by: Arabela Lorico
IDEALS recently launched the Promoting Equal Access to Civil Enlistment for Former Combatants and Indigenous People in the Bangsamoro Transition (PEACE Bangsamoro) project, which aims to provide legal services and address civil registration needs of vulnerable communities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The joint launch of the PEACE Bangsamoro Project and the Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization (ICCMN) Caravan was held on August 29 at Camp Badre in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte. The event was attended by government representatives, Former First Minister of Scotland Lord Jack McConnell, and British Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Laure Beaufils.
Sustaining the path toward meaningful integration
PEACE Bangsamoro capitalizes on the milestones of previous civil registration projects by IDEALS, including the Bangsamoro’s United Identity Through Legal Determination (REBUILD) and Access to Legal Identity and Social Services for Decommissioned Combatants (ALIAS DC).
Together, these initiatives have reached approximately 40,000 beneficiaries, including decommissioned combatants, their families, and members of indigenous groups. The new project aims to provide civil registration documents to 7,000 additional applicants.
Ensuring access to legal identity through civil registration documents is vital for former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants as they work towards integration and access to a slate of opportunities.
“Every birth certificate is not just a paper printed with words and names. But for the Bangsamoro people, it is more than a paper. It is evidence that has engraved the struggle of the Bangsamoro people towards self-identification, reclaiming spaces, claiming narratives, and claiming one’s own identity,” IDEALS Executive Director Edgardo Ligon stated. “These birth certificates hold the essence of grit, struggle, and hope that the Bangsamoro people have demonstrated throughout the years.”
Interventions for peace, progress, and identity
The 2020 Census of Population and Housing reported that BARMM has the lowest birth registration rates in the country, with an estimate of 1.10 million individuals yet to be registered. The region has historically been put under years of violence and oppression, depriving communities of their right to self-determination, livelihood, and justice, among others.
PEACE Bangsamoro seeks to empower decommissioned combatants, their families, indigenous peoples (IPs), and internally displaced persons (IDPs) through a range of activities geared towards peace and progress.
The project includes legal missions focused on mobile civil documentation and registration, supported by policy lobbying to strengthen local registration efforts. It also aims to enhance access to essential social services previously inaccessible due to violent conflict in the region.
The project is funded by the British Embassy and MISEREOR, accounting for a total joint contribution worth P24.2M. The British Embassy allocated £180,000 (P13.4 million) whereas MISEREOR provided €180,000 (P10.8 million) to support civil registry assistance across six major MILF camps in North Cotabato, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, and BARMM-SGA.
“Our dreams don’t cost us anything. If in the morning, your dream is gone, just make a new one. You can always make your own dreams. We should keep dreaming as long as we’re alive, as long as our limbs permit us to stand,” shared Esmail Pasague Unos, a former MILF combatant from Base Camp 118 in Camp Badre.
To this day, Bangsamoro communities continue to strive for identity, progress, and justice. Their access to birth certificates is a crucial step in realizing dreams and aspirations – for individuals, families, and their community.
For media queries and coordination:
Mikhaela Dimpas | mbdimpas.ideals@gmail.com
Arabela Lorico | arabela.ideals@gmail.com