PEACE BY PEACE
My team and I then proceeded to the province of Agusan del Norte, where I made a courtesy call to Governor Angelica Amante-Matba. I told the good lady governor that her province will always have a special place in my heart.
As a young lieutenant who recently graduated from my Scout Ranger course, I was part of the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion that got lost in the Agusan jungles of Cabadbaran-Puting-Bato at the mountain boundaries of Mt. Mabaho of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Sur. I was assigned to lead a platoon during the December 1985 combat operations. One day, while we were patrolling the highlands, the whole battalion got lost in the jungles for days.
Weak, dehydrated, and disoriented, we didn’t know where to go exactly. A member of the Mamanwa/Manobo tribe rescued us. He guided us to their village in Puting Bato, Cabadbaran.
This is the reason why I have a soft heart for our IP brothers and sisters. For decades, they have been marginalized. This is a concern the OPAPRU is trying to address by implementing interventions that would uplift the lives of our IPs.
During my meeting with Gov. Angelica Amante-Matba and her engineers, we committed to provide her province with an additional ₱370 million worth of infrastructure projects under our Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Program for the Fiscal Year 2025, which would largely benefit the IP tribes in Agusan del Norte. This is my humble way of giving back to the people who saved more than 200 Scout Rangers, tired and hungry from a month of being deep in jungle operations.
These projects include the following:
- Upgrading of the Afga-Sitio Linao-Linao Road with Bridge (Phase II) in Buenavista worth ₱100 million;
- Improvement of the Balang-Balang-San Antonio-Kaunlaran Road (Phase II) in Remedios T. Romualdez worth ₱50 million;
- Upgrading of the Kaunlaran-Masundong-Sumubay Road (Phase II), spanning Remedios T. Romualdez and Cabadbaran City, worth ₱50 million;
- Improvement of the Mahaba-Belwang Road (Phase II) in Cabadbaran City worth ₱50 million;
- Construction of a farm-to-market road in Salaysayon, Nasipit, worth ₱60 million;
- Construction of a farm-to-market road in Minbahandi, Nasipit, worth ₱60 million.
For Fiscal Year 2024, ₱317 million was earmarked for PAMANA infrastructure projects in the province, which include the following:
- Construction and improvement of the Afga-Sitio Linao-Linao Road with Bridge (Phase 1) in Buenavista worth ₱85 million;
- Upgrading of the Balang-Balang-San Antonio-Kaunlaran Road (Phase 1) in Remedios T. Romualdez worth ₱70 million;
- Improvement of the Kaunlaran-Masundong-Sumubay Road (Phase 1) spanning Remedios T. Romualdez and Cabadbaran City worth ₱92 million;
- Upgrading of the Mahaba-Belwang Road (Phase 1) in Cabadbaran City worth ₱70 million;
- Once completed and operational, these roads will connect farmers in remote communities to market centers, boost trade and investments, and most importantly, serve as pathways to peace and development.
In the same week, we traveled to the country’s “Tuna Capital,” where I had the chance to talk with some 12 IP medical students. I was inspired by their stories.
Julieen Rose Cat-an, a 4th year medical student, and a pure-blooded T’boli from Lake Sebu, explained to me the hardships in their community, particularly the lack of medical workers and access to healthcare.
“Some just died because we don’t have access to medical care,” she lamented.
OPAPRU is providing at least ₱10, 000 per medical student per month to aid them in their studies.
Cat-an, a scholar of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), said she will be the first medical doctor by profession in their community.
“This is not just a personal journey but a collective one. This is not just for me; it’s a gift that ripples through my family, my community, and my tribe,” she said.
“But perhaps most importantly, you are not only helping to shape doctors; you are helping to shape healers,” Cat-an added.
We also signed an agreement between the OPAPRU and the Mindanao State University-General Santos City (MSU-GSC) to bestow peace awards to students who have made significant contributions to peacebuilding.
Dubbed the “Gawad Kalinaw: Student Peace Leadership Awards,” it is meant to recognize graduating students who embody the culture of peace and have spearheaded peacebuilding initiatives in their schools and communities.
Looking at the students gathered at an open-air multipurpose building, I could not help but be awed that, even at their young age, they were already acting as instruments of peace, mutual understanding, and solidarity.
In my message during the signing ceremony, I expressed OPAPRU’s hope that the Gawad Kalinaw Award will encourage more students to step up to the plate and play a key role in the nation’s peacebuilding efforts.
Also in GenSan, we broke ground for the construction of the MSU-GSC Kalinow Peace Center. Similar to the one in Agusan del Sur, the MSU Peace Center will serve as a hub for peace educators and peace advocates to share best practices and experiences in peacebuilding.
Rounding up our trip in the hometown of Sen. Manny Pacquiao, we turned over various farming equipment worth ₱25 million to members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
The agricultural assistance package, which was provided under OPAPRU’s MNLF Transformation Program, included eight tractors, six rice combine harvesters, a corn sheller, and other accessories.
The MNLF Transformation Program, which is being implemented by MSU under a partnership with OPAPRU, aims to provide socio-economic assistance to MNLF combatants that will enable them and their families to become peaceful and productive members of society.
Our trips to Agusan del Sur and General Santos City are part of OPAPRU’s efforts to touch base with our stakeholders — local government units, academe, and civil society — as we continue to push forward the Marcos Jr. administration’s peace agenda.
Even if we have to pass through the country’s “holiest” road.
(Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. is the presidential adviser on peace, reconciliation, and unity.)