Local fisherfolk from three Eastern Samar towns who were
among the victims of super-typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013 received 63 ‘peace
boats’ from a joint project of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process (OPAPP) and the Agencia Española Cooperacion International para
el Desarrollo (AECID or Spanish Aid) to help survivors of the disaster get back
on their feet.
"We know that the Yolanda experience can never meet our
imagination, how hard it was for you, but we are here to extend the kind of
help you deserve. We are here to strengthen and build relationships in our
pursuit of peace and prosperity,” said OPAPP Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles
during the turnover ceremony held in the town of Hernani ,
Eastern Samar .
The 63 ‘peace boats’ comprise the latest batch turned over
to the Yolanda-devastated fishing communities in Samar
island under the joint OPAPP-AECID project. The Boat and Net Livelihood Project
dubbed as ‘BangKapayapaan’ (peace boat) was conceptualized right after Yolanda
hit vast parts of the country in November 2013. At its end, the project should
benefit some 400 fisherfolk from selected coastal communities in Samar island.
Each ‘peace boat’ comes complete with gear, fishnet, and
engine.
Those targeted to receive the ‘peace boats’ were prioritized
based on the case studies and assessment made by their respective Municipal
Social Welfare and Development offices. The communities were identified based
on the number of coastal barangays per municipality, and the number of actual
fishers severely affected.
This latest batch of 63 ‘peace boats’ benefitted 148
fisherfolk from the fishing communities in the municipalities of Hernani,
Lorente, and Gen. MacArthur in Eastern Samar
province. To ensure the safety of the fishers in these areas, the boats were
made to follow the specifications of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources—making them fit to sail in the Pacific Ocean .
In March 2014, an initial batch of 50 ‘peace boats’ was
turned over to fishers from Sta. Rita town in Western Samar province and from
the municipalities of Villareal and Marabut in Samar
province.
‘BangKapayapaan’ is lodged under the AECID-funded Mainstreaming
Peace and Development in Local Governance Project, which seeks to instill
conflict-sensitivity and peace promoting principles in local governance.
“Pinatitibay ng aming pagdating ngayon ang ating paniniwala
at intensyon sa patuloy na pagtahak ng landas tungo sa kapayapaan at kaunlaran
na tunay na mararamdaman ng mga mamamayan at pang-matagalan,” Deles noted. “Ito
po ang landas ng Tuwid na Daan na sinasabi dapat walang maiiwan, dapat mas
mararamdaman ng mga mamamayan ang reporma.”
(Our presence here today affirms our belief and intent to
continue with the path of peace and development that is truly felt by the
people and that it would last. This is the path of Tuwid na Daan, where no one
is left behind, where reforms are felt by the people.)
Also present to witness the event were delegates from Spain
led by Spanish Ambassador H.E. Antonio Calvo; AECID General Coordinator Juan
Pita; OPAPP officials, including Undersecretary Luisito Montalbo and Assistant
Secretary Jennifer Oreta; Mayors Tito Codoy, Jr of the town of Llorente and
Edgar Boco of the town of Hernani, representatives from the provincial
government of Eastern Samar, and officials from other regional line agencies.
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