MP Misuari, a current member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority and the daughter of MNLF Chair Hadji Nur Misuari, visited USeP to establish a relationship with the Tausug community by formally introducing the region’s vital pieces of legislation while working on the transition government priority agenda.

Furthermore, her office’s primary purpose is to identify areas of common interest that can be extended with opportunities for support, especially the community’s needs and priorities in education that need assistance from the government. This includes improving the education of Muslim students in a few schools, or the madaris.

“𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘺𝘢𝘨 𝘵𝘶𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘬𝘶 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘣𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘬𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘱𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘶 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢 𝘓𝘶𝘱𝘢𝘩 𝘚𝘶𝘨. 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘣 𝘩𝘢 𝘜𝘚𝘦𝘗 𝘢𝘮𝘶 𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘶. 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘺𝘶-𝘵𝘶𝘺𝘶 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘩𝘢 𝘉𝘛𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘩𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶 𝘥𝘪 𝘩𝘢 𝘛𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘣, 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘻. 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩 [I am elated that I have visited my relatives here who are from Sulu. I am thankful also to USeP that serves as a bridge to meet all of you. We, in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, will find ways to help our community in Tacub, Santa Cruz. In Allah’s will],” said MP Misuari on meeting with the community and USeP delegates.

The Tausug participants, who originally came from different islands of Sulu, were urged to engage in an open forum to address the recurring dilemmas in their community that include an emphasis on the necessities for children. Besides Panglima [Commander] Abdul Barry Indanan voicing his concern, Imam Hadji Usman Indanan and other women and youth representatives also openly spoke to MP Misuari to share their experiences in their community.

“𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘶𝘶𝘥 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘶 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘩-𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘩 𝘕𝘶𝘳𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘩𝘢. 𝘐𝘯 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘶 𝘩𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘫𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘭𝘢 [Thank you very much, Indah-indah NurRedha. We support you in achieving peace in our land],” expressed Panglima Indanan to MP Misuari who sworn support for his people.

Meanwhile, the USeP cooperates by facilitating the target community to be linked with MP Misuari’s priorities. This enterprise has been led by Mr. Francis N. Reginio, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Extension Head, and Associate Professor Sajed S. Ingilan, the Director of the Institute of Languages and Creative Arts (ILCA).

As USeP envisions to transform communities in the ASEAN and beyond through extension activities, the university will forge stronger partnerships by strengthening the extension programs with the office of MP Misuari. Mr. Reginio finally stated, “The most important thing is a thoughtful, evidence-based approach to the madaris in Mindanao. Government officials should learn about them, investigate them, and visit them while keeping in mind that their actions can have unexpected consequences by achieving peace through literacy.”