Biography

ATTY. ANWAR MALANG, is currently the Regional Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry – Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.  He is a convenor of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID). He was the Secretary of DILG-ARMM. Also, he served as City Councilor of Cotabato City.

He grew up in Mindanao during the era of Martial Law and saw the difficulty people experienced when their leaders would not care about them. He encountered many challenges during this time—his house was razed by the military, the Mosque his family built was burned and his family was forced to move from place to place in order to survive. Due to these difficulties, he decided to become a lawyer and hoped to become a politician later on to restore his family’s status. In 1984, he led a group of students from Notre Dame University in demonstrations for democracy in Cotabato City. His group also pushed for the self-determination rights of the Moro people but at the same time, convinced his friends not to become part of leftist groups because he believes that doing so would remove their identity as Moro people. Instead, he influenced them to finish their studies in order to help rebuild their city. As an attorney, he became exposed to various human rights issues and saw how much help the poorer members of the population needed in terms o protection. In 2001, he ran for City Councilor, won, and received the privilege of serving as the Minority Floor Leader and then as the Majority Floor Leader of the City’s Legislative Council. He ran for office in 2004 and 2007, won in both occasions, and continued his resolve to empower the different barangays through the Barangay Council League in Cotabato City.