With the main goal of efficiently resolving quarrels on land in the Bangsamoro, the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development, the housing arm of the BARMM, executed the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on the Creation of BARMM Regional Land Dispute Resolution Board at the EM Manor Hotel, Cotabato City on June 28, 2022.

The activity was organized by the Policy Development and Coordination Division of the ministry, led by OIC-Director for Technical and Regulatory Services Abdulhamid C. Alawi, Jr. with the active support of Minister Hamid Aminoddin D. Barra and in collaboration with the Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

Minister Barra, in his opening remarks, said the initiative was a product of the idea to broaden the coverage or upscale into regional level the experiences and services of the Land Dispute Resolution Committee (LDRC) that has been resolving cases in Marawi City.

 “We are thankful to the Chief Minister for granting and supporting the initiative; we are pushing for the issuance of an executive order from his office for the creation of the BARMM Land Dispute Resolution Board to expedite the process,” he said.

“With the operation of the LDRC, we were able to address a number of land dispute cases on lands with multiple owners, overlapping titles, and with adverse claims especially in the Marawi Affected Areas (MAA),” the minister added.

Highlights of the activity included the presentation of a proposed Inter Agency Platform to address land conflict by Alexandra Myra Tañada Medina, Program Manager for Peace, Justice, and Governance and the OIC of CRS Davao Office.

Medina started out her presentation stating that land is really a driver of conflict, that if resolved, will contribute to lasting peace. She enumerated the agencies involved in land management in the national and regional level.

She also mentioned the BOL stipulations and resolution of conflicts in the BARMM, the complications in resolving land issues, and the best practices in the operations of the Municipal Inter Agency Working Group (MIAWG) in resolving land disputes.

Meanwhile, Director Alawi discussed the idea of a regional land dispute resolution board emphasizing on its jurisdictions, powers and authorities, and execution of decisions, orders, and awards that all lead to building peaceful and sustainable communities in the BARMM.

The participants coming from MAFAR, MIPA, MPOS, MILG, MFBM, BTA-PRLS, and Office of Settlers Community (OSC), expressed their thoughts and inputs on the presentations during the open forum.

They also participated in the action planning for ways forward facilitated by Ian Digal, CRS Senior Program Officer wherein the succeeding activities were identified, so with the responsible agencies and the timelines.

Upcoming activities for the initiative will be the harmonization of functions and jurisdiction between MAFAR, MENRE, and MIPA, writeshop on the proposed EO, conduct of comparative studies and policy reviews, and capacity building on mediation.