P3.3-M 'Projects for Peace' launched for Sulu, Basilan and Kalinga
By Ben Cal
MANILA, July 8 (PNA Feature) -– The provinces of Sulu and
Basilan in Mindanao and Kalinga in the Cordilleras are the latest
recipients of the government’s newly launched “Projects for Peace”
program designed to address the root causes of insurgency.
The amount of P2.5 million was released for the integrated
assistance to six conflict-affected communities in Sulu and Basilan to
assist internally displaced persons.
The implementation of these projects is supervised by the
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP),
together with the Mindanao Integrated Resource Development (MIRD) Inc.
and the Integrated Resource Development for Tri-People, both
non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The program involves emergency response and relief, improved
access to basic services, institutional building and social cohesion,
peace-building and conflict resolution.
Basilan and Sulu are known lairs of the extremist Abu Sayyaf
Group which is engaged in kidnapping and extortion activities.
Beneficiaries are the towns of Maimbung and Patikul in Sulu
and Pukan and Tipo-Tipo in Basilan.
Sulu and Basilan, two of the conflict-laden provinces in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and among the poorest
provinces in the country, are struggling to rise above poverty that has
been attributed to unstable peace and order situation.
In Kalinga, P800,000 worth of assistance has been granted to
the Ka-ili-yan Peace Building Institute.
The institute aims to empower indigenous communities in
preventing, managing and resolving conflicts in the province by
capacitating tribal leaders, youth, women, local government units,
former combatants and the academe on peace building, negotiation and
mediation, enhancement of indigenous peace-building efforts, research,
and gender and peace.
Composed of 48 sub-tribes, Kalinga experiences intermittent
conflicts due to violation of the “pagta,” which is a mutually binding
law that governs the relationship of two sub-tribes with each other.
Through its proponent, Saint Louis College of Bulanao in
Tabuk, Kalinga, the institute intends to enhance the native customary
process of conflict resolution called the “pochon.”
Launched in January this year, “Projects for Peace” supports
peace initiatives in conflict areas covered under respective peace
agreements with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the
Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA), the Rebolusyonaryong Partido
ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletariat Army/Alex Boncayao
Brigade (RPMP/RPA/ABB), and the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng
Manggagawa–Mindanao (RPM-M).
The project will run until November 2010. (PNA Feature)
scs/RBC/mec
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