Peace Makers

Inset photo shows Robert Wuertz (left), Chief of USAID’s Office of Economic Development and Governance, and Steven Rood, Country Director of The Asia Foundation (TAF), being welcomed by Gutierez Mangansakan Sr. at the home of his brother, the late Edsarapil Mangansakan, in Brgy. Paidu Pulangi, Pikit, North Cotabato.  Mr. Wuertz was invited to participate in the Mangansakan-Tayuan “Peace Kanduli,”which ended a decades-long “rido” between two clans.   The United Youth for Peace and Development (UNYPAD), an organization supported by TAF with funding support from USAID, played a key role in resolving the long-standing conflict between the two families. Starting in 2005, UNYPAD arranged a series of consultations, which provided members of both clans the opportunity to resolve crucial issues in their dispute, and to formulate recommendations to resolve the rido. (GEM Program)