MAASIM, Sarangani (March 29, 2011) – A joint visit of the United Nations Executive Board in the country posted high regards to the peace initiatives shown by the provincial government, the military and peace partners in Sarangani as they toured the province Tuesday (March 29).
“What you have done here is indeed a very excellent and a real model,” head of delegation His Excellency Brian Bowler said in a briefing at the 73rd Infantry Battalion Headquarters by Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Adolfo Espuelas, Jr. in the morning.
The visit was to take a closer look at projects of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) among the province’s Peace and Development Communities (PDCs).
“Such humanitarian approach is a very good model in peace building in many parts of the world. Having the military as a respected force is a very unique formula towards peace building. I am very impressed with what you have done here,” Bowler said.
UNDP’s Action for Conflict Transformation (ACT) for Peace Programme area manager for South Central Mindanao Cynthia Guerra said the 24-man delegation will proceed to Gasi and Lagundi PDCs in Kiamba town and then to Kalaong, another PDC, to see the UN’s component projects there.
“They wanted to have interactions with the communities to see how the projects impacted them in terms of socio-economic aspects,” Guerra said.
“As for the ACT for Peace, as we are at the completion phase of the program, we have fairly provided these needs for the communities,” Guerra said.
The Culture of Peace project by the ACT for Peace sought strength in its peace building efforts and sustained the gains of development particularly on conflict affected areas or the PDCs.
In Gasi, the delegates intend to look on the integrated early recovery intervention of the program to the barangay particularly on the health of children and mothers.
Also, they will have interactions with former Moro National Liberation Front combatants who turned to be peace advocates and their economic ventures in Lagundi.
In Kalaong, the team will inspect a day care center supported by UNICEF and interact with service health providers to mothers and children.
The ACT for Peace has identified 102 PDCs in the South Central Mindanao area, 42 of which are in Sarangani.
The Culture of Peace training covers Sarangani’s sectors of the government, peoples’ organizations, teachers, barangay captains, youth, military and the police, and former combatants through self-transformation and awareness on the factors that led to conflict such as bigotry and intolerance.
“Winning without fighting is the best form of warfare,” Espuelas said, adopting the Chinese Sun Tzu’s philosophy. (Russtum G. Pelima/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)
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