Piagapo, a fourth-class municipality in Lanao del Sur, faced devastation in the Piagapo Siege just before the Marawi Siege in April 2017. Responding to concerns about Madaris being potential breeding grounds for extremism, Piagapo's local government established the Islamic Affairs Committee (IAC) in 2019 to engage private individuals, traditional leaders, Islamic scholars, and Madaris heads as stakeholders in madrasah education. The IAC, acting as an umbrella institution, formed the Nahdatul Ulama Council of Piagapo which ensures seats and representation from every pertinent sector for the management of Madaris. Recognizing curriculum gaps, Piagapo developed a unified curriculum for local madaris with active involvement from traditional leaders, Madrasah heads, and Islamic scholars. Through IAC, the municipality oversees curriculum implementation, preventing extremist views and promoting values for peace. To date, Piagapo has been able to adopt the unified curriculum of all 37 madaris and create a database of 340 educators employed within the municipality. The initiative resulted in a 25% enrollment increase and zero recruitment incidents, showcasing its effectiveness. Piagapo aims to replicate the initiative in other Lanao del Sur LGUs, seeking partnerships for capacity-building, teacher training, and unified curriculum textbook publication.
