MSUANS.orgz.ph News Site

Tempest in Marawi?
by Antonio J. Montalvan II

source: inquirer.net

MANILA, Philippines - The news is forthcoming as of this writing, if it is not out yet, that President Macapagal-Arroyo has finally signed the appointment papers of Dr. Macapado Muslim as the new president of the Mindanao State University. It will be recalled that Dr. Muslim’s appointment, long awaited by many quarters, was the subject of a position statement by Dr. Jose Abueva, the former UP president, in the column of Conrado de Quiros.

Abueva had contended that Arroyo had not respected the selection process which chose Muslim when she appointed a former police general, Dr. Ricardo de Leon, to sit as caretaker president for two years. True enough, some friends of mine in the MSU system were of the same thought as Abueva. The flurry of letters to the editor in this paper attesting to the Abueva
position is on record.

Having said that, it is also true, however, that contrary letters were also written in this paper in support of Dr. De Leon. My personal interest whatsoever on the issue went beyond the perusal of such letters when I could no longer count with my 10 fingers the number of MSU friends I have, majority of whom are academicians, who would rather favor a De Leon “caretaker” presidency. I must also point out that most of them are M’ranaos.

I was, of course, of the expectation that my M’ranao friends were all rooting for Dr. Muslim, being a fellow M’ranao. I also knew the caliber of scholarship that Dr. Muslim holds, of which I had written about in a past column. I was naturally surprised that most of these friends had wanted an extension of the De Leon presidency.

As an anthropologist, I could not comment on the issue unless I saw for myself the field expressions of the discourse that was brewing. I finally found the opportunity when I recently made successive trips to the MSU main campus in the Islamic City of Marawi, one of which included a personal conversation with Dr. De Leon himself. The conversation did not even mention the dilemma that both he and Dr. Muslim were in.

Readers who are not familiar with the MSU in Marawi may not be able to envisage what is probably one of the most eye-catching of majestic spots in the entire country. The MSU campus in Marawi is all of about a thousand hectares nestled on rolling foothills that overlook the panorama of the vast Lake Lanao. No campus in the entire country can ever equal such a placid
location for an academic institution of higher learning. But the vista it offers is simply a fringe benefit to the mild cool climate that Marawi enjoys the whole year round, being at an elevation of about 833 meters above sea level.

Entering the Marawi campus of MSU, one is immediately transported to the multicultural character of this Mindanao university. To one’s left are the verdant greens of the Kalilang Golf Course and beside it the Marawi Resort Hotel of Ayala Corp., both part of the campus property. To one’s right is the arabesque architecture of the imposing King Faisal Mosque. Winding up
higher on the reclining campus is the icon of the university, the Aga Khan Museum which was the object of an endowment in the early 1960s by the philanthropist Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. Wandering around the vast campus are its young students who come from all over Mindanao.

This was not what I saw in my previous visits to the campus in earlier years. What I had seen during those visits were dilapidated buildings, unkempt surroundings, and a venerable museum that had seen better days. One dormitory was no longer usable for students. I was told that relatives of a campus official had been occupying it since. All around me I saw informal
settlers encroaching on university grounds. The thousand hectares were no more, reduced by then to what was a mere 300 or so hectares. If MSU were ever in its death throes, this was it.

At the time of the De Leon tenure, I was therefore amazed to see a re-transformed MSU Marawi. New buildings had arisen. Many of the settled lands had been recovered, including the occupied dormitory. The freshly painted Aga Khan now seemed poised to reclaim its former glory. Friends told me that employee benefits were now being addressed. Remittances to the GSIS
had been restored. And this was not just about the Marawi campus which alone had 17 degree-granting colleges. The same facelift involved the entire MSU System of six autonomous campuses in General Santos City (where Dr. Muslim is the chancellor), Iligan City, Sulu, Maguindanao, Tawi-tawi, and Naawan, Misamis Oriental.

The chorus of my M’ranao friends was almost in unison: thanks to Dr. Ricardo de Leon, we want him to stay. What, in a single phrase, is his contribution, I asked. “He has no political agenda,” came the fast answer. For once, this was an MSU that was finally working, its once prestigious colleges now in operation again, its campuses the haven for higher learning and scholarship
that it was envisioned to be.

