Convergence is Davao Norte’s localized peace process — Gov. del Rosario

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 3): Convergence is Davao Norte’s localized peace process — Gov. del Rosario

Local governments in the Philippines can have their own version of the national peace process by making sure that they bridge the geographical distances between the government’s services and the remote communities.

“The Convergence for Peace and Development brings together government resources to economically depressed and politically threatened areas,” Regional Peace and Order Council Chairperson and Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario said.

Convergence, which started in 2011, supports the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Peace and Development Outreach Program and has served 24,000 beneficiaries as of 2012.

Under this strategy, the AFP provides the Team with a list of threatened barangays while the rest of the members headed by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office make an assessment of the economic conditions of said barangays.

“We visit one red-flag barangay every week and bring in an array of government services including health, agriculture and legal services among others,” he said.

While the Convergence Team provide the communities with simple items like slippers, school supplies and fresh milk some of the things they do means a lot to the health and sanitation in the rural areas.

Take for example the toilet bowls that are fabricated by the AFP and the Philippine National Police for these communities.

“The short-term outcome of the project is the widening of access of rural people to government services; by bringing the whole capitol to the remote community the program is able to bridge the gap between the government and its people due to physical distance,” del Rosario said. Del Rosario said the Convergence also has an infrastructure component with the aim of expanding road networks to open northern frontiers to other provinces.

He said the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is beating the 2014 deadline of the President to complete the Talaingod-Kapalong-Bukidnon highway and the Asuncion-Laak-Veruela national highway that will connect the province to Agusan del Sur.

“We will also open a provincial road in Kapalong that connects to LGU-Loreto also in Agusan del Sur,” he said. vWith the major road network that connects Davao del Norte to its neighboring provinces, he added, we hope to expedite market integration of our rural people to our urban centers and link out province to a much wider market.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=572644