Esperon urges peace panel to focus on community dialogue

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon Jr. yesterday urged the government’s peace partners in the country to focus on authentic community dialogues and DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration).    

Esperon made the call during the peace forum jointly sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) dubbed as “Reflecting on Conflict Transformation and Peace-building Experiences and Lessons” held at the Astoria Hotel in Pasig City.

He said the dialogue was aimed at gathering the lessons learned by stakeholders of the ongoing peace process, as well as the challenges in implementing projects. 

Esperon said the new paradigm reaffirms the basic principle governing the peace process as laid down by President Arroyo.

“The peace process must remain to be community-based and reflect the sentiments, values and principles that are all important to Filipinos, not defined by the values of rebel groups or the armed groups alone,” he said.

The new peace paradigm, according to Esperon, has defined the current working relationship among the national government, particularly the OPAPP, the civil society and the local governments.

“I strongly suggest that the new paradigm on the peace process be our main concentration in crafting the 2009 Conflict Prevention and Peace Building work plan along with the learning that will surface during the dialogue,” he said, reiterating his call following the conclusion of the two-day dialogue on Conflict Prevention and Peace Building Program (CPPBP).

Esperon also said that the peace process must seek to establish a just, equitable and humane pluralistic society and peaceful resolution to the internal armed conflicts.

“Our limited time and material resources, including the modest funds that we have from the UNDP – modest but very significant – will have to be optimally utilized in realizing our objectives and targets under the new paradigm,” he said.

UNDP Country Representative Renaud Meyer, who also attended the dialogue, said the program is all about peace talks and concrete projects with strong participatory approach to both pillars of the CPPBP.

“So in that sense, it kind of reinforces and gives us confidence that the program that we have embarked on is exactly meeting the needs of the country and in congruence with the highest level of government,” Meyer said.

Meyer said the CPPBP, a program of the UNDP under the Country Program Action Plan, was supposed to support projects from 2005 to 2009 only.

“But at the request of the government, the whole of the UN assistance to the Philippines will soon formally be extended by another two years. This is to meet and align with the timetable of what is happening in the Philippines,” he said.

Meyers was referring to the 2010 national and local elections.

“We have actually two years in front of us to continue working on this important issue of peace building. Of course, our work will be formed by the government’s thrusts and general directions in this regard,” he said.

Meyer said the program, through its partner organizations, has been providing support and assistance to peace building efforts in Luzon and the Visayas.

He said it has helped in the formation and strengthening of local peace mechanisms, as well as in establishing livelihood projects and basic community infrastructure that would benefit former combatants, women and children.

Some of the projects funded by the CPPBP include sustainable agriculture for farmers of Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental; the maintenance and operations of the livelihood projects of former combatants in Abra; the integration of peace building into community leadership and local governance; and forging partnerships for peace.