peace essay tagalog

Essay on Peace

500 words essay peace.

Peace is the path we take for bringing growth and prosperity to society. If we do not have peace and harmony, achieving political strength, economic stability and cultural growth will be impossible. Moreover, before we transmit the notion of peace to others, it is vital for us to possess peace within. It is not a certain individual’s responsibility to maintain peace but everyone’s duty. Thus, an essay on peace will throw some light on the same topic.

Importance of Peace

History has been proof of the thousands of war which have taken place in all periods at different levels between nations. Thus, we learned that peace played an important role in ending these wars or even preventing some of them.

In fact, if you take a look at all religious scriptures and ceremonies, you will realize that all of them teach peace. They mostly advocate eliminating war and maintaining harmony. In other words, all of them hold out a sacred commitment to peace.

It is after the thousands of destructive wars that humans realized the importance of peace. Earth needs peace in order to survive. This applies to every angle including wars, pollution , natural disasters and more.

When peace and harmony are maintained, things will continue to run smoothly without any delay. Moreover, it can be a saviour for many who do not wish to engage in any disrupting activities or more.

In other words, while war destroys and disrupts, peace builds and strengthens as well as restores. Moreover, peace is personal which helps us achieve security and tranquillity and avoid anxiety and chaos to make our lives better.

How to Maintain Peace

There are many ways in which we can maintain peace at different levels. To begin with humankind, it is essential to maintain equality, security and justice to maintain the political order of any nation.

Further, we must promote the advancement of technology and science which will ultimately benefit all of humankind and maintain the welfare of people. In addition, introducing a global economic system will help eliminate divergence, mistrust and regional imbalance.

It is also essential to encourage ethics that promote ecological prosperity and incorporate solutions to resolve the environmental crisis. This will in turn share success and fulfil the responsibility of individuals to end historical prejudices.

Similarly, we must also adopt a mental and spiritual ideology that embodies a helpful attitude to spread harmony. We must also recognize diversity and integration for expressing emotion to enhance our friendship with everyone from different cultures.

Finally, it must be everyone’s noble mission to promote peace by expressing its contribution to the long-lasting well-being factor of everyone’s lives. Thus, we must all try our level best to maintain peace and harmony.

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Conclusion of the Essay on Peace

To sum it up, peace is essential to control the evils which damage our society. It is obvious that we will keep facing crises on many levels but we can manage them better with the help of peace. Moreover, peace is vital for humankind to survive and strive for a better future.

FAQ of Essay on Peace

Question 1: What is the importance of peace?

Answer 1: Peace is the way that helps us prevent inequity and violence. It is no less than a golden ticket to enter a new and bright future for mankind. Moreover, everyone plays an essential role in this so that everybody can get a more equal and peaceful world.

Question 2: What exactly is peace?

Answer 2: Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in which there is no hostility and violence. In social terms, we use it commonly to refer to a lack of conflict, such as war. Thus, it is freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.

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United States Institute of Peace

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The Long Road to Peace in the Southern Philippines

USIP editorial series provides perspectives from the Bangsamoro region.

By: Brian Harding ; Haroro Ingram

Publication Type: Analysis

For four centuries, the Muslim-majority areas in the southern reaches of the Philippines have resisted domination authorities in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, whether its leaders were Spanish, American or Filipino. This dynamic has spawned insurgencies, glimmers of hope for peaceful coexistence and repeated disappointment — all amid endemic violence and poverty.

Philippines Navy Special Forces patrol a lake near the main battle area where Islamic State militants are holed up in Marawi, Philippines. September 15, 2017. (Jes Aznar/The New York Times)

Over the past five and a half years, while the world has focused on Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s excesses, particularly his deadly war on drugs, a groundbreaking possibility for peace has emerged under the first president of the Philippines to hail from Mindanao, the second-largest island located in the southern part of the archipelago.

As the Philippines gears up for general elections in May 2022 that will see a term-limited Duterte cede power, there is an urgent need for Manila and the international community to support the most promising opportunity for a sustainable peace in Mindanao in decades, a hopeful development that has too often flown under the radar.

The United States has a stake in peace in the Southern Philippines, most acutely on two fronts. First, as the United States and the Philippines work to deepen cooperation on external security challenges, principally in the South China Sea, peace in Mindanao would remove a key domestic focus for the armed forces of the Philippines and free resources for other priorities. Second, sustainable peace — and good local governance — would significantly help to address drivers of transnational crime, including terrorism.

It is within this context that the U.S. Institute of Peace is launching an initiative to bring attention to the peace process and the development of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which was established in early 2019 as part of a peace agreement to end nearly five decades of conflict between the Philippine government and Moro secessionists in Mindanao. This effort will include a series of articles written by Filipino authors that analyze key issues and challenges at this historic juncture of Bangsamoro peace efforts.

The Latest Push for Peace in Mindanao

The establishment of the BARMM in 2019 brought with it the most promising opportunity for sustainable peace in living memory. After decades of war and cyclical peace process failures, an 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) was appointed by Duterte to implement the two-track peace process and take the region to its first elections in May 2022. Most BTA ministers are former guerrillas who had devoted their lives to revolutionary war but now were responsible for founding a parliamentary system, implementing a legal and policy architecture, establishing government bureaucracies, decommissioning combatants and providing basic services to their impoverished communities.

Under any circumstances, the challenges facing the new Bangsamoro authorities were immense and the timelines in the Bangsamoro Organic Law for achieving key political, legal and normalization milestones overly optimistic. But then, almost a year into the transition period, COVID-19 hit the Philippines. By mid-2020, the BTA was increasingly (and understandably) prioritizing its pandemic response. By the end of 2020, Bangsamoro authorities and civil society were calling for an extension of the transition period, which was eventually granted and signed into law by Duterte on October 28, 2021. The extension grants Bangsamoro authorities three more years to complete the transition process and take the BARMM to its first elections in May 2025.

While the extension may have given the BTA more time, it has done little to relieve pressures on Bangsamoro authorities to succeed in their efforts. For instance, expectation management is a concern for every peace process, but it is especially concerning in the BARMM. In many communities, hopes for what peace dividends will deliver socially, economically and politically are extraordinarily high, highlighting the potential for acute disappointment if those hopes are not met. One of the most concerning issues has been the faltering normalization track that was meant to decommission 40,000 ex-combatants, their arms and camps but has left many disgruntled and many more still needing to be processed.

Extension has also brought with it added uncertainties. For example, a clause in the transition extension means that new BTA ministers could be appointed by either Duterte or the newly elected president in May 2022. At the first Bangsamoro Donor’s Forum organized by the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority on December 13, 2021, it was clear that at this historic juncture in the struggle for peace in Mindanao there are plenty of reasons to be cautiously optimistic for the future.

As the authors featured in this USIP series explore, the Bangsamoro region is delicately balanced and the resolution (or otherwise) of some key issues may prove the difference between a peaceful and even prosperous BARMM or another generation traumatized by war.

Inside the Struggle for Peace in the Bangsamoro Region

This USIP series seeks to bring attention to peace efforts in the Southern Philippines by showcasing a broad thematic and multisector spectrum of local perspectives from inside the BARMM. The Filipino contributors featured in this series will explore a range of challenges and opportunities for peace in the Bangsamoro region. From the vital role of Bangsamoro women as peace leaders and the key issues associated with the extension of the transition period to the Bangsamoro government’s inclusivity challenge and the impact of COVID-19 on the achievement of peace and development milestones, the series will take readers inside the multisector effort to achieve peace in Mindanao.

If there is one overarching theme that unites this eclectic collection of authors and subjects, it is the issue of balance. For the Bangsamoro, this challenge arises in discovering how to both embrace and protect the region’s rich ethnic and cultural diversity while also championing a shared Bangsamoro identity. History offers its own challenges as a source of traumas that weigh heavily on the present, as well as a source of immense pride and inspiration. After decades of bloody wars and failed peace efforts, local expectations for what the peace dividends should deliver will need to be balanced by the realities of what can be delivered. All the while, peace spoilers will be looking to exploit any opportunity to tip the balance once again toward war.

Hanging in the Balance

The picture that will emerge from this series is of a complicated and delicately balanced peace process that has every reason to succeed or fail. If there is one lesson to emerge from Mindanao’s too-often bloody history, it is that the aftermaths of failed peace efforts have been a boon for the rise of violent groups exploiting the politics of dashed expectations. For the international community to appreciate why the current confluence of dynamics in the BARMM is raising the stakes for the peace process, it is vital to read the nuanced ground-level perspectives of locals on the inside of the peace process.

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Content Search

Philippines

Young people in the Philippines are building peaceful societies following the Bangsamoro peace agreement

Islamic Relief

This International Day of Peace, discover how young people in the Philippines are overcoming walang pakialam (apathy) to embrace pagkakaroon ng pakialam (social engagement) in the push for peace in Mindanao.

Around the world young people are often sidelined in peace dialogues and peacebuilding work as political elites try to tackle the critical political, social and economic issues that give rise to conflict. Young people in the Philippines are no strangers to this.

"There was a time when I was angry with my family for giving birth to me in this place of unending armed conflict and violence," says Munisa, 21, who lives in Gawang barangay (village) in Datu Saudi Ampatuan district.

Like many other communities in her area, Munisa's village had experienced decades of conflict as armed groups clashed with government forces . The war left the Bangsamoro region in Mindanao with the worst human development indicators in the country.

"We did not know what peace is. I felt hopeless and saw no future for me, as war burned our house to the ground on two occasions, drove us from our community, and my studies were continuously disrupted," adds Munisa.

Young people typically disempowered

In their communities, most disputes, whether over land, violent attacks or marriages, were traditionally handled through community leaders, elders and faith leaders. Few young people were involved. Many say they felt their voices were not heard and that they had no confidence to contribute, since their communities saw this as the domain of adults.

Then Munisa joined an Islamic Relief peacebuilding project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) . Some 50 young people took part in a peace camp, where they learned to strengthen social cohesion in their communities and understand the drivers of conflict and how to prevent them.

In addition to the camp the young people received training on dialogue, negotiation and mediation skills and were shown how to advocate for peace through writing, singing, social media and more.

Separate community-based sessions helped the young people to understand the broader considerations necessary to successfully resolve conflicts in their communities. Dedicated sessions with 180 young people focused on improving community cohesion through dialogue and community development.

Build lasting peace by leaving no-one behind

The Islamic Relief project sought to enable young people to overcome walang pakialam, a Tagalog term referring to the state of apathy, to pagkakaroon ng pakialam.

“Ang pagkakaroon ng pakialam is about caring for the members of the community,” explains Rehana, 21, of Magaslong village. “Caring means walang maiiwan (nobody is left behind).”

The project inspired Rehana and other young people to take action, she says.

“We have fed children and conducted cleaning of public places in the barangay and other civic activities. This builds harmony and unity among the people. In this manner conflict is avoided.”

Munisa was also motivated to contribute.

“The project rekindled my spirit,” she says. “I thought Allah may have a plan for me. Perhaps I have a role to play in the building of peace. Perhaps I could encourage my fellow youth to go back to school and build our future.”

Youth advocates empowered to support peace

Buoyed by her newfound knowledge and confidence, Munisa decided to become one of 30 youth peace advocates working across three districts. It is a key role, as 23-year old Namrah, another of the peace advocates, explains.

“As peace advocates, we help verify information every time there is [a rumour] about conflicts and the security situation and we share only correct information. We use social media and text messages to minimise the fear of our relatives and friends and guide them into proper actions to take.”

Determined to make sure that young people can contribute to peace in their communities, the advocates are already making progress. Some are now members of peace councils, others represent youth in negotiating with village officials and lobbying municipal government.

“I am using the local radio as a platform for peace advocacy,” says Noraisa 30, who lives in Talibadok. She now regularly guests on a local radio programme and has helped organise a youth group in her village to help them push for better public services.

Building much needed community cohesion

Though the Bangsamoro peace agreement has been in place since 2014, people remained hesitant to interact with those on opposing sides. So Munisa has been building bridges between communities in her village.

With friends on both sides, Munisa and her classmates decided to organise a 'boodle fight'. Held before Covid-19 social distancing restrictions, diners were invited to gather around a long table to eat food with their hands.

