DR. FRANCISCO PANCHO LARA JR.

Alert's Philippines Country Director

Pancho has extensive experience working in the voluntary, non-profit, and government sectors.
Before joining Alert, he served as Philippines Country Director of the British volunteer organization
Voluntary Service Overseas; he worked for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Philippines Office,
as Policy Specialist in Agrarian Reform and Rural Development; and subsequently served as Chief of Staff
of the Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform from 1998 to 2001. He holds a BA in
sociology from the University of the Philippines, and an MSc and PhD from the London School of
Economics and Political Science (LSE). He worked as a research associate at the LSE Crisis States Research
Centre between 2007-2010; taught classes at the LSE Development Studies Institute between 2007-2008;
and wrote on political economy issues in Indonesia and the Philippines for the LSE-IDEAS Emerging
Markets Bulletin between 2007-2009. He has also taught at the University of the Philippines, and he has
researched and written on diverse topics, such as the political economy of conflict, political
settlements, economic sociology, agrarian reform, food security, rural politics, and
agricultural trade policy. Pancho's latest publication is a co-edited volume on the links between
Mindanao’s shadow economies, conflict and governance, entitled Out of the Shadows:
Violent Conflict and the Real Economy of Mindanao (2013).

ATTY. NAGUIB SINARIMBO

UN Senior Advisor on Political Transitions.

He has served in various capacities such as consultant and resource person for the Philippine
government and non-State actors as well as different NGOs and INGOs. He previously served as
Executive Secretary in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where he helped
restore normalcy in governance in the province of Maguindanao and ARMM immediately after the
infamous Maguindanao massacre. He led the final return of the 2008 War Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs) in Maguindanao through the relentless pursuit of the Early Recovery Plan
(ERP) of the Autonomous Regional Government. Also, he improved coordination and helped
restore donors' confidence in the Autonomous Regional Government and pioneered transparency in the
ARMM by establishing a website and the posting of budget and procurement project for the region.
DATU ZAMZAMIN AMPATUAN
Mayor of Rajah Buayan municipality in Maguindanao

He is a civil engineer by profession and the first Muslim Filipino to attain the highest rank
in the Philippine Civil Service. At 26, he was appointed by President Corazon Aquino as Director of
the Department of Trade and Industry in Maguindanao (1989). In the Arroyo administration, he
served as Executive Director of the Office of Muslim Affairs, lead convenor of the National Anti-
Poverty Commission, Administrator of the Southern Philippines Development Administration
and Energy Undersecretary. He provided advice to government authorities post-Maguindanao
massacre to ease the situation and its impact on the lives of ordinary people in the province. Datu
Zamzamin’s parents served as municipal and provincial officials long before his father’s cousin, Andal
Ampatuan, Sr., rose to fame and notoriety. Datu Zamzamin also served in international organizations
as Programme Manager of the United Nations Multi-Donor Programme for the Southern
Philippines Zone of Peace and Development and as Training Expert for the post-conflict project of
the International Labour Organization to help former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front.
He represented the Philippines at the UNESCAP Committee on Poverty where he served as Chair for a one
year term. Datu Zamzamin is a self-taught expert on Islamic spirituality and indigenous
Muslim traditions.

Source:http://iag.org.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1151:series-4-about-the-
speakers&catid=2:uncategorised