MPI is pleased to announce the dates for the 2016 Annual Peacebuilding Training.

Next year's training will be held from May 13 to June 3, 2016. Registration for the first week would be Sunday, May 12.

Please check back here for more information and how to register in the latter part of 2015.

See here for more information on our Annual Peacebuilding Training Program.

Read about MPI in the Spring/Summer 2015 edition of Peacebuilder.

This is a special issue of Peacebuilder, focusing on various peacebuilding institutes whose roots include the Summer Peacebuilding Institute of Eastern Mennonite University, including MPI. Bonnie Price Lofton, the author and editor-in-chief for Peacebuilder came to the Philippines to visit MPI and some of the individuals and organizations that also benefitted from MPI's Annual Peacebuilding Training. The article about MPI begins on page 38 of the magzine (page 40 in this online version).

In addition, there is a short piece about Babu Ayindo and whether he thinks SPI is still needed (page 7 of artilce/page 9 online).

On January 23, 2015, we received the sad news from Lakewood, one of the Ancestral Domains with which MPI is working, that Timuay Ansiman Gumandal Balabag passed away due to a heart attack. He died at the age of 56 in his house at Barangay Baking, Lakewood, in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines.

As an MPI scholar, Timuay (Tribal Chieftain) Ansiman actively participated in most of MPI’s activities, including a recent activity in their tribal hall where he acted as a key informant in the Indigenous Political Structure (IPS) documentation for Lakewood. During the activity, he encouraged his fellow Timuays to intensely collaborate in sharing information and doing the genealogy because one will never know when Magbabaya beckons one home. Indeed, death comes like a thief in the night.

"I will call him my beloved uncle again," reaffirms Rosemarie Guilingan as tears flowed down her cheeks. Rosemarie is the daughter of Datu¹ Dalepusan Isis Guilingan and the niece of Barangay Captain² Luciano Tanglanan, the two main actors in a conflict that once divided Pikumpungan Subanen Lupa Pusaka³ (PSLP), the Indigenous Peoples' Organization (IPO) of the Ancestral Domain Council of Sindangan-Godod in Zamboanga del Norte Province on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.

The conflict between Datu Isis Guilingan and Barangay Captain Tanglanan emerged out of the difference the two indigenous leaders had as to how they wanted to relate to mining concessions in their communities. The divisions among the Subanen people of Sindangan was a prime example of how extractive industries, such as mining, which often operate with little consideration for the environment, can destroy not only the natural surroundings and ecosystem of the community, but also can shatter human relationships, regardless of blood ties. Mining investors and politicians who chose to shortcut and circumvent the legal processes to expedite their mining operations were those primarily responsible for the confrontation between Datu Isis and Barangay Captain Tanglanan.

Because he remained steadfast in his constant demands for a legal and culturally-bound process, tribal elder Datu Isis was identified as responsible for the slow and uncertain progress of the mining operation in Sindangan. To further their interests, the mining investors sought ways to "unseat" Datu Isis and enter into negotiations with a "new" PSLP that would accelerate the approval process for operating mines in the area.

Eventually, when the mining company failed to keep its commitment to Tanglanan and his associates, Tanglanan realized his mistake, regretted his action and sought forgiveness from Datu Isis. For his part, Datu Isis and his council made every effort to deal with this resource-based conflict through a conflict transformation process, integrating traditional indigenous practices with newly acquired skills in conflict transformation.