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.

The Moro Women Development and Cultural Center Inc. (MWDECC) has successfully conducted its series of Multi-Stakeholder Community Consultations and Peace Agenda Development across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region under the project Bangsamoro Outlook for Next Horizon (BORN).

These activities provided platforms for civil society organizations and community members to reflect on the progress of the peace process and share perspectives on its future direction.

The consultations conducted across Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and the Special Geographic Area (SGA) were carried out in coordination with the Peace Implementing Panels, local government units, and existing peace and security mechanisms within the GPH-MILF Peace Process. The primary objective was to develop a community peace agenda, which will be presented at the upcoming Peace Conference. This agenda is intended to strengthen future policy development and support the promotion of sustainable peace and development in the Bangsamoro region.

MWDECC Executive Director Baina Samayatin highlighted during the consultations the importance of empowering communities and safeguarding human rights. She emphasized that rights holders are entitled to dignity, freedom, and equal opportunities, while duty bearers—authorities and institutions—are responsible for upholding these rights. The final phase of these consultations was conducted in Jolo, Sulu marking the culmination of extensive grassroots dialogue within the region.

Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur– In a continuing effort to uplift women in conflict-affected and marginalized communities, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through the Moro Women Development and Cultural Center, Inc. (MWDECC), turned over key livelihood equipment to W’ Powered Printing and Souvenir Marketing, a women-led cooperative in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur, on June 3, 2025. 

The following equipment was provided: 

• 1 Binding Machine
• 1 Lamination Machine
• 1 Auto Tumbler Heat Press
• 1 Sublimation Machine
• 1 Heat Press Machine
• 1 Dell Laptop

This initiative, under the EmpowerHer: Women Cooperatives in Action program, aims to strengthen women’s cooperatives through targeted capacity building, policy advocacy, and enterprise development—boosting members’ economic independence and community resilience. This is the third handovers of equipments to five women’s cooperatives in Maguindanao del Sur, organized by MWDECC and PBSP, composed of resilient women—GBV survivors, displaced persons, solo parents, and Indigenous Tiduray members.