Biography

Dr. Santanina Tillah Rasul is the Founding Chair of the Magbassa Kita Foundation, Inc. (MKFI), dedicated to the promotion of literacy, peace and development, and women empowerment. She is one of the convenors of the Friends of Peace, a council of eminent leaders organized by Cardinal Orlando Quevedo to support the peace process.

Dr. Rasul joined government service as a public school teacher in 1952. She has held various positions in government representing Muslims and Cultural Minorities, including:  Commissioner of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) from 1976 to 1985, UNESCO Philippine Commission (1986-1989), Member Textbook Board, Ministry of Education, culture and Sports in 1986.  She was elected Senator of the Republic of the Philippines in 1987 and re-elected in 1992. She was the first and only woman Muslim senator elected and the first Muslim senator re-elected to the Senate.

She has been credited with a number of landmark legislations, among which was R.A.6949, declaring March 8 of every year as National Women’s Day in the Philippines.  Sen. Rasul also authored RA 7192 that sought to remove all vestiges of gender discrimination; opened the doors of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to women; automatically allocated annually the Gender Development Budget (GAD) in all government offices; and established women’s desks in all National Government departments.

After she left the Senate, Dr. Rasul has spent her time on reducing the illiteracy level of ARMM, which has the highest illiteracy rate in the country.  Over a third of the voters of the ARMM are illiterate. She has spearheaded the Literacy for Peace and Development (LIPAD) Project.  Supported by USAID from 2010-2013, MKFI has graduated 63,750 adult neo-literates in ARMM.  85% of the neo-literate graduates of LIPAD are women.

On Adult Literacy and Education to Empower the Bangsamoro

Well-known for her pioneering work on literacy, Senator Rasul headed the UNESCO Conference in Jomtien, Thailand where UNESCO enunciated the policy of Education for All whose objective was to universalize literacy. Upon her return, she authored R.A. 7165 or An Act Creating the Literacy Coordinating Council. This law was passed to ensure that there is a body that will provide policy direction for literacy promotion in the Philippines. LCC is created as a national policy-making, advisory, and coordinating body that provides overall policy and program direction to eradicate illiteracy in our country.

In recognition of her work in promoting literacy in the Philippines, she was appointed by UNESCO as its “Honorary Ambassador” during the International Literacy Year (ILY) in 1990. Senator Rasul also authored R.A. 7168 which converted the Philippine Normal College into a State University to be known as the Philippine Normal University.

A peace advocate, Senator Rasul’s principal advocacies have been two-fold:  eradicating illiteracy and women empowerment.  What propelled her to embark on what she would call “a journey of love” was the humbling realization way back in 1966 that her home province of Sulu had the lowest literacy rate in the country. She developed the phono-syllabic approach to teaching reading and writing, known as the Magbassa Kita method. The innovative phono-syllabic method employed in teaching enables a non-literate to acquire basic reading and writing literacy within 3 to 4  months.

The successful outcome of the groundbreaking pilot class was enough reason for Senator Rasul’s heightened optimism at the prospect of empowering non-literates to participate meaningfully in the society. Senator Rasul authored adaptations of the phono-syllabic manual in different Moro languages: Tausug, Sama, Maguindanaon, Maranao, Yakan and also in Filipino. 

What started as literacy classes in the barangays and municipalities of Sulu was eventually adopted by the government through the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECS) as a five-year national strategy to eradicate illiteracy by the year 2000. Another nationwide implementation of the Project Magbassa Kita was a partnership with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) and the Development Options of the Philippines (DOPHIL) in 1995.

The quantum leap, from a tutorial of one person at a time in 1966 to a national spread out literacy program of no less than the Department of Education is an eloquent testimony of the effectiveness not only of the technique of teaching literacy but to the effectiveness of networking to promote literacy.

At the time the Bureau of Non-Formal Education (BNFE), now the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS), published their research study on three different methods in 1989 entitled “The Effect of Phono-Syallabic, Global and Eclectic Approaches on Out-of-School Youth and Adult Literacy” with conclusions highly in favor of the Phono-syllabic method, the Magbassa Kita has already been implementing this method for 22 years.  Among the three test groups, the score of the phono-syllabic group scored the highest with mean of 42.75, followed by the eclectic group with 38.22, and the global group with 36.94.

