Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte – This coastal town with a mixed population of Maranaos and Christians will soon host the first “Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa” Model Community, a program pushed by Senator Christopher Lawrence Go aimed at developing the countryside and decongesting Metro Manila and other urban centers.
Known as one of the towns which has institutionalized Organic Farming, Kauswagan had its share of the pain and deaths from the conflict which raged for half a century in Mindanao.
In 2009, Kauswagan residents fled the town, some of them in small boats after a band of armed men under then Commander Bravo attacked the town leaving dozens dead.
From that painful past, Kauswagan was transformed into what it is now under the leadership of a former pilot, Rommel Arnado, who came home from the United States to become Mayor of the town.
Arnado’s father was also mayor of Kauswagan for a long time during the Marcos years and whose leadership in the town ended after EDSA.
The new Kauswagan Mayor, whose service was interrupted by a disqualification case on citizenship issues, initiated a program called “Arms to Farms Program” where he engaged former rebels into organic farming and other agricultural activities.
That program earned the town the Galing Pook Award and a United Nations recognition of the “Arms to Farms Program,” a rare distinction for a former troubled town.
With the signing of the peace agreement between the government and the erstwhile rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, things have changed a lot for Kauswagan.
Kauswagan has become the symbol of unity among Muslims and Christians living in one community with former rebel leaders involved in Organic Farming and attending consultations conducted by the municipal government.
The then Commander Bravo is now the Honorable Abdula Macapaar, which is his real name, a member of the BARMM Parliament who often visits the town now as guest of honor in its many activities.
When Kauswagan residents who left the town for the big cities where they live as squatters and informal settlers come home to the first Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Model Community in Barangay Tacub soon, the transformation of the town will be complete.
The program will become another symbol that Peace has at last dawned on the people of the former troubled town.
This is the Beauty and Bounty of Mindanao.
(The video is a production of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Beauty & Bounty of Mindanao Media team with the help of the Kauswagan Municipal Information Office.)
https://www.facebook.com/100044577333084/videos/253089785960986
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