"We wanted to show our friends from both sides that it is alright and safe now to interact with one another, as the conflict has already been settled," she says, describing how the gathering removed boundaries between people as they enjoyed their meal, renewing friendships and sharing happy moments.

Islamic Relief believes that it is only possible to achieve lasting change if all marginalised groups are involved in the solution. Our peacebuilding work also includes empowering young people in countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia and Kenya.

With your support, we can continue to build bridges between communities and equip local people to secure lasting peace. Donate now.

The Value of Peace Education in Local Communities (Philippines)

(Reposted from: Teach Peace Build Peace Movement. May 16, 2018 )

By Fort Phil

“Fallen soldier’s kid marches with dad’s commander on graduation day”, came the headline of a Rappler story about a soldier of an Army engineer unit, involved in the construction of a peace center in the village of Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, who was shot in cold blood on Tuesday morning, April 4, allegedly by a member of a radical armed group. Reading the news report evoked much harrowing emotion considering that the casualty was part of a community project dedicated to promoting peace and development in the area. Sad, but reality on the ground is painfully tragic.

Without question, the consequences of war are brutally devastating particularly to civilians and non-combatants by displacing them from within their own communities, depriving them of their security, and preventing them from achieving full self-realization. The resulting insecurity and instability that follows from these circumstances – lack of basic social services, harsh surroundings and oppressive governments – forces many to turn to the worst imaginable kind of violence in defense of their right to survive. But through these tragic circumstances, attention has also been drawn to the need of comprehensively understanding conflict and preventing any and all conditions leading to violence.

Lives are undeniably lost each day, properties are destroyed, opportunities are wasted and these cannot go on. Just yesterday, April 10, there was a deadly clash between government forces and Abu Sayyaf extremists in Basilan. Ways of doing things must definitely change for the better and this requires a more proactive stance from all stakeholders. A new way of thinking is necessary and must be constructively pushed; but in our earnest desire for a paradigm shift, we must not disregard cultural sensitivity. It is everyone’s duty to closely examine the underlying causes that force people to resort to violence.

The threat to peace stems from a multitude of causes including poverty, environmental deterioration and social injustice. There are a variety of factors including economic, political, social, cultural and environmental grounds from which these causes are founded. Sadly, the technological progress that has brought our world closer together has not been fittingly matched by mutual respect and understanding of other cultures and beliefs. The absence of certainty and security makes it difficult to promote peace, and local peace workers are confronted daily with these variables in the field.

A Culture of Peace in Communities Leads to Peace and Development

The roots of conflict originate from a wide number of cases in different areas. While its nature is complicated, it is universally accepted that violence can be prevented and reduced through the practice of dialogue and negotiations – skills which can be taught through an active program of peace education and consistent promotion of social ethics for peace. Notably, to complement government efforts, many non-government organizations (NGOs) and private individuals have quietly, but effectively, worked in promoting the culture of peace and similar programs. In the Philippines, local NGOs, such as Teach Peace Build Peace Movement, and different well-meaning people’s organizations (POs) contribute significantly to the overall peace effort of the national government.

The impact of violence is boundless. It affects everyone especially the marginalized members of society and its effect is a serious concern particularly to small and isolated communities. Decades of local conflicts have resulted to nothing but misery particularly to those directly affected by violence. Given this backdrop, it becomes imperative that change must come. An apt and revolutionary shift of mindset on how to resolve conflict must evolve if we are to positively move forward as a nation.

History have long proven that war has been a threat, and a scourge, to mankind since the dawn of civilization. This threat ranges from everyday violence of small-scale conflicts, to regional wars and to the vast devastation caused by two world wars. As President Duterte puts it, “No matter the spoils, war is never worth it.”

A violent deed cannot be remedied by another brutal action regardless of whether the act of violence and war is justified by religious, political, economic, social and cultural disputes, it is time to adopt a renewed mindset that promotes peace. The usual method protagonists employ to deal with conflict is through oppressive and martial measures but control and extreme actions are not enough, they merely delay future unimaginable violence. A preventive and pragmatic approach becomes imperative – through peace education and sustainable promotion of a culture for peace and non-violence.

Why peace education program?

Given that violence and war is a product of culture, through the modification of basic cultural mindsets, everyone can work towards creating a culture of peace. We must therefore strive to build a culture which consists of values, attitudes and behaviors that reject violence, one that attempts to prevent conflict by rightfully addressing its root causes with a new view of solving problems through dialogue and negotiations. Remarkably, President Duterte even emphasized “principled position that disputes should be settled in a peaceful manner” in his speech last Sunday, April 9, during the Araw ng Kagitingan commemoration in Bataan. Unjustified violence against any person, or group, has no place in a civilized society.

This writer is a witness to the power of peace education programs, and similar activities, in transforming communities. Building public school classrooms and peace hubs through Bayanihan is one example of a “collective” peace education activity that immensely help local communities a step towards attainment of meaningful peace and development. Peace through the promotion of quality public education encompasses economic, political, social, cultural, moral and ethical issues thereby making it vital in transforming people’s attitudes towards dealing with conflicts. This approach may appear to be complicated to some, or may also be simplistic to a few, but it has worked well in local communities particularly in geographically-remote public schools.

Establishing a culture of peace requires the involvement of all sectors that together shape the country’s culture – institutions such as the government, public officials, NGOs, CSOs, media and especially parents and teachers. Although peace education program is often based in schools and other learning institutions, it should involve the entire community as peace education is not only a necessity in areas where there are conflicts but in all societies. Parents’ role is crucial in teaching and promoting strong family values that foster a culture of peace. After all, it is in the homes that peace is first learned, practiced and nurtured.

Further, the promotion of social ethics in peace education program in schools is an apt strategy in firmly establishing a culture of peace in local communities. Ethics is an important attribute like the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic; and it should become a core part of every peace program. Remarkably, the Department of education (DepEd) has established Peace Education Bureau in 2006 to help support the full integration of peace education in all of the curriculum, as well as the activities of all primary and secondary institutions.

Why is Bayanihan the right vehicle for peace education in local communities?

Essentially, the practice of Bayanihan in constructing public school buildings and peace centers is a peace curriculum in itself. The whole exercise is basically a practical application of all the principles in attaining peace and harmony through shared experience and in having a common goal – to collectively build a quality school building for the students. What is more significant than putting into action the philosophy of peace education?

A teacher of a beneficiary-public school in Cordillera has this to say of their bayanihan experience, “Through this Bayanihan project, the people of Butbut tribe have proven that they are united as one and that they are ready to help each other in times of need and to share each one’s success and happiness. This project has been an inspiration to them because they have served their community with glad hearts and open hands. It has been a valuable learning to the youth and students who joined because they learned to be generous and caring towards other people. They also learned the value of volunteerism, cooperation and the spirit of bayanihan.”

Likewise, is there a more valuable affirmation a peace worker can gain than from the statement of appreciation from stakeholders, beneficiary and volunteers involved in the project itself? As Nanay Clarita, a parent-volunteer in one Bayanihan project in Central Luzon, would put it, “Kahit matanda na ako, feeling ko lumalakas ako sa paggawa kapag nakikita ko ang aming mga kasamahan at mga sundalo na nakangiti habang nagtatrabaho sa ilalim ng sikat ng araw. Taga-bomba ako sa mga nag-iigib at minsan ay cook nila sa hapon. Pagod pero enjoy.”

Multi-stakeholder partnership (MSP), especially in building local public schools through volunteerism among parents, teachers, LGUs, civil society organizations (CSOs) and other well-meaning individuals, is a practical approach that has proven to be an effective catalyst in local peace and development. It is a program that has helped quite a number of communities nationwide to further strengthen communal bond and resiliency. By moving as one in constructing new school buildings for the youth, local stakeholders realized that peace and harmony is possible among them. The residents have found also new indigenous ways to boost their chances for socio-economic development. A problem shared is a problem half-solved, so to speak.

Where do we go from here?

As peace-loving citizens and advocates, what can we contribute to local peace efforts?

Given the current global security situation, finding peace and stability become a major challenge for mankind. But in many cases and when properly utilized, the energy stemming from conflict can be directed towards achieving positive change. Communities need to be taught of alternatives in resolving conflict other than military or violent means. Peace education is one way of achieving this end because it directly raises awareness of the roots and causes of conflict. It also provides people with the necessary skills and knowledge how to appropriately respond to disputes. Peace projects, such as the one where the late Army Corporal Tamano Macadatar was involved, should be properly and vigorously supported, protected and sustained by no less than the direct stakeholders and the community itself.

Embracing the positive values of openness and equality must be a societal goal. An open and dynamic society tolerates differing perspectives which helps in coming up with rational consensus. Government and civil society must remain open to change in order to adroitly adapt to our increasingly highly-connected and fast-paced world. It is to the good of everyone to focus on the long-term standpoints; and credible education is one. Importantly, the promotion of culture of peace should inspire people to work for a better tomorrow through shared experiences and goals which stimulate familial love and revitalize communal spirit.

The creation, much more sustainability, of local peace is a long and tedious process that can take years to achieve, but at least the next generations will have the chance to enjoy its benefits. Its attainment must become our united goal as peace-loving citizens, as human beings. Everyone must be politely reminded that anyone who acts with pure intention and right direction can make a profound difference and can influence events that are contributory to a more peaceful future, and our best shot is having a sound and sustainable peace education program both in schools and communities. The government, in close partnership with different stakeholders, needs to focus on proactive and constructive measures that encourage the development of a culture of peace. Being in authority, it is ideal that the government take the lead.

Indeed, winning the peace is never easy and we must not stop from trying. May each one of us always share the importance of peace education program, and similar activities, in bringing about a community in which people willingly cooperate for the benefit of all, acting in altruism and selflessness, recognizing the values of non-violence and respect for human rights.

( Go to original article )

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Related Papers

Betty Reardon

Leban Serto

This presentation is an extension from my previous papers on the same topic , with some more additions dealing on the issues of understanding Peace Education as the centric theme ; conflict transformation and developing peace curriculum. Highlighting the theory and growth of the concept and some of the activities that , we have undertaken so far as a team and in my own activism and academic venture .The present state of Manipur and its adjoining states in the North East India are reeling under a vicious cycle of violence. Communities are inflicted, traumatized with a rising demand for quality education and a dilemma faced by the utmost challenge of the fast changing times racing towards the break from tradition to modernity. Peace remains ever elusive. We need Peace Education in our communities.

Iasir Journals

Routledge encyclopedia of education

gulistan gursel bilgin

Peace education is an umbrella term used to describe a variety of programmes with the common goal to reduce direct and indirect forms of violence. Peace is an elusive concept that has been studied from an array of perspectives and values. Due to the context-dependent nature of peace education, the curricula of peace education programmes in numerous countries vary considerably in different regions of the world. The diverse array of approaches to peace education can be examined in two groups: 'education for peace' and 'education about peace' (Reardon, 1999: 8). Content, form, and contextual conditions are among vital components of any curriculum, and they cannot be considered in isolation. However, in the case of peace education curriculum, these three vital components are particularly interrelated and interdependent (Haavelsrud and Stenberg, 2012). Peace education curriculum designers would do well to not underestimate these mutual relationships among content, form, and contextual conditions for effective results of any peace education initiative. In peace education, learners frequently remember the informal and hidden lessons, not from the overt or stated curriculum, but from the attitudes, values, and actions of the teachers themselves within and outside of the classroom. However, the implicit curriculum of peace education remains overlooked in the related literature.

