Adan Phari, 49, never imagined that one day changes will come into his life. A rice farmer and fisherman in the swampy areas of Purok Masigay, Barangay Tapayan, Sultan Mastura town in Maguindanao, Adan had been through difficult times as his village was once disturbed by a number of armed conflicts between the forces of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Abandoning his abode and farm was among the painful experiences he had been to in the midst of previous armed conflicts, he said.
“In war there is no development, only hardships,” he told EDGE Davao in Tagalog during an interview. Due to the lack of support from the government, he only managed to cultivate a small portion of their farm, enough to feed his family. Besides, he added, he was also uncertain of the peace and order condition of their village – and that whenever armed confrontations erupted, he and his family would leave their home and his farm unattended for weeks. By the time the disturbances were pacified, he would return home and found his rice farm destroyed by grasses, weeds and rodents.
Adan said he already felt tired of those situations and saw uncertainties of their future especially to his children. “My neighbours also shared my feelings and reservations. Some even lost members of their families due to war,” he lamented.
A glimpse of hope
Adan said their community saw some glimpse of hope when the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the MILF formally sat down to talk peace. The peace process, he added, has assured them that armed conflicts will no longer disturb their community. “We were so glad then upon hearing of the peace process,” he stressed. Besides seeing the end of the number of evacuations they had gone through, Adan was also thinking of one benefit the absence of war would bring in to their community – development. “I had this vision that one day, when the conflicts are gone, we would be able to develop our area for inland fishing,” he said.
And his vision is now realized.
Adan’s community is lying beside Lake Tumingay in Sultan Mastura town. The lake is one of the sources of fresh water food such as Tilapia and other thriving fishes. To ensure that their voices would be heard, Adan and his neighbours organized the Lake Tumingay Aqua Farmers Association (LTAFA), composed of 15 families or 35 individuals. Organizers from the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) helped in strengthening their organization and prepared the members for the major project they envision – the Tapayan Tilapia Culture in Pond and Cage.
LTAFA, with the support of BDA and the local government of Sultan Mastura, was able to access support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The support from JICA came in May of 2015.
“The support was not in the form of money but through the provision of materials needed to construct tilapia fish cages,” Adan said. JICA provided LTAFA with fish nets, bamboos, strings, and plastic barrels. Experts on inland fishing from Japan and from the Mindanao State University (MSU), the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Department of Agriculture in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DA-ARMM) also came in and trained LTAFA members on aquaculture fishery.
“Now we are no longer troubled. We have this project to augment our incomes and ensure the future of our children,” Adan said. LTAFA now maintains 19 fish cages in their project site, four of which are intended for hatchery of tilapia fingerlings. In April this year, LTAFA had their first harvest of tilapia – a total of 387 kilos that earned them an income of P59,000. Adan said they sold their tilapia harvests to the local market in Sultan Mastura and the nearby towns. The Regional Hospital in Cotabato City also ordered from them 40 kilos of tilapia.
“The Regional Hospital will be our regular customer of tilapia. They will buy 40 kilos every time we harvest,” Adan said. The sharing system among the members of LTAFA was agreed at 60-40, meaning, 40% of the income will be reserved for the improvement of the project while 60% will be divided equally among the members. With their project in full swing, LTAFA is expecting Tilapia harvest in every two months. Aside from the development of tilapia culture, farmers in the area also developed their rice fields through organic farming.
Other members of LTAFA also started to venture into tilapia culture, Adan said. Some utilized their first share of the proceeds to buy nets and needed materials. There are at least five members who now maintain their own cages in Lake Tumingay. “Other members of LTAFA also share their knowledge and skills in tilapia culture to other organizations in Maguindanao,” said Guiamaludin Sampulna, an organizer from BDA.
Sowing the seeds of peace
Of all the countries that provided support to the ongoing peace process between the GRP and the MILF, it is only Japan that opted to continue its Socio-Economic Assistance Component (SEAC) in the Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao (CAAM) through the International Monitoring Team (IMT). Other countries and international donor agencies have coursed through their respective supports directly to the GPH and line agencies.
IMT was officially deployed in Mindanao in October of 2004 and was regarded as vital commitment of countries exhibited their full support to the GPH-MILF peace process. The team is composed of Malaysia, Japan, Brunei, Indonesia and Norway and currently headed by Major General Wira Zamrose bin Mohd Zein, a member of the Malaysian Armed Forces.
IMT is tasked to observe and monitor the implementation of cessation of hostilities and the socioeconomic development programs and projects in CAAM areas. The team also assesses and determines the validity through field verifications specific reports, protests or complaints of ceasefire violations.
Japan, as a member of IMT implements its programs and projects through its Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD). The program was launched in December of 2006 and has already poured in 19.1 billion Japanese Yen or P7.8 billion to fund various programs and projects. It is aimed to contribute to the peace process through delivering Development Assistance Projects, also called as “Dividends of Peace” in CAAM areas.
J-BIRD works in three areas of concern – Community Development that focuses on poverty alleviation, livelihood, water, health and education; Capacity-Building in Transition Period that centers on Human Resource Development, Institutional Building and Good Governance; and Sustainable Economic Development in Mindanao that works on strategic infrastructure and regional development.
Hiroyuki Kawamoto, chief of SEAC in the IMT, said programs and projects are also funded through the Embassy of Japan particularly grants for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) and grant assistance for non-government organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs); and from JICA for technical assistance program, grant aid program and Yen loan program.
Within the peace process, SEAC in the IMT is tasked to monitor the socio-economic aspect in CAAM areas and assist in determining the development needs of conflict-affected communities, Kawamoto added. SEAC also provided assistance in the formulation of the comprehensive development plan and its early implementation, he added.
“In SEAC in the IMT, we also work to facilitate the effective delivery of development projects in conflict-affected areas,” Kawamoto said.
Adan’s community and organization are among those who received socio-economic support from the government of Japan through JICA in Sultan Mastura town. Other groups in the area also received support through goat and vegetable productions. JICA also rehabilitated a total of 1.5 kilometers of access road from villages to the market centers in said town.
“In behalf of my organization we express gratitude to the people and the government of Japan for this project,” Adan said. He also hoped that the peace process between the government and the MILF will continue to prosper “for the future of our children and the Bangsamoro homeland.”
(Next: Sowing the seeds of peace in Bangsamoro homeland: “Building bridges over troubles past
