September 1, 2020
“It was 59 years ago to this day that the Mindanao State University (MSU) was founded to help build peace, and celebrate diversity and culture. Created through the efforts of the late Senator Domocao Alonto, a renowned Moro lawyer and lawmaker who was elected to the 1986 Constitutional Commission, MSU was intended to be an instrument for national integration and help cultivate conditions conducive to peace. Since then, the university has been producing students, graduates, scholars and professionals who are peacemakers and builders of positive Moro and indigenous identities. As we have now evolved, our beloved MSU and the Bangsamoro transitional government are making our present and the future lives in Mindanao look brighter and feel much better, what the university’s founders saw then remains true for the present: Education is a powerful force that creates our shared futures. The MSU System and the Bangsamoro have a shared purpose. Both were created to solve problems of conflict, exclusion, inequality, discrimination and underdevelopment. Both were created with full respect for the unique cultural identities and high aspirations while also providing development opportunities for everyone regardless of ethnicity, religion, descent or gender. The MSU and the Bangsamoro government are partners in this journey toward the betterment of the lives of the people in the Bangsamoro region and in Mindanao.
In 1962, the MSU main campus in Marawi City started with only 282 students and 12 faculty members. Now, it is a multi-campus supra-regional university system, serving over 69,000 students in all levels with nearly 3,100 faculty members and operating with 11 collegiate campuses located in 8 provinces. From hereon, it will continue to reach more possibilities, for the benefit of its students, educators, and the whole Bangsamoro region. Pursuant to the promise of the Bangsamoro Government to “develop an educational framework relevant and responsive to the needs, ideals, and aspirations of the Bangsamoro people” under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, I hope I am not alone in saying that I look forward to an even stronger partnership in the foreseeable future.
To Honorable President Habib W. Macaayong, all the educators, faculty, staff, employees, and of course, those said to be the future of our region and nation, the students of the Mindanao State University System, it is with great pleasure that I wish you a Happy 59th Foundation Day. May peace be with us all.”
