MNLF coops’ chairs hold Lakbay Aral program

MAS YAHYA

Davao City

Agri-trainors from the ACES Polytechnic College in Panabo 

City pose with ARMM officials led by PAMANA Project 

Manager Engr. Dong K. Anayatin (5th from left standing) and ASec 

Ding Cali (8th from left standing) and MNLF cooperatives’ 

chairs from Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces 

during the Lakbay Aral Program conducted by 

PAMANA-PMO-ARMM.

The second batch of cooperatives’ chairmen of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have completed the three-day Lakbay Aral (Educational Tour) program in Davao City on March 19-21 under the Payapa at Masaganang PamayaNan or PaMaNa in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). 

They are from Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, ARMM’s mainland provinces.

The first batch who came from the region’s Island provinces made it earlier.

Engineer Dong Anayatin heads PAMANA.

Assistant Secretary Cali, Lanao del Sur focal, and other ARMM officials joined and assisted the group.

PAMANA-ARMM is focused on providing socio-economic development packages to conflict-affected areas in the region.

One of its components is PAMANA for MNLF Communities with specific focus on the provision of socio-economic and development interventions in support to the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and ensuring security of the communities.

In 2014, aside from implementation by the PAMANA partner agencies, the Autonomous Region started implementing PAMANA ORG-ARMM which focuses on the MNLF Communities with emphasis on the provision of socio-economic and development interventions in support to the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the MNLF and ensuring security of the communities.

The MNLF Communities enrolled in the program are organized into cooperatives and registered with the Cooperative Development Authority- ARMM to acquire legal personality.

With the trust of the Autonomous Region Government (ARG) in capacitating these organized cooperatives and establishing a strong partnership with them, the Regional Governor thought of inviting them to a forum for a general orientation cum Lakbay Aral activity.

Aside from getting updates on both the statuses of the implementation of the PAMANA-ORG ARMM Program and the development on the peace process between the GPH and the MILF, through the said exercise, the MNLF Coop Chairs will be exposed to successful livelihood programs and projects managed and operated by either government agency or established cooperative. The MNLF Coop Chairs will be given opportunity to have actual experience and hopefully appreciate the processes involved in operating this livelihood projects and replicate them in their respective communities. Hence, this activity design.

The activity intends to expand reform advocates that will reinforce the promotion of a community-based organization through strengthening the implementation of the PAMANA-ORG ARMM Program for the MNLF Communities in ARMM.

The activity is designed to accomplish the following specific objectives:

1. To update the Coop Chairmen on the status of implementation of the PAMANA-ORG ARMM Program;

2. To update the Coop Chairmen on the status of the Peace Process between the GPH and the MILF;

3. To organize the Regional Assembly Officers of the MNLF Cooperatives;

4. To enhance the skills and talents of the MNLF primary coop officers towards effective community- based organizations (CBOs);

5. To mainstream the MNLF community and members towards community development works;

6. To be able to familiarize some approaches and techniques on how to build a functional and effective Cooperative in serving their individual members;

7. To expose the Coop Chairmen to the various successful livelihood programs through innovative technology which are potential for duplication in their respective communities;

8. To apply the processes and approaches on the project sustainability from the different successful cooperatives and communities;

9. To learn updates on the current status of farming technology in the Philippines; and

10. To formulate action plan in applying the learning gained during the activity.

RANAO STAR