Kids in Philippines south to go for kite-flying record

By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines

 More than 13,000 children are expected to simultaneously fly kites in the Philippines’ Muslim south later this month to break a world record in celebration of the conflict-ridden region’s silver jubilee.

Leah Tarhata Mehila, coordinator of local Young Moro Professionals Network, told Anadolu Agency Thursday that elementary school students would participate in the November 25 event not only to pass current world record holder Gaza, where 13,000 children flew kites in 2011, but also “to amplify the children's' stand against violence and armed conflict.”

Mehila said the event, dubbed as “Kites for Peace” in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, was a collaborative activity to convey the message of peace, especially among those most vulnerable in conflict areas -- the children.

The activity, organized by the region’s Department of Education and Office of Bangsamoro Youth Affairs, has received the support of local government agencies, civil society organizations, youth groups, and stakeholders in the peace process such as representatives of the Philippines’ one-time largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The autonomous region’s governor, Mujiv Hataman, will lead the kite-flying event in its capital, Cotabato City, on the kick-off day for the Mindanao Week of Peace. Children will join in celebrations across the area from local schools and government buildings.

The silver anniversary of the region, established by plebiscite in 1989, might very well be its last if it is replaced next year by a new political entity based on a peace deal between President Benigno Aquino III and the MILF.

The March 27 agreement brought to a close 17 years of negotiations and ended a decades-old armed conflict in Mindanao -- the second largest and southernmost major island in the Philippines -- while granting Muslim areas greater political autonomy.

The deal committed Aquino and the MILF to pass a law creating the Bangsamoro Region -- which will supplant the current region once the law is passed and ratified -- before the 2016 presidential elections.

Governor Hataman has vowed to work toward political reform aimed at alleviating the social concerns of residents before the transition to the proposed Bangsamoro region.

Hataman, who has been nicknamed “ghost buster” for pushing for political reforms since his appointment as officer-in-charge in 2011 and formal election in 2013, said the reform agenda’s benefit to locals was real reason for celebration.

According to him, the culture of corruption, unprofessionalism and electoral fraud had been the biggest challenges he had to face during his term.

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