Maria Hantzopoulos , Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams

Lukwago Umar

One goal of education is to create the conditions for peace, that is, a society where citizens can freely share concerns, be productive, have creative use of their time, enjoy human rights and manage conflicts without direct violence. Education is a systematic process through which a child or an adult acquires knowledge, experience, skill and sound attitude. It makes an individual civilized, refined, cultured and educated. For a civilized and socialized society, education is the only means. Peace, however, is also seen as concord, or harmony and tranquility. It is viewed as peace of mind or serenity, especially in the East. It is defined as a state of law or civil government, a state of justice or goodness, a balance or equilibrium of Powers. Such meanings of peace function at different levels. Peace may be opposed to or an opposite of antagonistic conflict, violence, or war. It may refer to an internal state of mind or of nations or to external relations. The problem is, of course, that peace derives its meaning and qualities within a theory or framework. Christian, Hindu, or Buddhist will see peace differently, as will pacifist or internationalist. Socialist, fascist, and libertarian have different perspectives, as do power or idealistic theorists of international relations. In this diversity of meanings, peace is no different from such concepts as justice, freedom, equality, power, conflict, class, and, indeed, any other concept. However, this article seeks to investigate how education is for peace in other wards can education be an instrument for peace in this contemporary world? Therefore, this paper will trace the evolution of peace education theory from its roots in religious traditions of love, compassion, charity, and tolerance to modem theories based on reducing the threats of interpersonal and environmental violence. This brief review of some of the main contributors to peace education theory. Education is a significant contributor to peace, and appears in two of the 24 indicators in the Positive Peace Index produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace. Education can lead to peace and be a part of ‘building back better’ by supporting the transformation of the security situation, political institutions, economic regeneration and social development. However, education policies can also contribute to the escalation of conflict if they are poorly designed or implemented.

International Journal of Indian Psychology

RAJENDRAKUMAR PARMAR

This paper outlines a framework for developing peace education agenda in high schools and college and university level. Historical peace education programs are reviewed and included into a comprehensive program of substantive, peace education content and pedagogy. The historical programs reviewed include the Integral Model of Peace Education, Learning to stop War, and Master of Arts Program in Peace Education at our school, college & University level for Peace education. Peace is simply having a feeling of security, calm and restfulness. We often tend to think of peace as being an international issue, far from our daily life, but we do not realize that global peace can only be achieved if each country is established at peace. The peace and happiness of each country can only be achieved if every citizen is at peace. This follows therefore that a country can be peaceful and progress if people live tolerantly. We all want peace of mind. The need of the hour is to develop the young gene...

Journal Space and Culture, India Open access Journal

Isara solutions

International Res Jour Managt Socio Human

Today, the greatest challenge before humanity is terrible violence: locally, nationally, and globally. Any type of violence disperses our collective energy, which further leads to terrible consequences of poverty, diseases, misery, environmental destruction, and exploitation of weaker section. The primary need of an hour is to develop culture of peace, as it is the prime requirement for progress and national integration. The culture of peace may be developed through education for peace. But it is unfortunate that relatively few programs dedicated to a systematic, sustained plan of action to educate children and youth in the principles of peace. Through this paper an attempt has been taken to analyze the role of education for peace as an effective, mean to resolve conflict.

Paris J Arnopoulos

Since its inception, the interdisciplinary field of Peace Education has been plagued by many problems, not the least of which is a crisis of identity and a search for perspective. This dual issue of what exactly is Peace Education and how does it relate to the broader sociopolitical context, poses some significant theoretical and practical questions which are still debated by the academic community. This paper will join the debate by attempting a systematic conceptualization of Peace Education and then operationalizing it as an issue of Public Policy. Combining these two fields ensures that both lexis and praxis are treated in a comparative perspective. At the same time, it will emphasize the importance of a Peace Education Policy (PEP) as the centerpiece of our quest.

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International Day of Peace 2021: Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world

On International Day of Peace UN Philippines Resident Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez says we are at an "inflection point in our history”

According to a recent report by the UN Secretary General, “we are at an inflection point in our history” with humanity facing an urgent choice between a breakdown or a breakthrough. The Coronavirus, conflict and climate change are wrecking havoc and undermining our ability to reach development goals. Poverty, discrimination and violence mean that millions of people around the world are denied “health, safety, a vaccination against disease, clean water to drink, a plate of food or a seat in a classroom”.

Our Common Agenda emphasizes the need for solidarity and cooperation to address these and other challenges facing the world today. Central to this, the UN Secretary General calls for a revival of the social contract – the arrangements and understandings of how people find solutions to shared problems, manage risks, deliver public goods, and implement norms and values.

Mirroring the UN Secretary General’s call, the global theme for the International Day of Peace, celebrated on 21 September every year is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”. This reflects an increasing understanding that the essence of peace cannot be found in Security Council resolutions or treaties but is about the myriad of large and small actions and decisions that impact on individuals, families and communities. An equitable and sustainable world is one where people have access to food, to security, to education and health, and to justice. Where people are empowered to participate in decisions that affect them, and consider their impact on the environment. Consequently, efforts towards peace must address a broad range of factors that drive conflict and inequality.

In the Philippines, an increasing number of joint interventions bring together different areas of expertise from within the UN system to collaborate with national actors in the search for comprehensive solutions for current challenges. For example, by implementing programmes to strengthen social protection systems and resilience in BARMM, the UN is contributing to ongoing Government efforts to reach the most vulnerable groups and build more peaceful societies where the rights of all citizens are protected and realized. Efforts to resolve the conflict in BARMM ultimately hinges not only on transformation to nonviolent means of expressing grievances, but also on the Government’s ability to provide social protection, to empower people, and to overcome patterns of discrimination and marginalization.

Global experience has shown that women, youth and other often overlooked groups are critical stakeholders who have much to contribute at all stages of peacebuilding. When we insist on inclusive processes that give space to a wide range of community voices, we ensure that agreements are meaningful for those who have been most impacted by conflict – by paving the way for schools, livelihoods and the freedom to exercise one’s culture. This must also include protecting those who speak out against injustice, for the protection of the environment or to secure fair working conditions. These are all steps that are needed to restore the social contract.

The human rights framework provides a vehicle for such participatory approaches, and the interdependence between human rights and peace is increasingly recognized internationally. Placing human rights at the center of peace and reconciliation efforts can help to address underlying causes of conflict, such as poverty, inequality and discrimination. It also contributes to a victim-focused approach which promotes rule of law and justice. A society without violence is in a better position to provide a high level of respect for its political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights.

The Philippines is in many ways a microcosm of the many challenges that are the starting point of Our Common Agenda . Climate change, internal conflict and the impact of coronavirus hamper progress towards no poverty, zero hunger and good health. The Government, through social protection initiatives, job creation and other initiatives in the Philippine Development Plan (2017 -2022) is taking steps towards addressing some of these challenges, and the United Nations is ready to support these efforts.

The world, and the Philippines, are at an inflection point – but inflection points provide us with opportunities to step up and make the right choices, internationally and within countries. When we recover better for a more equitable and sustainable world, we also lay the foundation for development, human rights and peace.

Gustavo González

Un entities involved in this initiative, goals we are supporting through this initiative.

Interview: the Struggle for Peace in Mindanao, the Philippines

The southern Philippines has known a long history of armed conflict. Among those regions is Mindanao, where in February 2019 the Bangsamoro people voted to ratify the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). This law is a big leap towards peace in the Southern Philippines. To understand why this is such a big leap for peace we interviewed Marc Batac, who is the Regional Programme Coordinator at our member organisation Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) in the Philippines. IID has been involved in the peace process in Mindanao for almost twenty years.

To give us an overview of the conflict in Mindanao: how did the conflict come about, what are the root causes, who are the main actors and what is it about?

The root cause of armed conflict in Mindanao can be found in the narrative of Mindanao peoples’ continuing struggle for their right to self-determination. A struggle that involves an assertion of their identity and demand for meaningful governance in the face of the national government’s failure to realise genuine social progress and peace and development in the southern Philippines. The struggle is also a response to “historical injustices” and grave human rights violations committed against the peoples of Mindanao.

With the clamor to correct these historical injustices and to recognise their inherent right to chart their own political and cultural path, the Bangsamoro people – together with their non-Moro allies – have struggled to get their calls heard and acted upon by the central government.

A huge number of the victims of the conflict in Mindanao have been ordinary civilians: women and men, young and old who were either displaced from their communities or killed in the crossfire by bullets and bombs that recognize no gender, religion, creed or stature.

There are two opposing views when it comes to the armed struggle in the Bangsamoro region: While the central government had earlier viewed the armed struggle as an act of rebellion against the state, the other party has always claimed it as a legitimate exercise of their right to self-determination.

Over the years, the State has come to recognise the Bangsamoro and Indigenous Peoples struggle for just and lasting peace in Mindanao, albeit always within the framework of the country’s constitution.

A huge number of the victims of the conflict in Mindanao have been ordinary civilians: women and men, young and old who were either displaced from their communities or killed in the crossfire by bullets and bombs that recognize no gender, religion, creed or stature. The impact and social cost of the decades-old war to the people and the entire nation have been vicious and costly. The infographic on the cost of war in Mindanao (see below) explains previous Philippine governments’ huge spending on wars in Mindanao, which clearly talks about ‘lives lost’ rather than ‘lives improved’. Finding peaceful solutions to the causes of the armed conflict in Mindanao is never easy as the toll has affected not just Mindanao but the entire country. This has discouraged foreign and local investments and ultimately bleeding the nation’s coffers with the previous governments spending more on war than on basic social services.

While previous governments tried to resolve these conflicts, the root cause is the failure to address the Mindanao peoples legitimate struggle for their ‘right to self-determination, dignity and governance’, and is a major challenge to achieving sustainable peace in the region.

The conflict between the Government of the Philippines and the armed groups in Mindanao, particularly the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is not the only conflict affecting the whole region. The conflict in Mindanao is multi-faceted, involving numerous armed groups, as well as clans, criminal gangs and political elites. Main actors to this decades-old conflict are: the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and other groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), Abu Sayyaf (considered a bandit group engaged in various criminal activities like kidnapping and bombings), as well as other armed non-state actors who are consistently ‘in conflict’ with the central government.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) has been passed, which is for now the successful conclusion of a peace process. Can you explain what this is? And how it happened?

The purpose and intent of the law is to establish the new Bangsamoro political entity and provide for its basic structure of government. This also includes an expansion of the territory in recognition of the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people. Said law provides that the Bangsamoro Government will have a parliamentary form of government. The two key components of the peace process that will determine its eventual success are the passing of the BOL and the plebiscite for its ratification in the proposed Bangsamoro territory. With the BOL passage comes a roadmap that outlines a smooth transition leading to the creation of the Bangsamoro government that promises to fulfil the Bangsamoro’s aspirations for peace, justice, economic development and self-governance. The new Bangsamoro political entity will in effect abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and provide for a basic structure of government in recognition of the justness and legitimacy of the cause of the Bangsamoro people and their desire to chart their own political future through a democratic process.

The BOL is a product not only of political negotiations between the Bangsamoro and the Philippine government through their respective principals and negotiators but of the peacebuilding community’s decades of peacemaking and conflict prevention work and initiatives, both inside and outside of Mindanao and the Philippines.

What has civil society, and particularly Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), done for this peacebuilding process? And why is it important?

IID became more involved into the Mindanao peace process when then President Joseph Estrada unleashed an “all-out war” against the MILF in 2000 that resulted in countless deaths, wounded and massive dislocation of mainly Moro communities. IID’s Moro and Mindanao partners sought the assistance of civil society and IID in helping to galvanize a response and projection of their voices and perspectives into the entire peace process. IID then proceeded to establish platforms and networks to concretize this accompaniment, forming the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) – a Tri-people (Moro, settlers and Indigenous peoples) network that engaged the peace process. MPC in turn established the Bantay Ceasefire (Ceasefire Watch) – a grassroots and community-based ceasefire-monitoring network.

GPPAC Southeast Asia members in the Philippines have been in the forefront of engaging the peace process in Mindanao since the “all-out war” declared by then President Estrada in 2000 against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Eventually, IID together with its partner communities were able to go through consensus building and lobbied in Congress a civil society agenda on crucial provisions in the draft BBL, conducted public advocacy activities and engaged lawmakers and the media.

Why is this such a big win for peace in the Philippines and the region?

GPPAC Southeast Asia members in the Philippines have been in the forefront of engaging the peace process in Mindanao since the “all-out war” declared by then President Estrada in 2000 against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). It has since initiated and helped establish various networks for peace in the country, including Bantay Ceasefire, Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW), Friends of the Bangsamoro (FoBM) and All-Out Peace (AOP) among others.

