Ceasefire Monitoring and Humanitarian Protection

Bantay Ceasefire is a monitoring mechanism developed by MPC in 2003. Its volunteers do monitoring and field work to help deescalate violence and prevent conflict on the ground in cooperation with the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (JCCCH) of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and with the International Monitoring Team (IMT). Bantay Ceasefire regulary conducts investigative mission on the violations of the ceasefire agreement and facilitates the needs of the evacuees for relief, relocation, evacuation and organized return to their home communities.

It has more than 650 volunteers covering the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Lanao Norte and Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato .

Peace Talks Lobby and Advocacy

Linking up to grassroots peace-building work with the official process is essential to ensure both its impact and sustainability. The process of dialogue should not be limited among tri-people grassroots communities. It should also stress the importance of reaching out to government leaders which formulate policies and make vital decisions for Mindanao .

MPC has been successful in positioning itself as a key player in the talks, having been officially recognized as an observer in the GRP-MILF peace negotiations, which is unprecedented in the series of talks conducted since 1976.

Ancestral Domain Protection

Since its creation, part of MPC's mission has been to provide support and advice to indigenous people living in areas affected by conflict stemming from contested ownership of ancestral domain. In helping to resolve conflict within the community, MPC members are not merely involved in public advocacy on question of relief and rehabilitation; rather, they have also been developing local peace agreements.

Overall, MPC will be providing campaign, media, research and capacity-building support for indigenous communities to be able to effectively protect and prevent encroachment of project and programs on their ancestral domain without their prior consent.

Mindalinaw Radio Program

Mindalinaw is an independent non-partisan and inclusive radio programme on peace initiatives. It serves as an ordinary person's forum. It is a combination of live and canned broadcasting that runs weekly for an hour in Cotabato, Maguindanao, Lanao and Sulu areas. Life springs from a small cassette tape wherein the talks, commentaries, music, advertisements are pre-recorded.

Capacity Building , Consolidation and Expansion

MPC continues to consolidate over 40 member organizations and to further expand its networks. It responds to the needs of member-organizations particularly on ancestral domain protection, peace and development, human rights, leadership skills, good governance and advocacy.