But what to do with the selection process which rightfully chose Dr. Macapado Muslim? A friend at the MSU Iligan Institute of Technology in Iligan City provides her own answer to this latest GMA move of Muslim’s appointment: MSU-IIT will now discuss openly its separation from the MSU System in protest against De Leon’s removal.

What, to begin with, is politics doing in running our educational institutions, even before this present De Leon-Muslim quandary came to be? Sadly, we have forgotten the very object of all our education apostolates: the students and the learning that they deserve in confronting a globalizing world. That world is the MSU students’ too.

* * *

Comments to monta@cu-cdo. edu.ph
http://opinion. inquirer. net/inquireropin ion/columns/ view_article. php?article
_id=110758

MSU Hosts
2007 Mindanao TVET HRSD Conference and Exhibits
Dimaporo Gymnasium, MSU, Marawi City
July 25-26, 2007

The Mindanao State University (MSU) main campus in Marawi City will be the venue of the 6 th Mindanao TVET HRSD Conference and Exhibits on July 25-26, 2007. Members of the Mindanao TVET Association (the only association of vocational schools in the Philippines) and officers of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) from Regions 9, 10, 11, 12, ARMM, and CARAGA will converge at the “Summer Capital of the South” – Marawi City, particularly at the sprawling and beautiful main campus of the Mindanao State University System. Likewise, invitation is extended to the following priority sectors: Cyber Services, Hotel and Restaurants, Health, Wellness and Medical Tourism, Agribusiness, Maritime, Shipbuilding, and Construction.

The theme of this year’s conference is ” Mindanao TVET….Beyond Borders: TVET-Industry partnership for supra-Mindanao” . It aims to achieve the following objectives: (1) Strengthen TVET-Industry partnership to foster closer collaborations and provide support to the dynamic and continuous development of training programs and delivery; (2) Address current industry demands vis a vis skills and competency; (3) Promote a ONE TESDA Mindanao through harmonization of policy implementation, national commitment, greater national and regional cooperation; (4) Promote practice of effective Enterprise-based School Management.

Conference activities include plenary sessions, workshops, presentation of outputs, partnership modalities, and photo exhibits of TVET and TESDA. Invited speakers and resource persons are nationally and internationally renowned personalities. The keynote speaker is the ARMM Regional Governor Hon. Zaldy Ampatuan.

A Pre-Conference invitational golf tournament hosted by MSU System President Dr. Ricardo F. De Leon awaits the early birds and golf fanatics. MSU proudly claims to be the first and perhaps the only University in the country if not the world to have an 18-hole executive golf course within the heart of the campus. Participants will also be treated to a cultural presentation by the internationally acclaimed Sining Kambayoka during the “Bolos Kano (welcome) Night on July 24 and the famous Darangan Cultural Dance Company during the “Pagana Maranaw” on July 25.

6th Mindanao TVET HRSD Conference and Exhibits is organized by the Mindanao TVET Association, TESDA, Tesda is Jobs is Tesda and co-organized by the TESDA – ARMM, Technical Vocational Institutions Association – ARMM and ARTVET of Lanao del Sur. Cooperators for this conference include: R/P TESDA Committee, Mindanao Economic Development Council, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Local Chamber of Commerce and the Mindanao State University as a major sponsor for the venue and facilities.

The hosting of the conference at the main campus augurs well in MSU’s drive to become not only as eco-cultural and educational tourist destination but also as a convention center in Mindanao. Visitors and participants will be amazed by the significant physical change and development in the campus as well as the improved peace and order situation not only in the campus but also the province and the city. They will have a first hand experience of the many miracles happening at MSU orchestrated by its very dynamic and hardworking President Dr. Ricardo F. De Leon. The conference will be a big boost to support the status of MSU as a Peace University and in promoting a Culture of Peace and Quality Education. The said conference is being coordinated by Prof. Cecil Mambuay, Dean of the College of Hotel and Restaurant Management who is also designated as MSU coordinator for TESDA.

With the full support of the University administration, expect that MSU will pass the test as host to the conference with flying colors.

