7 Maranao public officials join US peace study tour

LANAO DEL SUR - Seven Maranao elected officials engaged in peace-building activities in Lanao del Sur province are now in the United States for an 11-day conflict-management study tour.Regional Vice Governor Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Lanao del Sur Vice Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Jr., and mayors Majul Gandamra of Marawi, Dimnatang Pansar of Butig, Ali Sumandar of Piagapo, Nashiba Sumagayan of Taraka and Sharifullah Tanog of Pualas left for the US over the weekend.They are among the participants to this year’s US-sponsored April 8 to 18 International Visitors Leadership Program on Local Government in Conflict Zones.The now third-termer mayor of Parang town in the first district of Maguindanao, Ibrahim Ibay, is also a participant to the study tour.In a press statement Tuesday, Lanao del Sur Gov. Soraya Alonto-Adiong said the seven officials are to visit selected states in the US whose governments are known for best practices in conflict resolution and management.They were invited to participate in the program by Sung Kim, US ambassador to the Philippines.The program focuses on educating participants on federalism, community engagements against crimes and violent religious extremism, and on how the US federal government is addressing domestic security issues.The Maranao officials participating in the study tour are engaged in domestic peace-building activities meant to address the spread of misguided Islamic militancy in Marawi City and in Lanao del Sur.Marawi City is the provincial capital of Lanao del Sur, which has 39 towns.Lanao del Sur is a component province of ARMM.There is presence of Islamic State-inspired blocs in the province, among them remnants of the Maute terror group that laid siege to Marawi City from May 23 to October 16 last year.The hostilities it triggered lasted for five months and left hundreds dead, among them soldiers and policemen, dislocated no fewer than 200,000 innocent Marawi City residents and left dozens of centuries-old enclaves there in ruins.The Lanao del Sur governor said she will compel the seven officials from the province to share to other Maranao local leaders the conflict resolution insights they are to learn from their 11-day educational trip.Lucman, now is his second term as ARMM regional vice governor, said in an email sent from the US Tuesday that he is ready to embark on workshops as a forum for sharing to interested ARMM officials what he had learned from the program.Lucman, as regional vice governor, is the second highest elected official in the ARMM, which has executive and legislative branches operating under a constitutional charter, the Republic Act 9054.