Maguindanao del Sur — Two women’s cooperatives in Maguindanao del Sur have received socioeconomic and livelihood support packages from the Moro Women Development and Cultural Center, Inc. (MWDECC), in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on November 5, 2025.

The recipient cooperatives are the Sampao Moro Ummahat Agri-Business Marketing Cooperative in Rajah Buayan, and the Bangsamoro Lalan sa Kalilintad Marketing Cooperative in Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur.

The received livelihood support packages includes equipment such as upright chiller, chest freezer inverter, gas range, coin-operated commercial coffee vending machine, and various kitchen essentials such as frying pans, wok pots, boilers, casseroles, tea kettles, kitchen utensils, and dinnerware sets.

Prior to receiving their livelihood packages, the cooperatives participated in a series of training sessions as part of the program. These sessions focused on empowering women to be active voices within their communities, increasing awareness of women’s rights and forms of gender-based violence, and establishing local protection mechanisms and referral pathways. Additional training also covered financial literacy, business management, and cooperative operations to equip members with the skills necessary for sustaining and expanding their enterprises.

Previously, three cooperatives from Sharif Aguak, Ampatuan, and Salibo also received livelihood support packages under the same program.

This initiative is part of the “EmpowerHer: Women Cooperatives in Action” project, which aims to enhance the quality of life for women, particularly the six cooperatives led by survivors of gender-based violence in Maguindanao del Sur by strengthening their capacities in livelihood development and cooperative management to become more active partners in social and economic development of their communities.

This Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) material on the Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC) is designed to provide voters with essential knowledge of the Bangsamoro parliamentary electoral system.

It outlines key provisions of the Code, tailored to local contexts, to help voters better understand the Bangsamoro parliamentary electoral process, as well as their rights and responsibilities in the parliamentary elections.

To access the file, please click the link below to download.

The Moro Women Development and Cultural Center, Inc. (MWDECC) has successfully wrapped up its voters’ education on the Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC) and responsible voting, reaching more than one hundred participants in each of the five covered municipalities across Maguindanao.

The series of community sessions ran across the municipalities of Barira and Buldon in Maguindanao del Norte, and Sultan sa Barongis, Mamasapano, and Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao del Sur, culminating in the final leg held on September 14, 2025, in Datu Saudi Ampatuan.

This initiative aimed to enhance public understanding of the Bangsamoro Electoral Code and the electoral process ahead of the upcoming BARMM Parliamentary elections. Discussions emphasized the importance of citizen participation in ensuring transparent and credible elections.

Participants expressed appreciation for MWDECC’s efforts in bringing these discussions into their communities, noting that the activity increased their awareness as first-time parliamentary voters.

This voters’ education campaign is part of the Project Women STREAM (Strengthening, Empowering, and Activating Women in Maguindanao), implemented in partnership with UN Women and supported by the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), reflecting MWDECC’s ongoing commitment to empowering communities and promoting democratic participation in the Bangsamoro region.

The Moro Women Development and Cultural Center, Inc. (MWDECC) successfully conducted a two-day Training of Trainers (TOT) on the Bangsamoro Electoral Code and Responsible Voting on August 7–8, 2025, at Emerald Hall, KDT Manor Hotel, Cotabato City.

The activity convened 25 women leaders from the municipalities of Barira and Buldon in Maguindanao del Norte, and Sultan sa Barongis, Mamasapano, and Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao del Sur.

With the upcoming parliamentary elections fast approaching, the training aimed to equip women leaders with the necessary knowledge and skills to disseminate electoral information within their communities, thereby promoting informed decision-making and peaceful participation in the Bangsamoro electoral process.

Ammier Dodo, Chairman of the MILF Technical Working Group on Transitional Justice and Reconciliation, underscored the importance of voter education, particularly the role of women in disseminating accurate and timely information on one of the priority legislations of the Bangsamoro Parliament—the Bangsamoro Electoral Code.

Furthermore, MWDECC Executive Director Baina Samayatan stressed the critical role of women advocates in promoting peace and facilitating informed participation during the election period. She also expressed appreciation for the women who have stepped up and are now ready to serve as advocates of peace and electoral awareness.

Participant Sakina Baratamay expressed her gratitude for the initiative, noting that the training addressed their questions and clarified processes related to the upcoming parliamentary elections.

“Nabigyan kami ng pagkakataon na masagot ang aming mga katanungan kaugnay sa elections sa BARMM,” she said.

This activity is part of Project Women STREAM (Strengthening, Empowering, and Activating Women in Maguindanao), implemented in partnership with UN Women and funded by the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF).

This booklet presents the voices and lived experiences of several generations of women within the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao, Philippines. It does not only capture their enduring pain and sacrifices—but also their courage, resilience, and commitment to armed struggle in the face of injustice, land dispossession, and systemic oppression. These women rose not only in defiance of marginalization but in pursuit of religious freedom, self-determination, and a just peace for the Bangsamoro.

Through participatory research, young MILF female members designed and conducted video interviews with their peers. They collected ten stories from war veterans and their daughters who reflected on their reasons for joining the MILF armed struggle, their time as women in war, their experience of gender roles and dynamics in the movement, their lessons learnt from the ongoing peace implementation process, and their aspirations for the future of their country and the coming generations.

The stories, as diverse as they are, emphasised the need to engage with the fate of female ex-combatants, a section of post-war societies that is usually forgotten and under-represented. During the MILF armed struggle for self-determination for the Muslim Bangsamoro people in the Philippine island of Mindanao, women of the movement self-organised into several civilian and military entities. One of them was the Bangsamoro Islamic Women Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB), an all-female force that constituted a part of the MILF armed forces. BIWAB’s main mission was to ensure the safety of the combatants by attending to their medical and other basic needs, and to serve as a reserve force.