For us, the enactment of BOL is major step forward in achieving a just and sustainable peace in Mindanao. The BOL, if implemented according to its intent and purpose, could finally open a smooth path towards peace, development and social progress in the south of the Philippines. A product of a long-drawn peace negotiation, it also serves as a 'justice instrument', which can help in correcting historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro people, the indigenous peoples, and other inhabitants of Mindanao--injustices that continue to haunt them up to this day.

The BOL, if implemented according to its intent and purpose, could finally open a smooth path towards peace, development and social progress in the south of the Philippines.

For numerous decades, Mindanao and its peoples have witnessed the exceptional savagery of armed conflict. The results have been equally vicious: from the unending cycle of multiple displacements by hapless communities to depleting our nation's fiscal health. In all these armed conflicts happening around Mindanao, the most marginalized and vulnerable especially our women, children and the elderly, were made to endure the profound and unceasing pains of conflicts they never wished to be part of. Now that the BOL has been successfully ratified, and the installation of a transition structure through the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) is underway, prospects towards a significant improvement in the lives of the peoples of Mindanao and hopefully in the whole country as well.

Are you hopeful that this change will be sustainable for a more peaceful Mindanao? And what needs to be done now?

While the ratification of the BOL and the eventual establishment of the Bangsamoro government are significant political milestones towards realising just peace and social progress not only for Mindanao but for the whole country, we believe that it is not the end-all and be-all of the struggle for peace. What still needs to be addressed during the process are difficult issues around governance, inclusion, land distribution, incursion of foreign aid, dealing with shadow economies and violent extremism in a fragile peace process. The promise of a more enhanced and meaningful autonomy can reach its full potential if a peacebuilding strategy, coupled with participation and protection pathways, is substantively embedded in governance in the incipient Bangsamoro. Civil society has to develop what is now a “post-conflict peacebuilding” paradigm, wherein we have to locate our role and added value during political transition around hard and intractable issues around land, governance, transitional justice and security.

Peace monitoring will continue to be a staple strategy fulfilling civil society’s role as a third party in the peace process. There are other aspects of the law that must be monitored and ensured especially when the “caretaker” BTA starts its job weeks from now, including how in the transition period the normalization programs will be equally supported and cascaded to ensure decommissioning of the MILF forces and support to these combatants and amnesty, transformation of camps and conflict-affected communities. This, of course, will entail bringing to the Normalization table the issues on displacement and post-reconstruction of those IDPs during the sieges in Zamboanga and Marawi cities, including the displaced indigenous communities due to intermittent armed hostilities in ancestral domain areas in the BARMM.

Civil society has to develop what is now a “post-conflict peacebuilding” paradigm, wherein we have to locate our role and added value during political transition around hard and intractable issues around land, governance, transitional justice and security.

Lastly, a whole of society approach in developing and implementing government programs in the BARMM shall respond to social cohesion, trust building and work on inclusion of minority and minoritized issues concerning the IPs in the region and the Christian population. From a civil society’s perspective, it is not a mere governance issue that is at stake here, but actualising the negotiated consensus (BOL, FAB/CAB, and all previously signed peace agreements) and the essence of social justice by guaranteeing affirmative action every step of the way. The civil society scorecard should be designed to critically monitor the following:

Realizing meaningful autonomy and right to self-rule of the Bangsamoro (and the inhabitants of the region) based on their distinct cultural identities, historical struggle, faiths, heritage and traditions;
Grant genuine and efficient fiscal autonomy for the Bangsamoro;
Provide the Bangsamoro effective management and control over and benefits of the natural resources in the Bangsamoro territory;
Full Inclusion of the Indigenous Peoples rights in the Bangsamoro governance to ensure the recognition and protection of their rights and to correct historical marginalization and exclusion; and
Realizing a transitional justice and reconciliation program for the Bangsamoro. Heed previous recommendations to establish a Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission for the Bangsamoro (NTJRCB) that shall among others ensure and promote justice, healing and reconciliation.
the Philippines
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Map of the Philippines with Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao, highlighted. Source: Wikipedia Commons.

Peace Process In Mindanao, The Philippines: Evolution And Lessons Learned – Analysis

The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (2014) marks the first significant peace agreement worldwide in ten years and has become an inevitable reference for any other contemporary peace process.

By Kristian Herbolzheimer*

On March 27th 2014 the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed an agreement to end an armed conflict that had started in 1969, caused more than 120,000 deaths and forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro is the main peace agreement to be signed worldwide since the agreement that stopped the armed conflict in Nepal in 2006.

Every peace agreement addresses a particular context and conflict. However, the Mindanao process is now a crucial reference for other peace processes, given that it is the most recent.

Of the 59 armed conflicts that have ended in the last 30 years, 44 concluded with peace agreements (Fisas, 2015: 16). The social, academic, and institutional capacities to analyse these processes and strengthen peacebuilding policies have thrived in parallel (Human Security Report Project, 2012). However, no peace process has been implemented without some difficulties. For this reason all peace processes learn from previous experiences, while innovating in their own practices and contributing overall to international experience of peacebuilding. The Mindanao peace process learned lessons from the experiences of South Sudan, Aceh (Indonesia) and Northern Ireland, among others. Currently, other countries affected by internal conflicts such as Myanmar, Thailand and Turkey are analysing the Mindanao peace agreement with considerable interest.

This report analyses the keys that allowed the parties to reach an agreement and the challenges facing the Philippines in terms of implementation. The report targets an international audience and aims to provide reflections that might be useful for other peace processes. After introducing the context and development of the Mindanao peace process, the report analyses the actions and initiatives that allowed negotiations to make progress for 17 years and the innovations brought about by this process in areas such as public participation. Particular attention is devoted to the security-related agreements (including arms decommissioning by the insurgency) and to the mechanisms accompanying and verifying the agreement’s implementation.

The Philippines is an archipelago comprising around 7,000 islands. Remarkable among them are the largest one, Luzon (where the capital, Manila, is situated) and the second largest, Mindanao. Together with Timor-Leste, this is the only Asian country with a majority Christian popula- tion. Around 100 million people live in a territory covering 300,000 km2. The system of government is presidential and executive power is limited to a single term of six years.

The country owes its name to King Philip II of Spain, in whose service Magellan was sailing around the world when he arrived at the archipelago in 1521. After being a Spanish colony for three centuries, in 1898 the Philippines came under U.S. administration. A detail with far-reaching consequences is that Spain never took real control of the island of Mindanao. Islam had arrived three centuries before Magellan, and the Spanish found a well- consolidated system of governance, mainly through the sultanates of Maguindanao and Sulu.

In 1946 the Philippines was the first Asian country to gain independence without an armed struggle (one year before India). It was also a pioneer in putting an end to a despotic regime by peaceful means when a non-violent people’s revolution overthrew the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. In 2001 a second people’s power revolution brought the government of Joseph Estrada – who was accused of corruption – to an end. Even so, the developments that have occurred over nearly 30 years of democracy have been slow. Politics continues to be the feud of a few families who perpetuate themselves in power from generation to generation. Relatives of deposed presidents remain active in politics and enjoy significant support.

Some indicators show advances in poverty reduction, literacy and employment, but neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are far ahead in this regard (UNDP, 2015). The persistence of social inequalities feeds the discourse of the New People’s Army, a Maoist- inspired insurgency that has been active since 1968.

Apart from the armed conflict in Mindanao and the communist insurgency, in recent years the Philippines has also suffered the onslaught of cells of Islamist terrorists linked to transnational networks.

Roots and humanitarian consequences of the conflict

The Muslim population of Mindanao has experienced harassment and discrimination since the times of the Spanish colony (1565-1898). The U.S. colonial administration (1898-1945) initiated a process of land entitlement that privileged Christian settlers coming from other islands of the archipelago. This policy of land dispossession continued after independence, coupled with government policies aimed at the assimilation of the Muslim minority. Currently, the Muslim population is in the majority only in the western part of Mindanao and in the adjacent islands that proliferate up to the borders of Malaysia and Indonesia. Ten per cent of the population in this area are non-Islamised indigenous peoples.

In 1968 an alleged massacre of Muslim army recruits in Manila led to the creation of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which started an armed struggle for independence. In 1996 the government and the MNLF signed a peace agreement that granted autonomy to provinces with a Muslim majority. The group demobilised as a result, but a breakaway subgroup, the Islamic Front, rejected the terms of the agreement. However, this insurgency’s preference for a negotiated solution led to the signing of a bilateral ceasefire in 1997 and the start of formal peace negotiations in 1999.

The armed conflict in Mindanao has caused around 120,000 deaths, especially in the 1970s. In the 21st century it has been a low-intensity conflict, but continuous instability has generated a phenomenon of multiple displacements: thousands of people flee when there are skirmishes – which sometimes involve other armed actors – and return to their homes once the situation is stabilised. In 2008 the last political crisis in the peace process triggered the displacement of around 500,000 people in a few weeks in what became the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world at the time.

Structure and development of the negotiations

The negotiations lasted for 17 years (1997-2014) and were initially conducted in the Philippines and without mediation. Since 1999 the negotiating teams comprised five plenipotentiary members, with the support of a technical team of around ten people (a variable number). The intensity and duration of the negotiations oscillated over the years. In the last period (2009-14) the parties met in 26 negotiation rounds each lasting between three and five days.

The negotiations were halted on three occasions, triggering new armed confrontations in 2000, 2003 and 2008. After each one the parties agreed on new mechanisms designed to strengthen the negotiations infrastructure. In 2001 the Malaysian government accepted the request of the government of the Philippines to host and facilitate the negotiations. In 2004 the parties agreed to create an International Monitoring Team (IMT) to verify the ceasefire, comprising 50 unarmed members of the armed forces of Malaysia, Libya and Brunei cantoned in five cities in the conflict area. In 2009 this team was expanded and strengthened: two officers of the Norwegian army reinforced the security component, while the European Union (EU) provided two experts in human rights, international humanitarian law and humanitarian response. In parallel, the IMT incorporated a Civilian Protection Component comprising one international and three local non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In 2009 the negotiating parties agreed to create an International Contact Group (ICG) to act as observers at the negotiations and advise the parties and the facilitator.1

The ICG is formed by four countries (Britain, Japan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia), together with four international NGOs (Conciliation Resources, the Community of Sant Egidio, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and Muhammadiyah).

Peace agreements

The negotiations started in 1997 with an agreement on a general cessation of hostilities. In the Tripoli Agreement (2001) the parties defined a negotiation agenda with three main elements: security (which had already been agreed on in 2001); humanitarian response, rehabilitation and development (agreed in 2002); and ancestral territories (2008).

In October 2012 the parties finally adopted the Framework Agreement establishing a roadmap for the transition. In the following 15 months the parties concluded the annexes on transitional modalities (February 2013), revenue generation and wealth sharing (July 2013), power sharing (December 2013), and normalisation (January 2014). Finally, in March 2014 the Comprehensive Agreement was signed in the Presidential Palace.

The central axis of the agreement is the establishment of a new self-governing entity called Bangsamoro, which will replace the existing Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao after a transition led by the MILF. The agreement envisages a process of reform in the new autonomous region that will replace the presidential system that governs the rest of the country with a parliamentary one. The objective is to promote the emergence of programmatic political parties.

The government understands that the insurgency must be part of the solution and must assume the corresponding responsibilities. To this end it has encouraged the transformation of the insurgency into a political movement able to take part in local and regional elections.

In terms of endorsement, the peace agreement must be transformed into a law that will regulate the Statute of Autonomy, called the Bangsamoro Basic Law. After parliamentary approval, a plebiscite will be held in the conflict-affected areas. This plebiscite will also serve to determine the territorial extent of the autonomous region, since the municipalities bordering the current autonomous community will have the option to join the new entity.

Constitutional reform is a contentious issue. The MILF insists on the need for reform in order to consolidate the agreements. However, the government has been reluctant to initiate a process that could be tedious and could open a “Pandora’s box”. But doubts about some of the agree- ments’ compliance with the constitution suggest that such a reform process might eventually be discussed. Beyond the agreement with the MILF, the peace process in Mindanao could contribute to opening a national debate about the territorial organisation of the country, since important sectors in other regions are demanding broad constitutional reform along federal lines.