As requests for Senator Rasul to conduct literacy classes in different provinces continued well after her election as Senator, she and former Finance Secretary Cesar Virata set up the Magbassa Kita Foundation, Inc. (MKFI) in 1991 in an effort to institutionalize the literacy program using the Magbassa Kita Phono-Syllabic Method. 

The UNESCO-Education for All-EFA 2000 Assessment of Country Reports: Philippines makes the following observations “In the regions and divisional offices of the DECS, many forms of simple and functional literacy programs were implemented between 1990 and the present. The most widely adopted, however, are the Magbassa Kita (Let Us Read) Project and the Functional Education and Literacy Project that is now a component of the ADB Non-formal Education Project. The former is a long-running project that was already in place even before the start of EFA. It aims to reduce basic illiteracy through regular funds provided by some DECS regional offices, but has been discontinued in some. There still are Magbassa Kita classes that are conducted especially in the National Capital Region (NCR) where there is a regular influx of illiterates from the provinces. These basic literacy efforts continue through books and materials provided by the Magbassa Kita Foundational using regular DECS teachers. There is a clamor from some regions for the revival of this program with increased funding in their localities.”

On Empowering Women

MKFI is the only organization dedicated to the eradication of illiteracy among adults, particularly in the ARMM.  Realizing that literacy is the most effective empowerment tool for women, Dr. Rasul’s “Literacy for Peace and Development” or “LIPAD” targets women non-literates of Muslim Mindanao.  Over the last 4 years, MKFI’s LIPAD has graduated over 67,000 adult neo-literates, 85% of whom are women.

Realizing that the persistent underdevelopment in the ARMM which has disadvantaged Muslims – particularly women – in socio-economic terms could be more effectively addressed by combining literacy promotion with economic empowerment and peace advocacy, MKFI launched its livelihood skills training on mat and loom weaving, brass button making, garment making, and food processing. Related to this and also in response to the need presented by Muslim women peace advocates, MKFI experimented on an Islamic microfinance scheme in 2008 to provide funding support for women’s income-generating activities.

Dr. Rasul also organized the first Muslim women’s organization – the Muslim Professional and Businesswomen’s Association of the Philippines – in the 60s.  Due to the clamor of Muslim women for training in peace advocacy and conflict resolution, she organized the Muslim Women Peace Advocates in Muslim Mindanao in 2001 and supported Muslim women’s peace summits.  Thru MKFI and PCID, Dr. Rasul has encouraged the organizing of Muslim women religious leaders and teachers, resulting to a national network known as “Noorus Salam” (Light of Peace”).  Noorus Salam has been active in human rights, peace advocacy, humanitarian work and is now a partner of the Women’s Peace Table, an initiative spearheaded by the Women and Gender Institute (WAGI), Mindanao Women’s Commission and the PCID.

While in the Senate, Senator Rasul (then Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women) conducted hearings on the Maricris Sioson Case and on the on world-wide publicized scandal of 300 Filipino women who were forced to sell their bodies in Beirut. This, and the other problems of Filipino women working overseas were investigated by the Senate Committee on Women. The findings were: Filipino women, who could be early victims of human trafficking, go abroad risking even their lives in search of gainful work because of the lack of opportunities in the country.

This became the rationale behind the RA 7192 or the Women in Development and Nation-Building Act of 1995. This law, which she authored, opened the door of the Philippine Military Academy to women and, more importantly, mandated the allocation of a substantial portion of government funds at all levels for use in programs that would benefit and develop women’s capabilities.

In recognition of the vital role of women in development and nation-building, Senator Rasul authored R.A.6949 declaring March 8 of every year as National Women’s Day in the Philippines.

On Peace and Democracy in Mindanao

As part of its peace advocacy, MKFI launched regional training workshops to train Muslim women from the areas of conflict for skills in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peace building. At the local level, over 400 barangay women leaders were trained on conflict transformation and peace-building in the conflict-ridden municipalities of Indanan and Patikul and the capital town of Jolo, Sulu.

Seeing the need to institutionalize the study of Islamic and democratic political thought in the search for a peaceful, just, and lasting solution to the Mindanao conflict, Senator Rasul served as adviser to the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy since its inception in 2002. Until its registration with the Security and Exchange Commission in June 2010, it was known as the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy.

Today, through her guidance, PCID is increasingly seen as an objective, neutral party that has a track record in bringing together all sectors in the democratic dialog for peace and development. The forging of these strong links between and among the stakeholders has arguably been the greatest success of PCID. All of its activities have been marked by strong representation of the key parties: the Ulama, the military, the international donor community, the academe, media, civil society groups both local and international, the business community, and of course, the political leaders.                            

