phoneContact us at +63 82 295 3776 or email us.

DonatePlease support us. Donate today! 
  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. Programs
  4. Education and Training
  5. Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program

Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program

Resource-Based Project Management Team involved in documentationThe Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding (RBCP) Training Program is one of MPI's current projects focused on building Indigenous Peoples' capacities in conflict transformation through collaborative decision-making, and enabling them to engage on an equal footing with other stakeholders for the development of their Ancestral Domains.

In July of 2014, the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute began the second phase of the Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program. Phase One, which began in 2012 and went through early 2014, focused on building Indigenous Peoples' capacities in conflict transformation through collaborative decision-making, and enabling them to engage on an equal footing with other stakeholders for the development of their Ancestral Domains (ADs).

Phase Two of the project, Strengthening Indigenous Leadership & Governance in Mindanao, aims to increase the Indigenous Peoples (IP) Ancestral Domain Councils’ control over the resources in their Ancestral Domains as guaranteed by law under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) of the Philippines and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The project will continue to work with the six Higaunon and Subanen Ancestral Domain Councils (ADCs) in Northwestern Mindanao and the Zamboanga Peninsula. These Ancestral Domains include the Subanen ADs of Bayog, Kumalarang, Lakewood and Sindangan-Godod in the Zamboanga Peninsula and the Higaunon ADs of Bayug-Iligan and Dulangan in Misamis Oriental (see a map of the area).

This project aims to capacitate 130 AD council members with the help and support of the IP scholars of the previous project in the six Ancestral Domains. They will receive training in the following areas:

  1. Training on the understanding, development and eventual submission for approval of the Indigenous Political Structure (IPS) and the formation of the Indigenous Peoples’ Organization (IPO).
  2. Facilitation of Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) development and lobbying work for the ADSDPP adoption.
  3. Training in the resolution of inter-Ancestral Domain and intra-IP leadership conflicts.
  4. Training in facilitating dialogue and mediation to resolve conflict with external entities.

In addition to the above activities, MPI plans to develop and reproduce a practical guide on the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in the local dialect.

Through these activities, MPI is making every effort to assure that the project contributes to the realization of Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination. The training's primary objective is that by June of 2017, the capacity of 130 men and women members of the six Ancestral Domain Councils in the provinces of Northwestern Mindanao to effectively govern is strengthened.

See photos from the Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program here.

Featured

Learning, Reflection & Integration for Peace and Solidarity

Two IP women hugging each otherFor almost five years, MPI has been deeply involved with the Higaunon and Subanen Indigenous Peoples for Northwestern Mindanao. Over that period, the two tribes learned much from one another. In April of 2017, this was brought to another level with the Higaunon & Subanen Cross-Sharing, Learning Reflection & Integration for Peace and Solidarity activities. As the MPI will be completing its part in the Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program by the end of this year, one participant said, “it is a beautiful way to end the project.”

The seven-­‐day cross-­‐sharing activity covered the wide ranging learning exchanges. A visit to the far-­‐flung village of Kumalarang was perfectly timed for the season enabling the participants to observe indigenous farming practices. The participants visted sacred places in Bayug, Iligan. Thye also had the opportunity to visit a freshwater lake of Lakewood.

Together, they observed a policy legislation session of the City Council of Iligan City, where Datu Diamla serves as an Indigenous People’s Mandatory Representative (IPMR). The participants had the opportunity to listen to a Community Relation Officer (ComRel) at the exploratory camp site of TVI Mining company in Balabag, Bayog and in the City of Cagayan de Oro, where they visited the IP Affairs Office. Participants also interacted with the Indigenous Peoples (IP) leaders who had become squatters in their own land because of huge transnational palm plantations. They heard from a city officer who is also a tribal leader who handles the city’s IP affairs office.

By the end, the activity was able to surface narratives about commonalities and uniqueness of the Higaunon and Subanen tribes in relation to their customs and traditions. They learned and shared about IP governance and leadership and preservation and management of their rich natural resources. The cross-sharing contributed to the strengthening of IP governance and leadership as key to asserting the struggle for Indigenous Peoples' right to self-­‐determination.

  pdf Download the entire activity report here (743 KB) .

Featured

Sharing Experiences with Community Development Students

Abel giving presentation at Community Development ForumAbelardo A. Moya, Program Officer for MPI’s Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program, had the opportunity to give a presentation on the involvement of MPI working with the Subanen and Higaunon tribes to Community Development Master’s Degree Students. Abel was able to share actual experiences of community organizing and development works in various types of villages in the context of Mindanao realities.

The Mindanao State University (MSU) College of Public Affairs, Department of Community Development organized the one-day seminar/forum with the theme: Community Development Practice in the Context of Mindanao Realities: In Search for Effective and Empowering Approaches for Sustainable Holistic Development. It was held on December 9, 2015, at the MSU Institute for Peace Development Mindanao (IPDM) Conference Hall, Marawi City.

The resource persons together with the MSU Community Development Department faculty and the Masteral StudentsAbel shared that it was a very informative and interactive forum. 105 community development students attended the forum and enthusiastically listened to the resource persons as they delivered their presentations.

Featured

Datu Diamla Rolando So-ong as IPMR

datudiamlaipmrOn September 8, 2015, Datu Diamla Rolando So-ong, an MPI scholar and member of the Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program Project Management Committee, formally took his seat as the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR), equivalent to a city councilor, for Iligan City, Philippines.

Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program Phase One Completed

During Phase One of the Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program, MPI trained and accompanied Subanen and Higaunon tribal leaders in resolving and transforming resource-based conflict through non-violent, just and participatory processes. Originally, the project consisted of five training modules with corresponding follow-through activities in Indigenous People's Ancestral Domain sites of Northern Mindanao and the Zamboanga Peninsula in the Philippines. However, during the implementation of the project, a pressing need for providing knowledge on the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent was emphasized by the tribal scholars who attended the trainings. Hence, a new module was added to the project to answer the concerns of the indigenous leaders on the process.