Roadmap of the transition

A controversial issue during the negotiations was the expected time line for implementation. The MILF suggested a six-year period, while the government refused to make commitments beyond its presidential term (2010-16), since the Philippine political system lacks guarantees in terms of the continuity of public policies from one administration to the next. Finally, the MILF accepted this argument and the 2012 Framework Agreement defined a roadmap for implementation with a time horizon of the presidential elections of May 2016.

The key implementation institutions are as follows:

The Transition Commission comprises 15 people (seven appointed by each side, under an MILF chairperson). Its main mission was the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which was submitted to Congress for approval in September 2014.
The Transitional Authority will be headed by the MILF and will comprise representatives of various social, political and economic actors from the autonomous region. It will be formally set up after the Basic Law is enacted by Congress. Its mission will be to pilot the transformation of the existing autonomous institutions until the holding of elections for a new autonomous government (initially expected in May 2016, although they might need to be postponed).
The Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) is in charge of monitoring the implementation of the agreements. It comprises five members (two representatives of national NGOs, two of international NGOs, and a former EU ambassador to the Philippines who acts as coordinator). The TPMT issues periodic reports for both parties, and public reports twice a year. But its most relevant role – and probably the most controversial – will be to certify the end of the implementation process, which, in turn, conditions the MILF decommissioning process.
Despite the fact that both parties are represented in all the relevant organs, the negotiating teams remain an organ of last resort to resolve potential problems or disagreements. Malaysia – the facilitator country – and the ICG continue to provide support at the request of the parties.

The challenge of normalisation

Apart from enacting the Bangsamoro Basic law and adapting the various regional institutions to the new Statute of Autonomy, the main objective of the transitional period is the consolidation of normalisation, which is understood as “a process whereby communities can achieve their desired quality of life, which includes the pursuit of sustainable livelihood and political participation within a peaceful deliberative society”.2 The concept of normalisation includes what is termed disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in other contexts, as well as additional elements aimed at the consolidation of peace and human security.

The process of normalisation has four essential elements:

The first is socioeconomic development programmes for conflict-affected areas. The MILF-led Bangsamoro Development Agency will be in charge of coordination, together with the Sajahatra presidential programme of immediate relief to improve health conditions, education and development.
Confidence-building measures include two key processes. Firstly, development programmes will be aimed specifically at MILF members and their relatives in their six main camps. Secondly, the government will commit to using amnesties, pardons, and other available mechanisms to resolve the cases of people accused or convicted of actions and crimes related to the Mindanao armed conflict.3 It is worth noting that neither the MILF nor the government security forces face pending accusations of gross human rights violations or crimes against humanity.
In matters of transitional justice and reconciliation, a three-person team is mandated to elaborate a methodological proposal about how to address the legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro (Muslim) people, correct historical injustices, and address human rights violations, including marginalisation due to land dispossession. The team can also propose programmes and measures to promote reconciliation between conflict-affected communities and heal the physical, mental and spiritual wounds caused by the conflict. This mandate includes the proposal of measures to guarantee non-repetition.
The sensitive issue of security has four elements. The first is reform of the police, since responsibility for public order will be given to a new police force for the Bangsamoro that will be civilian in character and accountable to the communities it serves. The negotiating parties commissioned the Independent Commission on Policing to draft a report with recommendations in this regard. This report was delivered in April 2015.

Secondly, the parties agreed to carry out a joint programme to identify and dismantle “private” armed groups (paramilitaries), which are often controlled by mayors and governors. The operational criteria for this task are still awaiting development.

The third element is arms decommissioning by the MILF. This process is defined as the activities aimed at facilitating the transition of the insurgent forces to a productive civilian life. An Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) is in charge of registering the MILF’s members and weapons, and planning the phases of collecting, transporting and storing weapons.4 There is as yet no agreement among the parties on the final destination of the weapons decommissioned by the insurgency, and they will be temporarily stockpiled in containers and subject to joint supervision by the insurgency and security forces under international coordination.

The fourth and last security-related element affects the armed forces, who have committed to carrying out a repositioning to help facilitate peace and coexistence. This repositioning will be based on a joint evaluation of the security conditions.

Other normalisation-related elements

A Joint Normalisation Committee will coordinate the overall normalisation process. In terms of financing, the government will assume the responsibility to supply the funds necessary to sustain the process, while the MILF has the right to procure and manage additional funds.

A Joint Peace and Security Committee has overall responsibility for the supervision of all security-related matters of normalization until the full deployment of the new Bangsamoro Police. On the operative side, Joint Peace and Security Teams (comprising members of the armed forces, police and the MILF) will handle law and order in the areas agreed by the parties. In parallel, the existing mechanisms for ceasefire verification will remain operative (the Coordination Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities, the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) to combat crime in MILF areas and the IMT).

The Agreement on Normalisation does not refer to the MILF cantonments because this point was discussed in the framework of the 1997 bilateral ceasefire agreement. After intense debates the parties identified major and satellite camps where the combatants and their relatives had a stable presence and formed rural communities. There was no registry of members of these communities or their weapons, and free individual movement is allowed.

The agreement also established that any movement of troops – by the insurgency or security forces – should be coordinated with the other party.

A special agreement (the AHJAG) allows the police to maintain public order in MILF-controlled areas in prior coordination with the MILF. The state performs its administrative duties under normal conditions in the whole territory.

A difference from the Final Agreement reached with the MNLF in 1996 is that this agreement does not provide for the integration of MILF combatants into the security forces, except for the new autonomous police.

In terms of de-mining, in 2002 the MILF adhered to the Geneva Call against the use of anti-personnel mines. In 2010 the government and MILF agreed to allow the Philippines Campaign against Land Mines to conduct civic education and the identification and destruction of unexploded ordnance.

Enabling factors for the peace process

First and foremost, both parties have long acknowledged the limits of armed confrontation. In 2000 the government broke off the ceasefire to launch “all-out-war”, which led to the MILF’s military defeat in just four months. However, both the government and the security forces realised that the root causes of the problem were not resolved and that the Muslim population retained an unbroken determination to fight for its identity and dignity. From the perspective of the insurgency, since its creation the MILF recognised that armed victory was not possible, and instead focused on the primacy of peace negotiations.

More recently, the reformist government of Benigno Aquino promoted a change in the country’s military doctrine (AFP, 2010) in the framework of its commitment to resolve internal armed conflicts and deal with the growing geopolitical challenges resulting from China’s emergence as a regional power. The new objective is no longer to “win the war”, but to “win the peace”, and the new doctrine emphasises the establishment of relations of trust with the communities affected by the conflict. The overall goal is the liberation of human and financial resources previously devoted to the internal confrontation in order to be able to better deal with external threats.

Interestingly, the parties have also understood the limits of peace negotiations. Both the government and the insurgency admit that the reforms needed to acknowledge and respect the way of life and history of the Muslim and indigenous peoples demand a wide national consensus. The problems that hampered the implementation of past peace agreements highlight the need for a collective ownership of the peace process and its results by society. For this reason both parties have engaged in intensive consultations with the social, academic, political and institutional sectors with the double objective of strengthening the process with the inputs of those who support it, and listening and responding to the concerns of those who are more sceptical and potentially opposed to the negotiations. On several occasions the MILF has gathered hundreds of thousands of followers in huge conventions to ratify the decisions of its Central Committee.

Apart from these consultation processes, the government and the insurgency have included civil society members in their teams and on several occasions have invited civil society delegates and members of Congress to witness the negotiations. The parties also agreed on the participation of civil society in several of the bodies involved in the implementation of the agreements, notably the TPMT.

These institutional efforts towards inclusion are largely a response to the pressures of an organised civil society that has relentlessly promoted peacebuilding initiatives parallel to the negotiations. These initiatives include the creation of peace zones, inter-religious dialogues, capacity-building in the theory and practice of conflict resolution, the consolidation of citizen agendas, lobbying the armed actors, and the creation of ceasefire monitoring mechanisms such as the Bantay Ceasefire or the Civil Protection Component of the IMT.

Some additional elements help explain the progress of the negotiations:

The parties’ pragmatism and realism: The insurgency abandoned the objective of total independence in the context of negotiations, while the country’s various governments have all recognised the existence of the root causes of the conflict and committed to a solution based on dialogue.
Confidence-building measures: The lengthy bilateral ceasefire contributed to building trust between the insurgency and military and police commanders, including at the personal level. This trust is currently the main guarantor that there will be no relapse into armed confrontation. Furthermore, both parties recognise international humanitarian law and international human rights treaties (on the recruitment of child soldiers, the prohibition of the use of anti-personnel mines, etc.). These factors have been fundamental in reducing the levels of confrontation and generating trust between the parties and civil society.
Strengthening of capacities: Both the government and the MILF are well aware of the problems that emerged during the implementation of the 1996 agreement with the MNLF. The parties therefore decided early on to strengthen the capacity of the MILF to manage civil institutions: in 2002 they created the Bangsamoro Development Agency and in 2009 the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute, both led by the MILF.

Additional highlights

The main peacebuilding developments in the Philippines emerged during the presidency of Fidel Ramos (1992-98). Ramos was a retired general who had been chief of staff of the armed forces during the Marcos dictatorship as well as during the first democratic government, i.e. of President Corazón Aquino. In 1992 Ramos promoted an ambitious process of national dialogue (Coronel-Ferrer, 2002) for the drawing up of a national peace policy. The result of this consultation was a conceptual framework that identified the structural problems affecting the country and defined “six paths to peace”. The conceptual framework emphasises negotiations between the government and the insurgency as one of the paths to peace, but states that a peace process must necessarily be wider and more inclusive than mere peace negotiations. This innovative national peace policy has coexisted for years in contrast to (and in conflict with) a classic national security doctrine focused on defeating the internal enemy. In 2003 a crisis in negotiations and the return of violent incidents mobilised civil society to promote an initiative of its own to verify the ceasefire, known as the Bantay Ceasefire. The network was composed of around 200 voluntary members and, despite the financial constraints it faced, became an essential complement to the formal verification commissions, receiving the appreciation of both parties.

An additional element is the outstanding role played by women in the peace process. The Philippines is possibly the country with the best implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security. Teresita Deles holds the position of presidential adviser for peace, while Miriam Coronel was the first woman to lead a negotiating team that eventually signed a peace agreement. Women have also led the legal advi- sory teams of both the government and the MILF. Similar to other contexts, women in the Philippines have a wide presence and leadership role in civil society, with Muslim and indigenous women playing a fundamental role (Herbolzheimer, 2013; Conciliation Resources, 2015).

Implementation challenges

In spite of the positive developments, the implementation of the peace agreement is facing multiple obstacles.

The first limiting factor is time. During the negotiation of the Framework Agreement (2012) the government man- aged to link the transitional period to the end of the presidential term in May 2016. But the negotiating teams have not been able to keep up the agreed pace of negotia- tion and implementation. As a result, the parties will have to agree to an extension of the implementation period.

Responsibility for the delay is shared. On the one hand, the insurgency lacks enough qualified and reliable/trustworthy personnel to take on all the responsibilities derived from the transition. On the other hand, the government negotiating team has to deal with limited buy-in on both the agreement and its implementation by other sectors of the bureaucracy.

At the same time Congress has been dragging its feet in enacting the peace agreements into law, while the judiciary must still assess whether the agreements comply with the constitution. There is a high risk that these two state institutions will raise issues that may further block the implementation of the agreements that have been signed.

Furthermore, in the Philippines, prejudice against Muslims – a heritage from the colonial period – still runs deep.

With less than a year remaining until the country’s presidential and legislative elections (May 2016), some prominent politicians and media outlets are turning to populist rhetoric to antagonise public opinion against the peace process.

Even among better-intentioned political actors, a lack of knowledge about the social, political, and cultural reality of the insurgency in particular and the Muslim population in general results in faulty diagnoses and mistaken responses. Successive governments have associated the Moro problem with poverty and economic marginalisation, thus neglecting the relevance of identity and parity of esteem. On its part, the insurgency has been unable to articulate a political discourse that the whole country can understand and endorse. Only after patient dialogue have the peace negotiators deconstructed some of these erroneous imaginaries, but both the Christian and Muslim sectors of society still distrust each other.

