10/10/2026
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๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ข๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
COTABATO CITY โ Transforming Fragilities, Inc. (TFI) served as technical partner to the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) for the Ideation Impact Challenge (IIC) 2026, whose five funded studies were presented on September 21 at Soleya Hall.
TFI Executive Director Ahmed Harris Pangcoga opened the afternoon program with a presentation of the Bangsamoro Youth Development Plan (BYDP) 2025โ2030. He then gave the audience a short view of how each of the five studies relates to the plan before the researchers took the floor. He returned after the last presentation to give a synthesis of what the studies found.
The BYDP rests on the Bangsamoro Youth Assessment Study (BYAS) of 2024, which TFI carried out for the BYC. Mr. Pangcoga said the same line of work now continues through the IIC. โThe assessment told us where young people stand across the region, and the plan sets the direction,โ he said. โThese studies go deeper into specific groups and places, and they come with recommendations addressed to the agencies that can act on them.โ
The studies were presented by Bainalyn G. Abas on out-of-school youth in Cotabato City; Norhanie D. Macarao on how clan feuds disrupt the schooling of boys and girls in Malabang, Lanao del Sur; Jericho C. Benting on students with physical impairments; Alia I. Pacasirang on a counseling program for Lanao del Sur youth designed through Kumustahan dialogue sessions; and Tarhata P. Damamba on the online behavior of senior high school students in Cotabato.
Under its contract with the BYC, TFI guided the five grantees from the start of their projects in March. It ran workshops on research design, data analysis and policy writing, reviewed their survey tools before they went to the field, and checked in with each researcher during data gathering. After the first drafts came in, TFIโs editors reviewed the papers and helped rewrite the recommendations in plain language, with each one tied to the mandate of a specific BARMM agency. TFI also coached the researchers on the 10-minute format used at the event, which gave two minutes to the problem and eight to the recommendation.
A review panel of Brian Adam Anay, Johnson Badawi and Prof. Yasmira Moner assessed the papers. Prof. Moner, who directs the Gender and Development Center at Mindanao State UniversityโIligan Institute of Technology, also reviewed them for gender analysis. Mr. Pangcoga served as service manager and overall technical lead. TFI is also preparing a policy brief for each study.
TFI expressed its appreciation to the BYC and to Chairperson Nasserudin D. Dunding for the working relationship that has taken the two organizations from the 2024 youth assessment through the development of the regional youth plan and now the IIC. โWe value the trust the Commission has placed in us over the years, and the room it gives researchers and partners to do honest work,โ Mr. Pangcoga said. TFI said it will keep supporting the Commission as the BYDP moves into implementation.
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is one of the fastest-growing local NGOs in Mindanao, based in Cotabato City. Since our establishment in December 2018, we have been providing monitoring, evaluation, institutional and capacity building, research, learning support services, and "evidence-based" project implementation in collaboration with government agencies, the UN, and international organizations.
Photo credits: All photos in this article are credited to Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC)