The holding of the conference in Marawi City is the result of the strong partnership forged by MSU with TESDA. More significantly, the dramatic and inspiring transformation of MSU under Pres. Ricardo F. De Leon attracted a lot of attention and confidence in the capability of MSU to host regional, national and international conferences and gatherings. It also established the University as an eco-cultural and educational tourist destination in Mindanao. The development of the New MSU as a Peace University in the South and the improved peace and order and security in the area resulted in the influx of local and foreign visitors and tourists.

The 2-day conference will give the more than 300 participants the opportunity to experience a rare cultural enrichment. They will have a chance to learn and enjoy the rich cultural heritage of the Maranaos while enjoying the panoramic and beautiful campus by the hills, overlooking the serene waters of Lake Lanao and the mystical sleeping lady mountain range. Participants will surely have a great time during the conference as they will be treated to a royal Maranao hospitality by the premier institution of higher learning in Southern Philippines - MSU.

‘Candidate-buying’ outmodes
by ALI G. MACABALANG & BONG REBLANDO

MARAWI CITY - This is one for the books! After a tumultuous uproar on
charges of vote-buying, a town in Lanao del Sur quickly made an upturn -
buying a candidate.

A mayoralty candidate in one of the 39 towns of Lanao del Sur had dissuaded
a strong rival bet from running. But not after a staggering P40-million
prize.

As expected, the local bet opted to pocket the cash offer and immediately
signed a document withdrawing his candidacy at the Commission on Elections.

Because of the withdrawal of the perceived strong rival, the candidate
hesitated to spend extra fund for the usual vote-buying because of obvious
confidence that the third challenger was a “beatable” one.

His complacency was also boosted by rumor that the remaining “weak” rival
had also filed a certificate of withdrawal of candidacy with the Comelec.

Surprisingly, however, majority of voters in the town, who were informed of
the “candidate-buying” scheme and failed to receive their usual “electoral
grease,” cast their votes for the “weak” candidate during the May 14
elections.

The town’s board of canvassers proclaimed the “weak” candidate winner
despite the candidate-buyer’ s argument of unverified withdrawal by the
victor.

“In Lanao del Sur, politicians are very innovative. Candidate-buying
outmodes the usual vote-buying scheme, except that its maiden application
faltered,” a resident poll watcher told Tempo.

A similar candidate-buying scheme forced an incumbent mayor to refrain from
seeking re-election in the midterm polls. The deal reportedly involved at
least P20 million cash.

The buyer awaits formality for his proclamation as winner. He garnered
massive votes during the special polls held in a town, also in Lanao del
Sur’s first district, Saturday.

Meanwhile, torn envelopes littered in schools used as voting centers during
special elections in Lanao del Sur, revealing massive vote-buying.

But officials and villagers here are unperturbed of this malady performed in
full public view, claiming it as “customary” and not a breach of laws, when
exercising their right of suffrage.

Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police
chief, and Army Col. Ronnie Javier, 3rd infantry brigade commander, said
that except for minor incidents in Pualas and Kapai towns, the special polls
were held peacefully and orderly.

Six thousand police and Army troopers from four Army battalions and five
police battalions secured the special election for the 13 towns which have
nearly 100,000 voters.

Last May 14, 26 towns and Marawi City successfully held the national and
local midterm elections with Marawi City having emerged as an opposition
country giving 7-4-1 result in favor of Genuine Opposition senatorial bets.

Special polls took place Saturday in the 12 towns of Masiu, Kapatagan,
Marogong, Sultan Domalonding, Lumbayanague, Kapai, Lumbabayabao, Binidayan,
Madalum, Bayang, Lumbatan and Pualas.

Due to problems on security and late arrival of Board of Election Inspectors
(BEI), the special polls for the towns of Butig and some villages in
Lumbabayabao and Pualas were postponed on Saturday, but pushed through
yesterday.

