MILF, MNLF find peace in communal fishing

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines – For years, the rival forces of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kabacan town had been hostile towards each other.

Now, they are peacefully managing a communal fishing venture in Barangay Pedtad, Kabacan town.

Dozens of MNLF and MILF members in Barangay Pedtad are beneficiaries of the foreign-assisted livelihood project called Enhancing Resilience by Strengthening Livelihoods.

This project is pioneered by the town’s local government, the European Union, the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations and different line agencies.

The project beneficiaries established tilapia fishpond as a communal venture more than a year ago, and they have managed it through the Moro consensus-building tradition in running community affairs.

They were also given free livelihood trainings by the project’s benefactors, among them the Office of Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza.

“Members of the MILF and the MNLF work together here in the community as one big family,” said Adam Mantawil, one of the traditional leaders in Barangay Pedtad.

Mantawil said he is glad that the MNLF and MILF members are earning from the livelihood project.

A 35-year-old mother said her income from the communal tilapia fishpond has enabled her to buy nutritious food for her children and send them to school.

Access to education, she noted, is necessary in building peaceful and progressive Moro communities in Barangay Pedtad as well as in surrounding farming enclaves in Kabacan and other parts of North Cotabato.