincial program for women and children.

Vice Gov. Adiong praised in his speech the Maguindanao leaders for courageously bringing in relief and medical assistance for Maranaos while Daesh-inspired militants and government forces were on their second week of bloody confrontations here that started on May 23, 2017.

"Hindi sapat ang pasasalamat sa tulong na ibinigay ng Maguindanao sa amin na taga Lanao Del Sur mula noong siege dahil ang Maguindanao ang unang tumulong sa amin ng ilang trucks na puno ng isdang bangus, bigas at iba pang relief goods at may kasamang medical at engineering teams,” Adiong said at the gathering.

“Hanggang ngayun ay nandito pa rin sila para tayo ay bigyan ng tulong," he said, referring to dozens of officials from Magundanao led by Gov. Mangudadatu, younger brother provincial mayors’ league president Freddie and son, board member Jazzer.

In his message, Gov. Mangudadatu urged the Maranao community to come up with a specific gender development plan in accordance with the national government’s criteria on life-enhancing interventions for women and children.

He said his office crafted such plan as early as 2012, prompting the national government to recognize Maguindanao as the lone province in Muslim Mindanao to have put up a work-plan for women and children against illegal human trafficking, displacements from calamities and other concerns.

In 2014, then Palace Peace Adviser Teresita Deles awarded Maguindanao P50 million fund, which the provincial government matched with P30 million local counterpart, for the construction of a four-storey building in Buluan town of the now widely-acknowledged women and children center.

The building currently serves as billeting and training center for hundreds of women and children affected not only by illegal human trafficking but also of displacement in clashes between rebels and state forces. It also houses women undergoing trainings to acquire entrepreneurial skills .

Women and children in Maguindanano have developed resilience against the challenges of flooding, sporadic armed clashes and other social woes after undergoing trainings and psychosocial interventions at the center, Mangudadatu said.

The governor concluded his speech with his advocacy for Muslim people to send their children to schools and refrain from the traditional habit of collecting firearms instead of farm implements. (Ali G. Macabalang)