Muni-muni ng Isang Gala

The Bal'ian leading the agong players and the delegates for the closing ritual. Six (6) T’duray women, one of the more than twenty groups of Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao, with their colorful traditional dress shook my hand vigorously and a couple embraced me tightly as they arrived at the Upi Agricultural School, the venue of the 6 th Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Summit. Tired from the long habal-habal (motorcycle vehicles) travel and some trekking from the interior communities of South Upi, these women were still all smiles as they proudly showed off their agong (an indigenous musical instrument) to me. They were part of the one hundred twenty-five (125) women delegates out of the three hundred ninety-three (393) total participants to the sixth Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Summit last December 12-16,2010 in Upi,Maguindanao, Mindanao,Philippines. They were the agong players that accompany the Bal’ian (spiritual leader) in the opening and closing rituals. Now on its 10 th year,...

The Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Movement (MPPM) considers the struggle of the Bangsamoro and the Katawhang Lumad (Indigenous Peoples) one of its primary concerns. This is evident in the many venues it provided for the sharing, discussions, fora and summits on the understanding of the right to self-determination of peoples. Exposure programs and exchanges in the tri-people communities were also a constant event to foster further this understanding. Ever since its inception in 2000, MPPM has been consistent in its support of the peoples struggle for their Right to Self-Determination. This manifests in its long running advocacy on the Referendum on the Political Options for Peace in Mindanao. For the tri-people peace movement, the advocacy on the REFERENDUM is its humble contribution in resolving the seeming never-ending conflict in Mindanao in a peaceful and democratic manner. While this mechanism may not yet be too popular in the Philippine context, however, other countries with multi-nati...