Starting Point
Professor Rufa Cagoco-Guiam was a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University from 2006 to 2007. She is currently a Senior Asian Public Intellectual Fellow of the Nippon Foundation for 2008-2009. She earned both a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the Divine Word College of Tagbilaran City. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Anthropology from Silliman University. She has pursued Advanced Studies in Anthropology at the University of Hawaii.
She was a professor at Mindanao State University-General Santos City (MSU-GSC) until her retirement in 2016. Previously, she served as the Director of the Research and Development Centre from 1997 to 2001 and coordinated the graduate programme in public administration from 1998 to 2001. Before her work at MSU-GSC, she was the dean and an instructor at Notre Dame University in Cotabato City from 1991 to 1995.
Peace Journey
Prof. Cagoco-Guiam is an expert on the effects of peace and conflict, specifically the Mindanao conflict and peace process and their impacts on marginalised women. Since 2001, she has been a director at the Centre for Peace and Development Studies at the Mindanao State University in General Santos City.
Beyond her academic role, she worked with Management Systems International in Washington, DC, evaluating USAID projects in Mindanao from 2000 to 2007. She also reviewed the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement for the UN Development Programme in Manila, collaborating with the Institute of Autonomy and Governance in Cotabato City. Her consultancy with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-Manila has focused on various topics, particularly the gender implications of Mindanao’s transition after the conflict.
In the early 1990s, she broke new ground as the first and only Moro woman to have served as editor-in-chief of The Mindanao Cross, the Philippines’ longest-running Catholic newspaper in Cotabato City. From 1991 to 1995, while editing the newspaper, she simultaneously taught Anthropology at Notre Dame University. She mentored young reporters from Mindanao in Cotabato City and beyond, teaching them responsible reporting on conflict and the thoughtful use of terms like “Muslim” and “Islam.”
Success Stories
Prof. Cagoco-Guiam specialises in gender and development in the context of armed conflict and peace studies. She recently concluded her role as Professor III at Mindanao State University in General Santos City, where she directed the Institute of Peace and Development in Mindanao. Her extensive contributions include numerous articles and book chapters examining the impact of conflicts on Mindanao's varied communities, as well as a significant study on child soldiers in Central and Western Mindanao. Previously, she was the National Inclusive Education and Gender Specialist for the Basic Education Assistance for Muslim Mindanao, a project backed by the Australian Government. She is a co-organiser of the Independent Working Group on Transitional Justice, which seeks to establish a National Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission for the Bangsamoro that will foster healing and reconciliation in communities affected by conflict in Mindanao.