“Deal or no deal?!” has been the resounding punchline during the General Convocation on June 21, 2006 at the University Gymnasium as MSUS President Ricardo F. De Leon, Ph.D. presented MSU Vision 2020 to the MSU community.
Prof. Tambas A. Cader, Director of the Division of Student Affairs, opened the event while VP for Academic Affairs, Dr. Nasroden B. Guro delivered the Closing Remarks. All System Officials, heads of all Academic and Semi-Academic Units, and all Administrative Heads were introduced as well as the briefing on Academic rules and policies ensued.
In the pamphlets that the President distributed to all MSU constituents in attendance, he delved into the Need, the Strength, the Core Values, the Vision, and the Mission of Mindanao State University. The emphasis of his message was on the Ten Imperatives which “must lay the ground for MSU Vision 2020 that would bring back MSU as one of the top State Universities of the country. Ten imperatives were identified that must be urgently addressed which will provide the direction towards the realization of this shared vision, the ultimate beneficiaries of which are the children of our Muslim and Lumad brothers.”
The ten imperatives are as follows:
Imperative 1: Building on an Enduring Culture of Academic Excellence
Imperative 2: Extend the Knowledge Frontiers of the Campus through ICT
Imperative 3: Expand Investment Opportunities for Income-Generating Projects (IGPs) and Resource Generations
Imperative 4: Gain Recognition as a Peace University in the Philippines by Promoting a Culture of Peace
Imperative 5: Revitalize a Challenging Learning Environment in the Campus
Imperative 6: Interlink our Community and Global Connections
Imperative 7: Enliven Sensitivity to Eco-Cultural Heritage
Imperative 8: Respond to the Challenges of the 21st Century Knowledge Workforce
Imperative 9: Renew our Commitment to Inter-regional and Cross Boarder
Imperative 10: Adhere to Good Governance and Enlightened Leadership
“MSU Vision 2020 is about academic excellence, creative thinking, harmonization in diversity, technology, linkages, enlightened leadership and good governance, and responding to the changing environment and global reality. “ This Idea proposed by Pres. De Leon creates “a picture of an MSU admired as a paragon for the continuing pursuit of excellence in EDUCATION; producing leaders whose character and competence create the growth and development of Mindanao.”
Aside from the General Convocation, the customary Crème de la Crème was also held to recognize students with exceptional academic achievements in three categories: the President’s List, Chancellor’s List, and Dean’s Honors List respectively. Medals and cash incentives were given to the awardees, two of whom made it to the President’s List: Mary Jane N. Gotostos (B.S. Chemical Engineering) and Vanessa Christonette R. Teledorio (BSEd Major in Biology). Both students garnered a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 1.0.

Among the distinguished University officials who attended the event were Executive Vice President, Datumanong A. Sarangani, Ed.D., VP for Administration and Finance, Romeo S. Magsalos (DSC), VP for Academic Affairs, Dr. Nasroden B. Guro, VP for Planning and Development, Prof. Abdullah D. Alonto, VC for Academic Affairs, Dr. Macabangkit P. Ati, VC for Research and Extension Elin Anisha C. Guro, CESE, other MSU officials, officials from the MSU External Units and college deans.
Performances from the MSU Darangan Cultural Troupe, Sining Kambayoka Ensemble and the MSU Combo entertained the audience majority of whom were students of this institution.

source: msumain.edu.ph

In an effort to help pull together our commonalities for a more secure, safe and peaceful Mindanao, MSU’s President Ricardo F. De Leon has enjoined all University Officials, faculty and students through Memorandum Order to participate actively in the whole week celebration of the Mindanao week for peace.

The last week of November and first week of December of every year has been declared by Malacañang as the Mindanao Week of Peace in response to the laudable degree of sincerity and concern of civic and religious leaders of both Muslims and Christians to ease out tensions thereby promoting justice and peaceful co-existence between the Muslims, Lumads and Christians in Mindanao.

The Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (IPDM), as a unit under the MSU-Office of the President, serves as the central coordinating unit for all existing peace and development programs of the University has commenced the celebration on Thursday, November 30, 2006 with the walk for peace at 6:00 am from Peace Garden to Peace Plaza which was participated in by the different sectors of the University.

Thereafter, a peace orientation program was held at Dimaporo Gym. President Ricardo F. De Leon has given the opening remarks by saying that they have invited the MILF, MNLF, the International Monitoring Team (IMT) and the GRP-Panel to participate in the Olympic Friendship Games for peace so that we can forget war and work for peace. We are going to inculcate the minds of our children the significance of peace and use our hears to extend our kindness to others.”, President De Leon added.

The opening program was also highlighted by the presence of twenty-one (21) Indonesian Educators and the International Monitoring Team (IMT) which oversees the on-going negotiations between the MILF and GRP-Panel.