Awards

Her work on peace, women’s empowerment, literacy and education has been recognized by national and international organizations, see below:

• MKFI has been honored by the Literacy Coordinating Council in September 2013 for its work on reducing illiteracy.  
• In 2008, she received the “Yes The Filipino Can!” award from RFM Corporation. 
• OUTSTANDING POLITICAL LEADER for authoring RA 7165- An Act Creating the Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC), LCC, Manila Hotel, September 7, 1999.
• “FILIPINA FIRST” AWARD OF HONOR for her distinguished role as the First Filipina Muslim Senator and Chairperson, Senate Committee on Women, Zonta Club of Manila Foundation, Inc. Manila Peninsula, Makati City, November 5, 1998.
• GAWAD SENTENARYO, Women in Legislation, Women in Politics, for advocating legislative agenda toward empowering Filipino women for nation building, National Centennial Commission-Women Sector, Manila June 25, 1998.
• ELECTED, FELLOW OF THE WORLD ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCE, 1997.
• THE GOLDEN HEART PRESIDENTIAL AWARD, 1996, “in recognition of her meritorious and valuable service rendered as Member of the Republic of the Philippines-Southern Philippines Autonomous Group (GRP-SPAG) negotiating panel for her diligent efforts in reconciling contentious positions of both the government and the MNLF during the last phase of the peace negotiations in 1996, culminating in her active involvement in the formulation of the Final Peace Agreement which ended hostilities between the two parties”
• THE WOMEN’S GOVERNMENT (GO) AND NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION (NGO) NETWORK AWARDS, as author and sponsor of comprehensive legislation for the promotion of women empowerment, specifically RA 6949 – making March 8 as National Women’s Day.  RA 7192 – Women in Development and Nation Building Act which removed vestiges of discrimination against women, opened the doors of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to women; subsequently, presented as the centerpiece of women empowerment during the 1996 Beijing Conference, by the Philippine Delegation.
• SILVER JUBILEE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for the promotion of literacy nationwide by the Reading Association of the Philippines in coordination with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, March 6, 1995.
• MOST DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD, University of the Philippines, June 1991.
• OUTSTANDING ALUMNI AWARD, by the Local Administration and Development Program (LADP) Alumni Association of the Philippines, November 27, 1991.
• INA NG BAYAN AWARDEE, as Outstanding Mother by the Gintong Ina Foundation, May 15, 1991.
• 1990 AWARDS LIST, UNESCO INTERNATIONAL LITERACY PRIZE JURY AWARD for her pioneering work in the field of literacy for girls and women in the South, Paris. September 8, 1990.
• In recognition of her literacy work in the Philippines, Ms. Rasul was appointed “Honorary Ambassador of UNESCO” during the ILY in 1990.
• HONORARY AMBASSADOR OF UNESCO during the International Literacy Year (ILY), 1990.
• MOST OUTSTANDING ALUMNUS IN PUBLIC SERVICE, University of the Philippines- College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Foundation, June 24, 1989.
• GINTONG INA AWARD FOR GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICE by the Gintong Ina Foundation 1988.
• MOST OUTSTANDING ALUMNUS OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE COLLEGE OF THE PHILIPPINES, by the NDCP, 1987.
• MOST OUTSTANDING ALUMNUS OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE COLLEGE OF THE PHILIPPINES, 1986.
• UNESCO NESIM HABIF AWARD, for primers written to promote literacy in the Philippines, Asia and the Pacific (Third Prize), Bangkok, Thailand 1985.
• SULTAN DIPATUAN KUDARAT AWARD of distinction as OUTSTANDING ACHIEVER OF MINDANAO AND SULU, 1985.
• OUTSTANDING MUSLIM WOMAN LEADER, by the Mindanao Information Network for Development and Nationalism, Makati December 1985.
• FAMILY UNITY AND INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD by the Civic Assembly of Women of the Philippines, 1983.
• UNESCO AWARD OF MERIT, Manila, September 1983.
• THE 1981 TANDANG SORA AWARD FOR GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, January 1981.
• JOY OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, Soroptimist International, Manila 1980.
• MOST USEFUL CITIZEN AWARD, Philippine Women’s University. 1977.