The main security-related problem is the proliferation of arms and armed groups. One reason is that holding weapons is legal in the Philippines. Related to this, successive governments have failed in their attempts to disband paramilitary groups run by local politicians. There is also a proliferation of additional armed groups, which can be classified into three categories: an MILF breakaway group that is sceptical about the government’s political commitment (the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters); extremist cells linked to international extremist violence (Abu Sayyaf, Jemaa Islamiyah); and ordinary criminal organisations.

Other difficulties are inherent to any process of transition from war to peace. Apart from political will, the government needs to prove its capacity to transform words into deeds, which has historically proved to be a challenge. In parallel, the insurgency needs a radical paradigm shift from a semi-clandestine military structure to a social and political movement – a terrain in which it has limited experience and where to some extent it is at a disadvantage compared to more established political actors.

Lessons learned for other peace processes

Each peace process responds to a specific conflict that emerges for concrete reasons and in concrete circum- stances (social, political, cultural and temporal). However, comparative analysis is fundamental in every peace process. Some of the lessons from the Philippines could be relevant to other contexts:

Peace is not a product, but a process. The transformative capacity of a peace agreement and its sustainability over time depend on its legitimacy, which in turn is dependent on the extent that social, political and economic actors feel a sense of ownership of the deliberative process leading to the peace agreements and their implementation.
Negotiations are just one among multiple paths to peace. In parallel to the negotiations between the government and the insurgency, other dialogue processes must build or restore relations between sectors of society that have been or remained divided during the armed conflict. This is essential to achieving the social, political, economic and cultural transformations needed to overcome a protracted armed conflict.
The current context demands efforts to facilitate the participation of historically excluded sectors such as women, victims and ethnic communities. Including these sectors greatly contributes to raising the international legitimacy of a peace process.
The crises that emerge during negotiations are also opportunities to improve the mechanisms that support the talks.
A government involved in a peace process must include the legislature and take into account the perceptions of the judiciary before the signing of an agreement. Constitutional amendments are the best guarantee to consolidate a country’s structural transformation.
Giving an insurgency the opportunity to transform itself into a political movement free of coercion and threats is the best guarantee of the non-recurrence of armed conflict. Such an evolution can be enhanced by preventing the potential social and political isolation of the insurgency, as well as agreeing on transitional measures for the political participation of the insurgency before it can compete on equal terms with more established political movements.
The decommissioning of arms by the insurgency, and the repositioning and reform of the government security sector are gradual and interdependent processes that contribute to confidence-building. The insurgency is aware that the hard-earned legitimacy it has gained as a peace actor can be lost with just one mistake in the management of its weapons, or if it does not allow the state to be fully present and perform its social, administrative and public order duties in the whole territory.
The implementation of a peace agreement can be as difficult as the negotiations. In the Philippines, this has been managed through the creation of hybrid agreement implementation bodies that allow the joint and complementary work of national and international, civil and military, institutional and civil society actors.
The implementation of a peace agreement implies an asymmetric power relationship that is favourable to the state. If an insurgent movement does not comply with the agreement, it loses legitimacy. If the state does not comply, the insurgency has limited means to apply pressure because a return to armed conflict is not an option.
The international community plays a decisive role in accompanying and supporting the peace process. But its role is always secondary and does not replace national leadership. The agenda for negotiations, the time line, the design of consultations, the terms of reference for international support, and other fundamental elements of a peace process are exclusively in the hands of national actors.

About the author: *Kristian Herbolzheimer has more than 15 years of experience in peacebuilding affairs, first as the director of the Colombia Programme at the School for a Culture of Peace in Barcelona, and since 2009 as director of the Colombia and Philippines programmes at Conciliation Resources. As a member of the Mindanao International Contact Group he has acted as adviser to the peace negotiations between the government of the Philippines and the MILF insurgency for six years. He has a master’s in international peace studies and is a qualified agricultural engineer.

Source: This article was published by NOREF as December 2015 Report (PDF)

References: AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). 2010. Internal Peace and Security Plan “Bayanihan”. <http://www.army.mil.ph/ATR_Website/pdf_files/IPSP/ IPSP%20Bayanihan.pdf> Annex on Normalisation. 2014. <http://peacemaker.un.org/ sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/PH_140125_AnnexNormal- ization.pdf> Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. 2014. <http://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/ PH_140327_ComprehensiveAgreementBangsamoro.pdf> Conciliation Resources. 2015. “Operationalizing women’s ‘meaningful participation’ in the Bangsamoro.” <http://www.c-r.org/resources/operationalising-womens- meaningful-participation-bangsamoro> Coronel-Ferrer, M. 2002. “Philippines National Unification Commission: national consultations and the ‘six paths to peace’.” In C. Barnes, ed. Owning the Process: Civil Society in Peace Processes. London: Conciliation Resources. Fisas, V. 2015. Yearbook on Peace Processes. Barcelona: Icaria. <http://escolapau.uab.es/img/programas/pro- cesos/15anuarii.pdf> Herbolzheimer, K. 2013. “Muslim women in peace processes: reflections for dialogue in Mindanao.” <http://www.c-r.org/resources/muslim-women-peace-pro- cesses-reflections-dialogue-mindanao> Human Security Report Project. 2012. Human Security Report 2012. <http://hsrgroup.org/docs/Publications/ HSR2012/HSRP2012_Chapter%206.pdf> ndependent Commission on Policing. 2015. Policing for the Bangsamoro. April 14th. Unpublished report commissioned by the peace panels of the government of the Philippines and the MILF. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2015. 2015 Human Development Report: Rethinking Work for Human Development. <http://hdr.undp.org/en/rethinking- work-for-human-development>

Notes: 1 For more information about this innovative ICG, see <http://www.c-r.org/resources/practice-paper-innovation-mediation-international-contact-group-mindanao> 2 See the Annex on Normalisation (2014), which is included in this report’s list of references. 3 There is no official data about the numbers of detainees, but they are not large. 4 In the Philippines it is legal to bear arms, and disarmament affects mainly illegal arms. Legal weapons will need to be registered.

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The Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre/Norsk Ressurssenter for Fredsbygging (NOREF) is an independent foundation established to integrate knowledge, experience, and critical reflection into and thereby strengthen peacebuilding policy and practice. NOREF supports the development of competence and resources for peacebuilding efforts in the fields of conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict rehabilitation, as well as mediation and humanitarian actors in conflict-affected areas. In order to provide resources on peacebuilding, mediation and humanitarian issues to the Norwegian and the international peacebuilding community, the centre collaborates with a wide network of researchers, policymakers and practitioners.

DepEd strengthens efforts in peace-building through education

January 12, 2021 – As classes resume for School Year 2020-2021, the Department of Education (DepEd) continues building a culture of peace and resilience in conflict-affected and vulnerable communities to ensure learning continuity and to protect the learners and personnel’s rights, welfare, and neutrality during armed conflict situations.

Spearheaded by DepEd – Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) in partnership with UNICEF Philippines, the Documentation of Good Practices on Schools and Communities in Armed Conflict Situations was developed to showcase selected case studies of notable peace-building practices and initiatives on establishing and maintaining learners and schools as zones of peace.

“We are firm with our commitment to protect the rights and welfare of our learners through the issuance of the national policy framework on learners and schools as zones of peace. This policy ensures the creation of safe, inclusive, and conflict-sensitive learning environments,” Secretary Leonor Magtolis shared.

“Our children and our schools are not objects of attack nor zones of battle; but rather, they are instrumental in building and sustaining a culture of peace in our country,” Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua added.

The practices are reflective of the three building blocks of DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2019 or the National Policy Framework on Learners and Schools as Zones of Peace or LSZOP, namely (1) Education for Peace, (2) Peace for Education, and (3) Crisis Management through Education in Emergencies (EiE).

DRRMS Director Ronilda Co said that the crafting of the framework was heavily informed by actual experiences of how the schools and communities adapted and even flourished in the face of the realities and hardships of armed conflict.

Furthermore, the research presented measures to strengthen learning from the cases such as (1) supporting upstream work on the development of an evidence-based national policy framework and guidelines to protect schools and learners in conflict-affected areas, and (2) informing the downstream work on the integration of DRRM practices and peace-building in the professional development of school heads, teachers and education practitioners in specific school divisions and districts affected by armed conflict.

“We hope that this study contributes to making our schools safer, more secure, and child friendly. Educators, community members, parents, and students can work together towards a better world where all people live safely and free from fear,” UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov ended.

The Philippine Framework for Peace: A Conceptual Study

The study aimed to develop a Philippine peace framework in its sociopolitical-psychological perspectives. The international framework of peace with dimensions of substantive, processual, and personal peace values and spheres were used as springboard to describe the Philippine peace. Concepts of positive peace and negative peace emerged in Philippine peace efforts. Library search and document analysis were employed as methods of investigation. Peace philosophy model focused on the peace thinking of the respondents as analyzed by the authors in the literatures reviewed. Peace spheres span from the influence of a universalist to inward-oriented concept of peace; also from individual to group level of human organizations within the nation. In the process of analysis, the acronym DEFERENCE and FIST were formed. Interestingly, deference means “respect” while, in antithesis, the word fist is associated with fight. Literally, deference is a means to avoid fistfight (or may denote any form of fight, for that matter). In the present study, DEFERENCE stands for Discipline and order, Emotional stability/positive affect, Freedom from fear and want, Equality based on social justice, universal Respect, Equitability, Non-direct and structural violence, Care for the environment, Empowerment and stewardship, and education. FIST, on the other, represents Family-oriented values, Interdependence and solidarity, Spirituality and Trust. These peace values comprised the socio-politicalpsychological Philippine peace framework in the educational, organizational and political settings under study.

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Home > Journals > The Journal of Social Encounters > Vol. 4 (2020) > Iss. 2

Reflections on Peace Education and the Philippines

Patricia M. Mische , Lloyd Professor of Peace Studies and World Law, Antioch College (retired) Follow

This essay, written at the request of JSE editors as an introduction to its special section on Peace Education in the Philippines, discusses the meaning and importance of educating for peace in a globally interdependent but fractured world; shares reflections from the author’s personal journey as a learner/teacher/researcher engaged in peace education, with special attention to her experience in peace education in the Philippines from 1979 to 2020; and introduces two very accomplished Philippine peace educators and their work.

Recommended Citation

Mische, Patricia M. (2020) "Reflections on Peace Education and the Philippines," The Journal of Social Encounters : Vol. 4: Iss. 2, 78-89. Available at: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/social_encounters/vol4/iss2/7

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Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations

Philippines shares experience in promoting a “Culture of Peace” through intercultural dialogues and other mechanisms

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The Philippine delegation, led by DFA Assistant Secretary Noralyn Jubaira-Baja of the United Nations and Other International Organizations (UNIO) shares the Philippine experience in promoting a “Culture of Peace” at the national, regional and multilateral levels during the Ministerial Meeting of the UN Alliance of Civilizations-Group of Fiends (UNAOC) at the 73rd UNGA in New York.

Philippine peace process has transformed more than 15,000 lives

METRO MANILA, (22 July 2020) — The Duterte administration’s steadfast commitment to honor all signed peace agreements with internal armed groups across the country has led to the transformation of around 15,000 former combatants into peaceful and productive citizens.

This was highlighted by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana during the pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum held on Wednesday featuring the Security, Justice, and Peace Cabinet Cluster (SJPCC) .

“We are honoring our signed peace agreements with the other internal armed conflict groups such as the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), KAPATIRAN and CBA-CPLA (Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army), and through various peace forums, these former combatants and their families have become peaceful and productive citizens,” said Lorenzana, who is also the chairperson of the SJPCC.

Sustaining peace with the Moro fronts

“The most successful peace initiative of the government is the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) that created the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM),” he noted.

On January 25, 2019, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) officially announced the ratification of the BOL which opened a new chapter in the Bangsamoro people’s quest for genuine autonomy and self-governance.

“Part of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) is the decommissioning of the MILF combatants, 30% of them have already been decommissioned and the remaining 70% will be decommissioned in the next two years,” Lorenzana said.

On September 7, 2019, 1,060 members of the MILF-Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces were decommissioned. By the end of 2019, 12,000 of these 40,000 ex-fighters had completed the decommissioning process.