The walk for peace, peace orientation, poster-making workshop, graffiti painting, peace concert, exercise for peace, tree planting, friendship games for peace and culture of peace trainors’ training for teachers are among the activities to be conducted in celebration to the Mindanao week of peace.

NewsDecember 17, 2006

A reported rape of a Muslim woman involving the Philippine Marine detachment guarding the National Power Corporation (NPC) installation at the Mindanao State University Campus in Marawi City is being covered-up by officials of the university and the military, hence, obstructing the investigation currently being made by the MILF-CCCH and the LMT. This was the report reaching Luwaran today.The incident occurred on the night of Sunday, December 10, 2006, when Muslims residing in the vicinity of the main entrance to MSU where the Marines have their detachment just a few meters away from the security checkpoint heard a very loud hysterical female voice repeatedly crying for help in Maranaw dialect.

The cry came from the direction of the Marine detachment guarding the NPC installation inside the campus. When the Muslim residents tried to respond to the cry for help and approached the Marine detachment, they were prevented by armed Marines guarding the entrance to the MSU campus. The following day some of the Muslim residents contacted and reported the matter to the MILF-CCCH and the LMT.

Early morning of December 11, four members of the MILF-CCCH and the LMT in Ranao led by Mangotawar Macacuna, head of the Ranao MILF-CCCH, went to the Marine detachment where said incident occurred and tried to investigate the matter. The Marines told them roughly, “Huwag kayong makialam!” (Do not interfere!) and uttered some other words to the effect that the matter was a private affair, which was of no concern to the MILF-CCCH and LMT. Rebuffed by the hostile actuations of the Marines, the MILF-CCCH and LMT members launched an investigation to dig deeper into the report of the Muslim residents.

The first thing that they did was to establish the identity of the rape victim so as to determine if the crime of rape has indeed been committed. This was quite difficult considering the cultural idiosyncrasies of the Maranaw society. Rape is a source of extreme embarrassment for the family of the victim, and what normally happens when rape occurs is that the victim’s family would never admit openly that a female member is a victim of sexual abuse. Usually, the family seeks redress by taking justice into its own hands as maratabat (pride) requires.

Nonetheless, the initial findings of the investigation revealed that on the night of the incident, a Muslim female student of MSU never returned to the dormitory where she was staying. Until now, her whereabouts cannot be accounted for. It was also learned through the one-way radio that a Muslim policeman who did not divulge his identity vowed to take vengeance for the abuse of her daughter by a Marine soldier.

In the afternoon of December 13, Moro youth students of MSU held a rally in front of the MSU administration building which houses the office of the university president to urge MSU officials, specially MSU president Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Ricardo Gen. de Leon, to launch an official investigation since the reported incident happened right at the campus and involves military personnel. The official response, however, frustrated the Moro youth demonstrators because the MSU administration vehemently denied that any rape had been committed even before an official investigation could be launched. A Muslim former provincial official who is a known friend of the MSU president spoke to the demonstrators and echoed this official line. This was the beginning of the official cover-up which involves officials of MSU, the Marines and some elements of the media.

On December 15, the local TV stations of the ABS-CBN in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro came out with a news report featuring the live interview of a female MSU Christian student who claimed that on the night of the incident, she was drunk and bellicose and so she slept with her Marine boyfriend at the military detachment from where Muslim residents heard the cry for help by a Maranaw woman. The student alleged that there was no rape and there was no Muslim woman in that detachment that night. She said that because of her inebriated state she was probably mistaken for the Muslim woman allegedly being abused. Her story, however, had no ring of truth because the loud cries for help as heard by the residents were distinctly in Maranaw even in intonation. This female student is a Visayan and not a Maranaw. In extreme distress, she would have cried out spontaneously in Visayan, not Maranaw.

At any rate, several residents who live in the vicinity of the Marine detachment and who heard the cries for help in Maranaw have come forward to testify and execute affidavits as to what they have heard and observed that night, notably the defensive agitation and hostility that the Marines demonstrated when inquiries were made by the residents. The Ranao MILF-CCCH and LMT are currently pursuing the investigation and gathering more information and testimonies as basis for the filing of protest in the coming joint CCCH meeting with representatives of the Philippine government.

source: luwaran.com