OPAPP manager cites importance of concerted efforts in peacebuilding

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jun 6, 2021): OPAPP manager cites importance of concerted efforts in peacebuilding (By Apipa P. Bagumbaran)

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, June 5 (PIA)--The Northern Mindanao area manager of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) reiterated on Friday, June 4, that attaining sustainable peace can be achieved through the concerted efforts of all sectors of society.

Speaking at the launching of the Mobile Rice Mill Project for former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants in Lanao del Sur, James Alih Abdul said peacebuilding has now shifted to the whole-of-nation approach (WNA) strategy.

“Ang peacebuilding naging whole-of-nation po ito dahil sa Executive Order na ginawa ng Presidente, ang EO 70... ito ang tinatawag na whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach. Ito po ay isang realization na yung approach natin sa armed conflict hindi lang sa pamamaraan ng military solution, kailangan lahat ng mamamayang Pilipino ay makaparticipate at kasali sa usaping peace building,” he said.

[Peacebuilding has become whole-of-nation because of the Executive Order of the President, the EO 70 .. this is called the whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach. This is a realization that our approach to the armed conflict is not only through a ‘military solution’, but all Filipinos must be able to participate in peacebuilding.]

The WNA is a multi-pronged strategy wherein government agencies will prioritize and sync their efforts to bring social development interventions to conflict-affected and conflict-vulnerable communities and ensure active participation of all sectors of society in the pursuit of inclusive and sustainable peace.

Abdul noted that such participation is also needed to sustain the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process.

“Dito, na establish na natin ang BARMM...pero hindi huminto dun sa peace agreement or dun sa pag decommissioned ng mga combatants. Tuloy-tuloy ang support ng gobyerno kaya meron tayong socio-economic support through the DTI,” he said while citing the mobile rice mill project as part of the dividends of the peace agreement between the government and the MILF.

[Here, we have established the BARMM ... but it did not stop with the peace agreement or the decommissioning of the combatants. The government's support is continuous, that is why we have socio-economic support through the DTI.]

“Yung limang mobile rice mill, inaasahan natin na yung ating mga decommissioned combatants ay makinabang dito with their families and their communities,” he added.

[We hope that our decommissioned combatants with their families and their communities will benefit from the five mobile rice mills.]

Meanwhile, Abdul reminded the former combatants of their commitments to strengthen peacebuilding and development efforts.

‘On our part, dapat magsubmit din tayo dun sa mga polisiya at guidelines ng cooperative [On our part, we must also submit to the policies and guidelines of the cooperative],” he emphasized referring to the usufruct agreement between the DTI and the recipient-MILF cooperatives on the operation of the mobile rice mill. (APB/PIA-ICIC)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1077344