<p>Legal pluralism is a lived reality in Mindanao yet there are very few scholarly and practice-oriented works on the subject. The discourse on plural legal orders is a site of contestation among political interests both in Mindanao and within the Philippine state. The interests on 'alternative' modes of justice have been driven by both domestic and international initiatives on legal reform and access to justice. There is a need to deepen studies on legal pluralism in Mindanao, including more empirical studies on the functional administration of justice, the roles, backgrounds and motivations of justice providers and users, and the interaction or interdependency among the various normative orders within the local level and between the local and central state justice systems. The provision of effective justice among the people in Mindanao is a crucial task of post-conflict reconstruction that includes careful balancing and management of these complex plural legal systems.</p>