Biography Narrative

Myla J. Leguro, holds a master’s degree in Peace Studies from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, USA. She currently works as the Justice, Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion Focal Point for Catholic Relief Services in the Asia region. Her peacebuilding practice is built on a foundation of more than two decades of on-the-ground engagement in Mindanao, the Philippines, designing and implementing strategic peacebuilding efforts. As the Peacebuilding Programme Manager of Catholic Relief Services – Philippines, Myla organised two major peacebuilding training platforms to support the capacity building of grassroots and civil society organizations in Mindanao and beyond. These were the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) in 2000 and the Grassroots Peace Learning Course in 2003.

She is currently the President of the MPI Board of Trustees and continues to serve as one of the core facilitators for the Institute. As a peace advocate, Myla promotes meaningful participation of civil society organizations in Mindanao peace processes as lead convenor of the Mindanao Peaceweavers (a network of peace advocates in the region).

Beyond her work in Mindanao, Myla supports the study and practice of Catholic peacebuilding through her involvement as a Steering Committee member of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network (CPN). Reinforcing her passion and commitment to faith-based peacebuilding, she recently managed a CRS global programme on Advancing Interreligious Peacebuilding; an initiative that covered four interrelated projects on interreligious dialogue and cooperation in Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Philippines.

Myla strongly believes that work for peace and justice is a vocation. When immersing in this process, one has to appreciate small victories, cultivate an aptitude for creating relationships and have the commitment to stay in it for the long haul. She believes that peacebuilding can be a decades-long process.

Interreligious Activities and Initiatives

Strengthening Interreligious Dialogue Efforts in the Bangsamoro