These former combatants then underwent basic military training so they can become part of the Joint Peace and Security Teams (JPST), a peacekeeping force composed of military, police, and MILF members whose main task is to ensure peace and safety in their communities.

Moreover, the government also continued to engage the MNLF in peaceful dialogue through the groups led by Nur Misuari and Yusop Jikiri groups. This initiative is in line with efforts to complete the implementation of commitments under the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the government and the MNLF.

“The President wants a comfortable life for all Filipinos and an equitable share of the fruits of our development. We will continue to do our best to ensure that our agreement in 1996 will be fully honored,” said Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito G. Galvez Jr. during a meeting with Misuari earlier this year.

Rejecting armed revolution

As the Moro people fought for the right to govern themselves and chart their region’s political and economic future, there were also other groups which proved that armed revolution was not the solution to the challenges they were facing.

This was the story of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade-Tabara Paduano Group, a rejectionist group of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

After signing a peace deal with the Philippine Government, the organization, now known as the KAPATIRAN, continued to sustain the gains of peace. On September 19, 2019, 727 of its members underwent the process of decommissioning.

Of the 727 KAPATIRAN members, around 266 of them have undergone basic military training. They are now all members of their respective Community Defense Units (CDUs) in Negros and Panay islands.

Another success story is that of the Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA). Like the KAPATIRAN, the CBA-CPLA turned its back on armed struggle and signed the Mt. Data Sipat Peace Agreement with the government in 1986.

Since the signing of the agreement, members of the CBA-CPLA have either been reintegrated into the Armed Forces of the Philippines, employed as forest guards by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or organized their own people’s organizations.

In a bid to complete the remaining commitments under the Sipat agreement, the government and CBA-CPLA created the Joint Evaluation and Monitoring Committee (JEMC), which has served as an avenue to discuss and resolve key peace and security issues in the Cordillera.

According to Galvez, KAPATIRAN and the CBA-CPLA demonstrate that “good things come to those who choose the path of peace and development.”

Community-driven projects

As part of the government’s “Whole-of-Nation” approach under Executive Order No. 70, it is now carrying out localized peace engagements wherein local chief executives are taking the lead in finding solutions to the decades-long communist insurgency.

“While it is true that peace engagements are nationally-driven, we should also not forget that each conflict is unique, and thus, solutions should be based on the local context,” Galvez pointed out.

“Hindi baril at bala ang solusyon para wakasan ang mga armadong grupong lumalaban sa pamahalaan kundi mabigyan sila nang pagkakataong mag-bagong buhay at mabuhay ng tahimik kapiling ng kanilang mga pamilya,” Lorenzana stressed during the pre-SONA forum.

To lay the foundations of genuine peace and sustainable development, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) is implementing community-driven projects through the PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) Program.

As of 2019, 11,898 of 13,530 PAMANA projects have been completed, which has opened up various livelihood opportunities for thousands of residents in remote, conflict-affected areas throughout the country.

Aside from the PAMANA Program, rebel returnees may also avail of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), another livelihood initiative being administered by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Healing and reconciliation

The Duterte administration believes that the pursuit of just and lasting peace does not end with the signing of peace agreements. There must also be healing and reconciliation among the people which is a longer and more complex process.

“In Marawi City, our social healing and peacebuilding programs are being implemented to promote social cohesion and develop a culture of peace, mutual understanding and solidarity,” Lorenzana said.

Promoting healing and reconciliation should not only be done in Marawi City, but in all conflict-affected and vulnerable communities across the country. This is the rationale behind OPAPP’S Social Healing and Peacebuilding (SHaPE) Program.

“It takes time to heal and recover from the pain and trauma caused by war. Filipinos should, therefore, come together and work hand in hand so that we can break down the barriers of fear, hatred and discord,” Galvez said.

“By honoring all our signed peace agreements and integrating the principles of social healing and reconciliation in all our interventions, we shall be able to promote the culture of peace, understanding and solidarity among our people,” he said. ###

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Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace, Reconciliation and Unity 5/F Agustin I Building, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig, Philippines

Office of the Secretary: +632 637-6083 Trunk line: +632 636-0701 to 07 Fax: +632 638-2216 Email: [email protected]

Defining the Concept of Peace » Positive & Negative Peace

In this excerpt from our IEP Peace Academy, learn why understanding the different definitions of peace is crucial for peacebuilders.

Learn why understanding the concept of peace from both a negative peace and positive peace perspective is crucial for peacebuilders.

Defining the Concept of Peace: Positive and Negative Peace

There are two common conceptions of peace — Negative Peace, or actual peace, and Positive Peace.

What is Negative Peace?

IEP’s definition of Negative Peace is understood as ‘the absence of violence or fear of violence — an intuitive definition that many agree with, and one which enables us to measure peace more easily.

Measures of Negative Peace are the foundation of the IEP’s flagship product, the Global Peace Index .

However, while the Global Peace Index tells us how peaceful a country is, it doesn’t tell us what or where we should be investing in to strengthen or maintain levels of peace.

This leads us to Positive Peace , derived from the data contained within the Global Peace Index . Positive Peace provides a framework to understand and address the many complex challenges the world faces.

What is Positive Peace?

Positive Peace is defined as the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies.

It provides a framework to understand and then address the multiple and complex challenges the world faces. Positive Peace is transformational in that it is a cross-cutting factor for progress, making it easier for businesses to sell, entrepreneurs and scientists to innovate, individuals to produce, and governments to effectively regulate.

Difference between Negative and Positive Peace

In addition to the absence of violence, Positive Peace is also associated with many other social characteristics that are considered desirable, including better economic outcomes, measures of well-being, levels of inclusiveness and environmental performance.

A parallel can be drawn with medical science; the study of pathology has led to numerous breakthroughs in our understanding of how to treat and cure disease.

However, it was only when medical science turned its focus to the study of healthy human beings that we understood what we needed to do to stay healthy. This could only be learned by studying what was working.

Are you interested in learning more about peace? Sign up for the free, online Positive Peace Academy

Vision of Humanity

Editorial staff.

Vision of Humanity is brought to you by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), by staff in our global offices in Sydney, New York, The Hague, Harare and Mexico. Alongside maps and global indices, we present fresh perspectives on current affairs reflecting our editorial philosophy.

Levels of Positive Peace Can Help Predict Economic Shifts

Data shows that peace and economic performance can be mutually reinforcing.

Civil Unrest

How the pandemic has shaken our global socio economic system.

The pandemic has shaken our global socio-economic system, but some countries will fare better than others, writes Steve Killelea.

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Pacifist feminism

Reflections on Peace Education

Alicia Cabezudo International Association of Educators for Peace

Education for peace and respect for human rights is particularly important in this period, if we compare the values this education promotes with the daily violence, the horrors of war and the gradual destruction of values such as solidarity, cooperation and respect for others: all of them problems that assault us every day.

Indiscriminate persecution, massacres and ethnic cleansing are difficult to explain when our shocked and surprised students ask us about them; perhaps they are even incomprehensible in the context of education. It is harder still to clarify these processes when the possible solution for acts such as these is, in fact, the continued bombing of cities and of a desperate civilian population.

We also come across extreme everyday situations when we analyse the inequality and injustice of our socio-economic surroundings and the brutal violence of our “ideal” modern societies… in which it is the state itself that attacks the population, where individualism and self interest are promoted and where whatever is considered “different” becomes “dangerous”. These are all wars, of a different type, but with the same ingredients of injustice, violence and destruction.

Here the responses of educators become drained of content and their explanations no longer work. The practice of building knowledge through research, reading, the analysis of information, interviews, genesis of conflicts, systematisation of what has been learnt, the development of critical thinking, etc, should lead us to rethink the educational model applied until now. This model is perhaps slightly naive, despite its apparent progressive pedagogical nature, and it is one with which educators ourselves have come to be unhappy.

I believe that Peace Education, although considered a transversal element in many educational curriculum models around the world, has in fact been conceived as a secondary matter. Something necessary but accidental, important but not essential, present but “absent”. A view of the curriculum which dignifies it without modifying it, without designing new alternatives for a humanitarian, ethical, civic education — something increasingly necessary in the world we live in.

Because Peace Education means developing a critical, serious and profound approach to the current situation of which we form a part and the historical epoch in which we find ourselves, an undeniable reality that does not always appear in the plans of the Ministries, of educational institutions nor of many principals and teachers.

Peace Education has been conceived as a secondary matter; something necessary but accidental, important but not essential, present but “absent”

“Peace is not defined only by the absence of war and conflict, it is also a dynamic concept that needs to be grasped in positive terms, such as the presence of social justice and harmony, the possibility for human beings to fully realise their potential and respect for their right to live with dignity throughout their lives. Sustainable human development is not possible without peace. And without just, equitable, ongoing planning, peace cannot be maintained.” 1

These concepts, particularly relevant in the context of the analysis we are currently trying to develop, should influence all imaginable pedagogical proposals for Peace Education, giving it a multidimensional character, able to reach into different areas.

We are witnessing today a reworking of our models and our vocabularies and we understand that there are major changes in the concept of peace, above all as it relates to the opposite term, “war”. This conceptual modification should be integrated, along with the methodology for teaching it, into the learning of teachers and students.

Indeed, after many years the idea of peace has evolved and a broader and more complex understanding of it now relates it to the concepts of fairness, justice, respect for human rights, the rights of peoples and tolerance. Alongside this process, teaching practices in Peace Education have also been modified, taking on a clear commitment to the principles of democratic participation along with the implementation of educational activities which include issues of nonviolence and conflict transformation by peaceful means, with a view to building a more compassionate, juster and fairer society.

Peace, as an individual, social, national and international value must be analysed in depth from an interdisciplinary and multidimensional perspective

Armed conflicts in other parts of the world now make us more open to a cognitive, systematic and up to date treatment of the miseries and cruelties of war and also to the analysis of its terrible consequences, using the multiple resources that the media allow us, bringing it closer to us. Peace, as an individual, social, national and international value must be tested and analysed in depth from an interdisciplinary and multidimensional perspective.

The geographical and historical treatment of the subject is necessary but not sufficient. Concepts and issues such as nationalism, sovereignty and the state; the role of the UN in the world of today; the reality of different ethnicities and their complicated coexistence; intercultural dialogue; solutions and disagreements within conflicts; the situation of refugees and their terrible defencelessness before the attacks of “friends” and enemies; crime related to drugs and prostitution; the dangers of nuclear war; the arms race and the arms trade as a profitable global business are urgent and important issues.

All of these issues desperately need to be the subject of reflection, debate, research and criticism by both teachers and students in an ongoing exercise of deepening knowledge, developed both individually and collectively on the basis of obtaining information from many sources, promoting the exchange of different opinions, developing critical judgment and the respect for diversity 2 .

But even this is not enough if we isolate the international problems that distress us so much from the everyday “wars” of the society in which we live. Marginalisation, social exclusion, violence and persecution are not things that we can only find in news reports about Mexico, Colombia, Syria, Crimea, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan…

An obligatory task of education is to link direct open conflicts with those “wars” which have other features

There are other “wars” much closer to home, right next to us. Social inequality, lack of vital resources for much of the population, unemployment and poverty create hopelessness and distrust of democratically elected governments. Authoritarian mechanisms, the control of information, crimes, delinquency and impunity are part of our political life.

In this sense, war is not so far away… and not only because of the globalisation of the arms trade or the information that we receive from the transnational media. It is a daily war to survive in terrible conditions of housing and health, of education and employment, of the insufficiency of essential public services and insecurity, with basic inherent principles of human dignity being trampled on every day in many countries and continents.

It is an obligatory task of education to link these two aspects: the direct open conflicts with those “wars” which have other features but are no less intense. Only through a comprehensive analysis of the roots of violence, its characteristics, forms and consequences can we make it possible to achieve a critical reflection, at the levels of both the individual and society, so as to generate possible changes that may lead towards a lasting peace in today’s world.

This is the great educational challenge for the coming years and for our pedagogical work in the field of Peace Education.Let us dare to face up to it.

