ARMM town thrives on traditional arts

THE Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is the poorest region in the Philippines in all aspects of development. But there is a town in ARMM that is slowly becoming an exception to that, largely because the local government decided to listen to the townfolk.

In the latest story in i Report‘s current series on good local governance, we feature Tugaya, which has long been known as the home of Maranao arts and crafts. Yet for a time, it was also known for endless bickering among its powerful political clans. These days, however, there is peace among Tugaya’s major families, and the sounds one hears around the town are those of its many artisans at work.

One of the first things Tugaya Mayor Alimatar Guroalim did when he won in 2004 was to consult his people on how to improve the local economy. Impressed with the women’s plea to be given a chance to prove their mettle in business, his administration began a program that gave the women not only start-up capital, but also needed training for the work they were interested in doing. Laws aimed at supporting micro-enterprise were passed as well, along with one that established a display center for Tugaya’s Maranao arts and crafts at a crucial junction near the national highway.

The local government also addressed needs in the educational sector, tapping various sources to build classrooms and school buildings, and giving allowances to teachers in some 20 local Islamic schools.

Then it turned to unifying Tugaya’s nine major clans, which were soon convinced to sign a covenant of power-sharing. Under the covenant, the clans will take turns in having a member sit as sultan — a source of much of their fights in the past.

Last year, Tugaya was nominated as a World Heritage Site by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. It is still on the tentative list, but with or without such designation, the people of Tugaya may already feel like winners.

Read on at pcij.org.