Three government institutions have launched a book project highlighting Bangsamoro history.

National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) Commissioner Dr. Cecilia Tangian said Friday that an PHP8 million grant will support the project, which includes research and publication on the history of 13 ethnolinguistic groups in Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan.

The NHCP is partnering with the Bangsamoro Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Mindanao State University (MSU) in Iligan and Marawi.

An inception meeting was held Thursday and Friday.

“A memorandum of agreement will be finalized after this meeting and by 2027, we can produce a compendium of written works on Bangsamoro history,” Tangian, also the director of the Center for Advanced Education and Lifelong Learning at MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, said.

NHCP Executive Director Carminda Arevalo said the project will help incorporate the history of the 13 ethnolinguistic groups into the Filipino identity.

Dr. Darwin Absari, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of the Philippines, discussed new trends in historical research.

The project aligns with the 2030 Year of Philippine Muslim History and Heritage, a nationwide program mandated under Administrative Order (AO) No. 10, s. 2023.

The AO directs the NHCP, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, Bangsamoro Government, Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of National Defense, Department of Tourism, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity to plan, organize, and undertake programs and projects that aim to highlight and recognize Muslim history and heritage in relation to and as a part of Philippine history and culture. (PNA)