In this court, players wear tiger stripes and digital camouflage as their uniform.
The island of Basilan in Mindanao has long been marred by decades of clashes and rebel activities. But since 2016, residents have been slowly trying to move beyond the shadow of conflict towards peace.
From clashes and gunfights in the jungle, soldiers and former rebels alike are shifting the battle to another arena—the volleyball court.
At the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camp in the municipality of Al-Barka, volleyball is the number one sport. Not basketball.
"Talagang nangunguna Al-Barka sa volleyball," Mayor Jaydeefar Lajid told One News host Gretchen Ho, a former volleyball player for the Ateneo Eagles, in a Woman in Action episode.
"Yung height nila, maskulado katawan nila," Lajid added, describing the local squad's advantage.
Ho even found an unlikely fan in the MILF camp.
Dan Laksaw Asnawie is the 114th base commander of the MILF. He used to be one of the wanted rebels in Basilan with a bounty of two million pesos, as one of his people took out members of the Marines.
But after the 2014 peace agreement with the government, he has fully embraced being part of civil society and is now a member of parliament with the formation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
He's also a huge fan of Creamline Cool Smashers' Alyssa Valdez.
"Dito na siya mag-coach sa amin!" Asnawie said upon learning Ho was Valdez's teammate in college.
They even held a mini-volleyball game on a covered court. Instead of polyester, nylon, and spandex jerseys, players wore the tiger stripe prints of MILF uniforms and the digital camouflage of the Armed Forces of the Philippines uniforms.
This is where their battles take place now.
"It’s time for building bridges. Take a look at the power of sports. You don’t even need to speak for everyone to understand the language," Ho shared in an Instagram post.
"Inaantay ka na, Alyssa Valdez! 🇵🇭🏐 Napasabak tuloy ulit ako sa volleyball kasama ang mga dating rebelde at sundalo!" she added.
Check out the whole episode of Woman in Action of Ho and veteran journalist Ed Lingao's experience in Basilan here.
(CF)