COTABATO CITY(October 14) — Teachers across the Bangsamoro region are borrowing copies of Athar, a 65-page book documenting the regional government’s social services programs, while others are requesting copies for their schools and universities.
Radio reports on Tuesday, October 13, said educators wanted to use the publication in peace education, sociology and other classroom discussions. Some have borrowed complimentary copies distributed during its October 2 launch.
Written by Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD-BARMM) Minister Raissa Jajurie, 59, with the ministry’s researchers and planners, Athar documents the agency’s programs for women, children, older persons and communities affected by decades of armed conflict since the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was established in 2019.
The Arabic word athar can mean legacy or good works worthy of emulation.
Jajurie, who has headed the ministry since the BARMM’s establishment, said the agency had worked to build public service networks responsive to communities’ cultural and religious differences.
“The legacy of our seven-year journey through public service is connected with the lives of the people,” Jajurie said during the book launch in Cotabato City.
Among the educators seeking copies are teachers in Basilan, where Myrah Mangkabung serves as schools division superintendent, and faculty members of Mindanao State University in Marawi City and its extension campus in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte. The campuses are headed by chancellors Paisalin Tago and Bai Hejira Nefertiti Sinsuat-Limbona, respectively.
The requests leave MSSD-BARMM with a practical question: Will it provide additional copies to meet schools’ needs, and how will it fund and manage the distribution? The answers will determine whether educators beyond the book launch’s recipients can access the ministry’s account of its programs and use it as a reference on social services and post-conflict development.
The BARMM replaced the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in 2019 following the peace process between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Jajurie was among the 31 nominees of the MILF-led United Bangsamoro Justice Party elected to the 80-member Bangsamoro parliament in the September 14 regional elections.
