Happy Eid al-Adha!

It’s fitting that today, during the Festival of Sacrifice, I write to you about our next roadshow stop: Cotabato City, at the heart of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

From June 7 to 9, a team of Rappler staff will be in Cotabato City to hold a series of workshops and a public forum, together with our partners based in the region. The mission of this roadshow leg: to help facts prevail as the region prepares for its very first elections in September, and empower Bangsamoro youth to tell the stories of their communities. That’s why this leg is titled, “#AmbagNatin: Boto para sa Bangsamoro.”

We’re working with our host Notre Dame University (NDU), Institute for Autonomy and Governance, BALAOD Mindanaw, and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to make these activities happen.

The public forum will be on June 9 at Tanghalang Michael Clark in the NDU campus. It will feature talks about the Bangsamoro vote, fighting election-related disinformation, and equipping voters and citizens with skills in verifying information. The Comelec will also be conducting a voting simulation exercise so participants can understand the voting process better. 

This forum is free and open to all, but registration is required. Register here to attend.

From June 7 to 8, we’ll be conducting an intensive two-day journalism workshop for select youths who want to tell the story of the Bangsamoro region. We’ll be teaching them how to do research, field coverage, fact-checking, and how to stay safe while covering the elections. The application period for this began on May 14 and ends on May 29.

Our work in the Bangsamoro region does not begin and end with the roadshow leg. I invite you to our dedicated BARMM page where you will find our in-depth stories, explainers, and analyses pieces about the region and its upcoming elections. We also just marked another critical date for the BARMM: it’s been nine years since the Marawi siege and many are still displaced. Watch this short film about what they are going through. Here also is an intimate look at how the lives of Muslims in Mindanao have been shaped by the upheavals in the region.

Would you want Rappler’s roadshow to reach your city or province? In the months leading to the 2028 national and local elections, we hope to visit Cebu, Cavite, Bulacan, Pangasinan, and other critical areas. We’re in need of local partners to help us mount the events. Let us know if you want to work with Rappler!

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– Rappler.com

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