POONA PIAGAPO—A FORSAKEN BEAUTY NO MORE
By Kriz Cruzado, Mindanao Programme Coordinator

MARCH 14-16, 2009—As I go swaying inside a big truck, I was wondering what lies ahead the death-defying potholed road. The thoroughfare to Poona Piagapo was one of a kind. I thought I have already seen the worse when I got assigned in a remote no man's land-declared area in Kimataan II of north Davao, but I was mistaken. As the vehicle was going up the mountain of Pantao Raga to Poona Piagapo, I was taking a casual peek from time to time to see the depth of the cliff that looks undisturbed and beautiful. Yes, the view from where the vehicle swayed to death was breathtaking and priceless. I wish there was a time to stop and just breathe in the fresh air that welcomed us and satiate our eyes with the grandeur of the mountains and valleys across us; and the river the flows freely down the cliff. Sadly, the rough road stole that moment as it sternly swung from left to right.

Poona Piagapo is a municipality of Lanao del Norte known as haven to MILF 102nd Base Command led by Abdurahman Macapaar or better known as Commander Bravo. The municipality has 6 barangays and in one of those is where the camp of Bravo was. When the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) went after Commander Bravo's elements in August 2008, the people from the more out-lying barangays of Poona Piagapo especially where the MILF camp was, have evacuated to a safer place, Pantao Raga – a municipality before Poona Piagapo. Some families have made to cross the river of Pantao Raga, some just stayed near the riverbank, some in small houses of the residents. However, wherever the people stayed, they still felt scared and unsafe. These stories were relayed to me by some of the staff of Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits (EcoWEB), a non-government organization that envisions a peaceful and progressive society working interdependently and in harmony with nature.

EcoWEB has been partnering with Poona Piagapo for 2 years now with a project on "Mitigating the Effects of Armed Conflict in Communities of Poona Piagapo." This has components of Botica sa Barangay/Herbal garden, a demo farm and a water system, which is the major project in each barangay. Funded by Caritas Australia, the time frame for the project implementation has finally concluded. The invitation to come to Poona was to witness and celebrate with the people, as all these projects will be turned-over to each barangay. Mei and I came to personally see the area for the future partnership that EcoWEB and Peacebuilders Community (PBC) are working on. The projects installed in the 6 barangays were not dole-out. The people themselves from these barangays have put their own little resources, time and energy as their counterpart to the partnership; hence they have a strong sense of ownership of the projects. Other partner organizations of EcoWEB like BirthDev, RIDO Int'l and some media people like Violy Gloria of MindaNews, Janet Braza, the publisher of Sangyaw Mindanao and Boyet Codas also came. When we finally got to Kablangan, the barangay where we spent our night together, we were welcomed with colorful buntings and big tent and a newly built stage with colorful traditional decorations. As we were climbing down the big truck, the "kulintang" and "gong" (traditional Bangsamoro brass musical instruments) were played.

Despite the recent armed conflict in Poona Piagapo, I felt safe with the people. I had a great time visiting and seeing 5 of the barangays including the one where OB10 and bombs were dropped during the August 2008 armed conflict between the forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and AFP. As told by one of the media people who came, during the armed conflict, the houses in barangay Nunungun were burned down to ashes by the AFP's. I felt the pain as I imagined back the faces of the evacuees I met in different evacuations sites. But as I looked around, I did not see any remnant of that devastating armed conflict at all. The place that served as camp to Bravo's base command looks so serene, as if nothing has had happened. Slowly, vegetables are growing up from the ground that has witnessed bloodshed; some houses are being rebuilt with the skeletal structures left from the destruction. Back to barangay Kablangan, there was so much joy, laughter and thanksgiving. The people are now back to life, able to tend their own gardens and work cohesively to develop their own community.

Poona Piagapo is hidden from the face of civilization but it is beautiful. The road may portray isolation from a busy urban life or desolation caused by war and injustices but the people in Poona are full of hope and life. They ran for their lives, they stumbled down, they cried, they feared but they also picked themselves up and started something from what fate has left them. Poona does not only have natural resources and beautiful scenery. It also has beautiful people that hope and work for a better life in the coming years. It may be a forsaken place but as I looked at the people who spent their life, time and resources to partner with the people in Poona in bringing in development, I would say it is no longer a forsaken beauty. As I was applauding with the crowd to affirm the efforts of EcoWEB, other partner organizations, the community people and the field workers who passionately immersed themselves and worked hard for the realization of the projects, I welcomed myself to the culture and context of the Maranao people and the partner organizations that I and PBC will be working with starting May 2009.

Seeing Poona Piagapo is worth the terrified shout I made when I thought the vehicle was about to tumble down.