Europe-PH News

DAVAO CITY – The European Union (EU) has financed and turned over this week the facility for the non-Moro tribal communities to establish their “school of living tradition.”

The facility is a two-story School of Living Traditions (SLT) building in Barangay Nuro, Upi, Maguindanao del Norte, to serve as a center for cultural preservation, community learning, and traditional governance, the EU-Support to the Bangsamoro Transition (EU-Subatra) said.

The SLT is one of six infrastructure projects under the EU- Subatra program to serve as a tribal hub for cultural activities and traditional conflict-resolution.

The fund was coursed through its Subatra program, the five-year EU-funded program and co-financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), through an agreement with the Philippine government.

The EU said the project “contributes to a smooth and timely undertaking of the transition through capacity building of the three branches of the Bangsamoro government, executive, legislative and judicial, and civil society organizations.”

EU Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Santoro said the facility “represents more than just a physical structure, but a space for cultural preservation and empowerment.”

“For indigenous peoples, this is not just a building; it is a living testament to the promotion of IP culture and heritage, a place for important events and a place of empowerment,” Santoro said.

“You make the best use of this building, taking good care of it, maintaining its standard so that generations to come will benefit from it,” he added.

The municipality of Upi hosts to three non-Moro tribes, the Tedurays, who are often considered the native inhabitants and original settlers of the Upi, the Lambangians, who share ancestral domains and cultural ties with the Tedurays, and the Dulangan Manobos, who inhabit the mountain areas of Upi.

The Spanish Ambassador Miguel Utray Delgado also witnessed the turnover of the building, along with Subatra Programme Director Mohajirin Ali, and Upi Mayor Ma. Rona Cristina Piang-Flores.

“This facility was developed not only as a physical infrastructure project but as part of a broader institutional support approach that recognizes the importance of indigenous knowledge, heritage preservation, and culturally responsive governance within the Bangsamoro,” Ali said.

In his acceptance speech, Indigenous Peoples Affairs Minister Guiamal Abdulrauf expressed gratitude for the project, saying it will serve as a home for culture, traditions, and identity.

“This is an important project that will serve as our home for culture, traditions, and identity as an indigenous community,” he said.

Construction of the facility was implemented through the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).