DILG: 68% of PAMANA peace projects in conflict areas done

MANILA, Philippines -- The Department of the Interior and Local Government has completed 68 percent of 787 development projects under the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program for conflict-affected areas, it said Wednesday.

According to a Philippine Information Agency release, the DILG has completed 535 peace projects since the program was launched in Maguindanao in 2012. 

The program provides subsidies and technical assistance for infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, water systems and public markets to complement peace efforts in conflict areas.

"Armed conflict is ignited when people’s clamor for socioeconomic development is ignored and marginalized. There can’t be peace where there is no development. Over the years, this is being addressed and healed by PAMANA," Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno said in the release.

The department, which has also been assisting regional offices and local governments in planning the projects, will monitor the implementation of 252 other PAMANA projects.

PAMANA is a multi-agency program headed by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process that "aims to extend development interventions to isolated, hard-to-reach, conflict-affected communities to ensure that they are not left behind," it said on its website.