Public support for peace process sought

COTABATO CITY — Special observers monitoring the ceasefire between the military and Moro separatist forces have begun putting up billboards appealing for multisectoral support for the peace process.

The billboards are installed in strategic areas in the South to generate public cooperation for the ongoing talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

This project of the multisectoral local monitoring teams (LMTs), which function as ceasefire monitors as defined in the 2001 low-level peace pact between the government and MILF, reeled off last week with the setting up of these billboards in potential flashpoint areas in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental.

In a press statement, Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza said the project, which covers other regions in Central Mindanao and the Zamboanga peninsula, is a "support mechanism" to encourage vigilance and public support in the reporting of ceasefire violations, either by the MILF or the military, in areas where state and rebel forces are scattered.

Dureza, whose office is helping implement socio-economic programs in poor MILF communities, said the billboard project has the support of rebel and government peace negotiators and is being managed by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

Last week’s launch of the project in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental was witnessed by OPAPP representatives, led by executive director Ryan Mark Sullivan.

Dureza said the project is jointly bankrolled by the OPAPP and the Asia Foundation.