BONGAO, TAWI-TAWI – Sixteen Bangsamoro Women, Peace and Security (WPS) practitioners successfully completed the second Advanced WPS Course led by the Ministry of Order and Public Safety (MPOS) – Bangsamoro Peace Institute (BPI) and UN Women from February 11 to 13.
The Advanced WPS Course is a two-part training program consisting of a three-day lecture component followed by a field course, where participants apply their learnings in real-world scenarios. The lecture component for this cohort was held in November 2024 in Davao de Oro, after which participants chose Tawi-Tawi for their field exposure, focusing on climate change and human trafficking concerns affecting women.
The specialized training is currently the only advanced WPS course piloted by MPOS-BPI. Its two iterations so far have been implemented under the regional program “Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace: Preventing Violence and Promoting Social Cohesion in ASEAN 2021-2025,” supported by the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea.
During the field course in Bongao, participants from various Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) ministries, civil society organizations, and academic institutions engaged with communities facing climate hazards. Led by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), they visited coastal areas at risk of rising sea levels, coastal erosion, storm surges, and flooding. The participants interacted with residents and barangay officials, gaining firsthand insights into how climate change affects women and girls in these vulnerable communities.
A visit to the Mindanao State University – Tawi-Tawi School of Technology and Oceanography’s Seaweed Research and Development Center provided further understanding of climate-related challenges in the seaweed industry. Participants learned how these issues impact families, particularly women and children who depend on seaweed farming for their livelihoods, despite their contributions often being overlooked.
The cohort also explored economic empowerment initiatives through discussions with the Mandulan Consumer’s Cooperative in Barangay Mandulan. With insights from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) – Tawi-Tawi, they examined how Gender and Development (GAD) funds support women-led enterprises in local communities.
A key focus of the course was the pressing issue of human trafficking. Tawi-Tawi’s porous borders make it a major transshipment point for trafficked women and girls, not only from the province but from across the country, en route to neighboring nations. The participants engaged in discussions led by the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) and spoke with distressed women from Bongao who had experienced repeated cycles of trafficking, arrest, and deportation from Sabah.
“The plight of these women calls for all of us to take action,” stressed Board Member Dayang Carlsum Jumaide, Chairperson of the Committee on Women, Youth, and Family Affairs of Tawi-Tawi, during a panel discussion on the issue.
The three-day Field Course concluded with participants reaffirming their commitment to integrating their learnings into policies and programs within their respective organizations, ensuring that the insights gained translate into concrete actions for peace, security, and gender empowerment in the Bangsamoro region.