1. Iglesias Díaz, Calo (2007). Educar pacificando: Una pedagogia de los conflictos , 1ª edición, Madrid, Fundación Cultura de Paz Editorial.

2 Bazán Campos, Domigo (2008). El oficio de pedagogo. Aportes para la construcción de una pràctica reflexiva en la escuela , Rosario, Argentina, Ed. Homo Sapiens.

Photography : United Nations Development Programme in Europe and CIS / CC BY / Desaturada. – Kids celebrate peace, friendship and tolerance on United Nations day –

America’s Military Is Not Prepared for War — or Peace

A photo of U.S. Navy sailors, in silhouette, aboard an aircraft carrier.

By Roger Wicker

Mr. Wicker, a Republican, is the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

“To be prepared for war,” George Washington said, “is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” President Ronald Reagan agreed with his forebear’s words, and peace through strength became a theme of his administration. In the past four decades, the American arsenal helped secure that peace, but political neglect has led to its atrophy as other nations’ war machines have kicked into high gear. Most Americans do not realize the specter of great power conflict has risen again.

It is far past time to rebuild America’s military. We can avoid war by preparing for it.

When America’s senior military leaders testify before my colleagues and me on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee behind closed doors, they have said that we face some of the most dangerous global threat environments since World War II. Then, they darken that already unsettling picture by explaining that our armed forces are at risk of being underequipped and outgunned. We struggle to build and maintain ships, our fighter jet fleet is dangerously small, and our military infrastructure is outdated. Meanwhile, America’s adversaries are growing their militaries and getting more aggressive.

In China, the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, has orchestrated a historic military modernization intended to exploit the U.S. military’s weaknesses. He has overtaken the U.S. Navy in fleet size, built one of the world’s largest missile stockpiles and made big advances in space. President Vladimir Putin of Russia has thrown Europe into war and mobilized his society for long-term conflict. Iran and its proxy groups have escalated their shadow war against Israel and increased attacks on U.S. ships and soldiers. And North Korea has disregarded efforts toward arms control negotiations and moved toward wartime readiness.

Worse yet, these governments are materially helping one another, cooperating in new ways to prevent an American-led 21st century. Iran has provided Russia with battlefield drones, and China is sending technical and logistical help to aid Mr. Putin’s war. They are also helping one another prepare for future fights by increasing weapons transfers and to evade sanctions. Their unprecedented coordination makes new global conflict increasingly possible.

That theoretical future could come faster than most Americans think. We may find ourselves in a state of extreme vulnerability in a matter of a few years, according to a growing consensus of experts. Our military readiness could be at its lowest point in decades just as China’s military in particular hits its stride. The U.S. Indo-Pacific commander released what I believe to be the largest list of unfunded items ever for services and combatant commands for next year’s budget, amounting to $11 billion. It requested funding for a raft of infrastructure, missile defense and targeting programs that would prove vital in a Pacific fight. China, on the other hand, has no such problems, as it accumulates the world’s leading hypersonic arsenal with a mix of other lethal cruise and attack missiles.

Our military leaders are being forced to make impossible choices. The Navy is struggling to adequately fund new ships, routine maintenance and munition procurement; it is unable to effectively address all three. We recently signed a deal to sell submarines to Australia, but we’ve failed to sufficiently fund our own submarine industrial base, leaving an aging fleet unprepared to respond to threats. Two of the three most important nuclear modernization programs are underfunded and are at risk of delays. The military faces a backlog of at least $180 billion for basic maintenance, from barracks to training ranges. This projects weakness to our adversaries as we send service members abroad with diminished ability to respond to crises.

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For Filipinos across the globe, June is a time to honor the Philippines’ long-sought independence

People participate in the Philippine Independence Day parade in New York, Sunday, June 2, 2024. Independence Day in the Philippines is observed annually on June 12, commemorating the country’s independence from Spain in 1898. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)

A plane flies above a Philippine flag at the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine, where Philippine independence from Spain was proclaimed in Kawit, Cavite province, Philippines, Monday, June 10, 2024. The revelry surrounding Philippine Independence Day, which falls on June 12, stretches far beyond the Southeast Asia archipelago. Millions of Filipinos across major U.S. cities, as well as Europe, Australia, and even the United Arab Emirates, will be able to find parades, street fairs, galas, and other gatherings close to home. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Workers prepare the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine where Philippine independence from Spain was proclaimed in Kawit, Cavite province, Philippines on Monday, June 10, 2024. The revelry surrounding Philippine Independence Day, which falls on June 12, stretches far beyond the Southeast Asia archipelago. Millions of Filipinos across major U.S. cities, as well as Europe, Australia, and even the United Arab Emirates, will be able to find parades, street fairs, galas, and other gatherings close to home. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Workers prepare the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine where Philippine independence from Spain was proclaimed in Kawit, Cavite province, Philippines, Monday, June 10, 2024. The revelry surrounding Philippine Independence Day, which falls on June 12, stretches far beyond the Southeast Asia archipelago. Millions of Filipinos across major U.S. cities, as well as Europe, Australia, and even the United Arab Emirates, will be able to find parades, street fairs, galas, and other gatherings close to home. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A worker prepares the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine, where Philippine independence from Spain was proclaimed in Kawit, Cavite province, Philippines, Monday, June 10, 2024. The revelry surrounding Philippine Independence Day, which falls on June 12, stretches far beyond the Southeast Asia archipelago. Millions of Filipinos across major U.S. cities, as well as Europe, Australia, and even the United Arab Emirates, will be able to find parades, street fairs, galas, and other gatherings close to home. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Children play at an obstacle course as organizers stage games as part of celebrations for Philippine Independence Day in Manila, Philippines, Monday, June 10, 2024. The revelry surrounding Philippine Independence Day, which falls on June 12, stretches far beyond the Southeast Asia archipelago. Millions of Filipinos across major U.S. cities, as well as Europe, Australia, and even the United Arab Emirates, will be able to find parades, street fairs, galas, and other gatherings close to home. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

People participate in the Philippine Independence Day parade in New York on Sunday, June 2, 2024. Independence Day in the Philippines is observed annually on June 12, commemorating the country’s independence from Spain in 1898. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)

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In the Philippines — where Spanish and later U.S. colonial rule persisted for nearly four centuries — June 12 is the real Independence Day. That date in 1898 was the pivotal moment when the island nation first made a bold move for autonomy.

Ahead of this year’s holiday in Manila, the nation’s capital, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on Filipinos in a video message to display the country’s flag everywhere “as we continue to fight for independence. Independence in different aspects of our being Filipinos, but more than this independence in our territory, our sovereignty.”

Since 2023, the Philippines has faced increasingly tense territorial confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea.

The much-awaited annual celebration would be festive with an array of activities, which started Monday at the capital’s historic Rizal Park, Marcos said. There’s a bazaar along with government stalls offering services to the public. The festivities include a cooking competition, a chili pepper-eating contest, free showing of movies about Filipino heroes, free nightly concerts and an obstacle-course race. A parade of 22 floats representing different provinces will be staged on Independence Day to be capped by a musical concert, he said.

The revelry surrounding Philippine Independence Day stretches far beyond the Southeast Asia archipelago, from the United Kingdom to the United Arab Emirates. Millions of Filipinos across cities in the U.S., Europe and Australia will be able to find parades, street fairs, galas and other gatherings close to home. Some are even flying in well-known talent from the Philippines. The occasion’s growing reach and inclusive ethos demonstrate how much the Filipino diaspora continues to assert cultural pride and flourish around the globe.

Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) top candidate for the European Parliament elections Maximilian Krah leaves a polling station on an e-scooter after casting his vote in the European and local elections in Dresden, Germany, Sunday, June 9, 2024. (Robert Michael/dpa via AP)

The fight for independence dates back to 1565 when Spain colonized the Philippines, naming it for King Philip II. It wasn’t until 1896 though that talk of revolution catalyzed action. Andrés Bonifacio, a leader of the Katipunan, a brotherhood of anti-Spain revolutionaries, and others tore up their “cedulas,” residential tax certificates for people considered Spanish subjects.

“It’s like tearing your passport or whatever identifies you as a citizen of a nation,” said Richard Chu, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who was born in the Philippines. “So, they tore that up symbolically as a break and declared independence — or at least (were) fighting for independence from Spain.”

Emilio Aguinaldo, also a member of the Katipunan, saw an opportunity for liberation when the U.S. declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898, over its treatment of Cuba. On June 12, he proclaimed independence and a year later, even became the first president of the Philippine Republic. But, the U.S. refused to recognize the country as a stand-alone territory, igniting the Philippine-American War, which lasted until April 1902.

78 years of independence

The Philippines finally became independent on July 4, 1946. So, the Fourth of July was the traditional holiday until President Diosdado Macapagal changed it in 1964 to June 12.

As a child in the ‘70s, Chu remembers watching preparations in Rizal Park. Festivities started in the morning with the senior Marcos raising the flag as cabinet and military officers looked on. The parade was more of a “military parade followed by people from different government agencies.”

“It’s supposed to be a festive celebration and every other city or major town would have its own Independence Day celebrations,” Chu said.

Independence Day may evoke mixed feelings for some who don’t have the same nationalist fervor or agree with its government’s policies. This is one reason Chu doesn’t feel an urgent need to mark the holiday. At the same time, he likes being with other Filipinos in his community.

“If I lived in Boston, I probably would participate just because of the festivities, like the food vendors and maybe some popular Filipino American scenery,” Chu said. “I am proud to be Filipino for sure.”

Festivities in the U.S.

New York City held a parade and a street fair along Madison Avenue on June 2. The same weekend in Seattle there was a two-day Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival. There have been large fiestas and smaller picnics in Texas, California and Colorado, among other states.

In Phoenix, the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team is holding its first-ever Filipino Heritage Celebration at Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Amilyn Pierce, who is part Filipino and the Diamondbacks’ vice-president of government affairs, credits a team business consultant who is also Filipino, Hunter Fitton, with pitching the Independence Day event. He pointed out high presence of Filipinos in the state. He also recruited local Filipino dance groups and food trucks. Diamondbacks caps with the Philippines flag also sold out.

“I was surprised to find that out that there was such a huge Filipino community,” Pierce said. “I just really love that the team has made it a priority to reach outside of maybe what someone might think is the normal or the stereotypical demographic.”

Celebrations in Europe

Across countries in Europe, there are large gatherings with longstanding reputations. Given that the Filipino diaspora is one of the largest diaspora populations in the world, it’s not surprising how many celebrations there are, said Chu, the Amherst professor.

In the Netherlands, the Kalayann Fiesta Foundation Netherlands held an Independence Day Picnic over the weekend. Ice Seguerra, a popular Filipino actor and singer-songwriter who is a transgender man, was the guest performer.

Journey Torres, who immigrated to the Netherlands from the Philippines in 1999 when he was 8, recalls going to a Philippine Independence Day event in Amsterdam two years later. He described it as having the atmosphere of a small “family barbecue party.” There weren’t many other Filipinos then. But by the 2010s, jobs and cultural exchange programs brought more. The event gained more notoriety with Filipinos coming from Germany and Belgium.

“Now there are also busses that goes from Belgium to the Netherlands,” Torres said. “I believe it’s one of the first Philippine Independence Day celebrations that was organized here in mainland Europe.”

The Philippine Independence Day Association in Rome has been organizing events for over 15 years in hotels, parks and piazzas. They seem to keep getting bigger and drawing Filipinos from all over Italy, said Jaiane Morales, the event’s programming deputy.

This year’s daylong fete, which was Sunday, took place inside a concert hall but with Pinoy food stalls outside that, among other fare, served the traditional Filipino ice cream dessert of halo halo as well as the Italian classic gelato. The goal is to have a feast of food and “Filipiniana costumes,” Morales said.

The theme of the event’s talent show, “Balik Saya” or “returning joy,” is meant to foster meaningful connection abroad. Millions of Filipinos have departed the Philippines, a leading source of global labor, in search of jobs and better opportunities to earn and provide for loved ones they’ve left behind.

“If they are missing their families at home, then this is one way of easing that loneliness,” Morales said.

___ Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report.

Terry Tang is a Phoenix-based member of AP’s Race and Ethnicity team. You can follow her on X at @ttangAP .

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