International and private peace partners of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) pledged to continue assisting the Philippines in cultivating a culture of peace and sustained development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
This, as OPAPRU Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. recognized the agency’s international and private peace partners who support the Philippine peace process during the inaugural International and Private Partnerships Forum (IPPF) 2024 at the Manila Hotel on Thursday night, Nov. 14.
“We need to recognize our international and private partners because their contributions are very huge. Actually, some of the gaps that we have… sometimes we are underfunded and the donations and funding of the international community [are] so huge that it can really bring forth some socio-economic and some fundamental services that we need for the Bangsamoro,” Galvez told the Manila Bulletin.
The peace adviser said the event marks a new milestone for OPAPRU as they decided to formally expand their partnership with the private sector “because we believe that without the private sector, there will be no sustainability in our peace-making and peace-building [initiatives].”
Diplomats from several countries such as Brunei, European Union (EU), Ireland, Israel, Thailand, and Turkey among others, as well as representatives from private companies and national government agencies lauded the Philippines for its comprehensive peace process particularly in Mindanao.
Galvez also made special mention of the Manila Bulletin as well as Manila Hotel president, Atty. Joey Lina, for supporting the OPAPRU in its peace and development initiatives.
“The media organizations have also enabled us to increase our media coverage and expand our audience reach, giving our various peace partners and the general public a better appreciation of our peace and development efforts. We want to thank the Manila Bulletin and also our partner, [former] senator Lina, for helping us in really taking some time to really ventilate our efforts to the public,” he said.
In an interview, Lina underscored that “peace and development go together” so it is important for the private sector to support the government’s peace and development efforts.
“[W]hen there is peace, there is development. When there is development, the quality of life of our people will definitely improve and when the quality of life of the people improves, conflicts will be less and less, and there will be lasting peace,” he said.
For his part, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Santoro said that the EU aspires to be a “trusted, reliable and neutral partner” of the OPAPRU in improving the quality of life in the Bangsamoro region.
“The European Union has been supporting the peace process from the very beginning of it,” Santoro said. “We are confident that our support in Mindanao and to the peace process [will] contribute to positive changes to the lives of communities and the realization of the development potential of the Bangsamoro region.”
The EU, a political and economic union of 27 member-states located primarily in Europe, has invested about 1.4 million euros or P8.4 billion for peace and development efforts in Mindanao, with programs addressing policy development and institutional strengthening, the normalization process in the BARMM, and social-economic support.
Earlier this year, the EU and BARMM government launched the P1.23 billion Bangsamoro Agri-Enterprise Program (BAEP) which seeks to support small to medium sized producers and businesses in the agri-fishery value chains on the three island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (BaSulTa), as well as the Halal sector and the promotion of private sector investment throughout the BARMM.
Galvez likewise applauded Japan, South Korea and the United States for allotting USD29 million or P1.6 billion to improve health outcomes and advance Universal Health Care in BARMM.
In a memorandum of cooperation signed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in September, the three international organizations vowed to work closely with BARMM’s Ministry of Health (BARMM-MOH), the Department of Health (DOH), local communities and other key stakeholders to improve health information systems; increase public health financing; promote good public health practices; expand quality healthcare services, and improve access to essential medicines, facilities, and equipment in the Bangsamoro region.
Meanwhile, Paolo Borromeo, president and CEO at Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health), vowed to support the peace-building initiatives of the OPAPRU since he believes in the vision and integrity of Galvez.
Galvez first worked with Borromeo during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the former was appointed as the vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19. The two joined hands in sourcing out vaccines from pharmaceutical companies abroad and vaccinating millions of Filipinos to save the people from the deadly virus and revive the economy.
“In the private sector, we do fund-raising, we do capital raising, too. Most of the time, investors who invest in businesses invest in those businesses because they believe in the vision of that business and they believe in the vision of the management team,” he said.
“We believe in all that you stand for,” Borromeo told Galvez. “On behalf of the private sector and on behalf of the Ayala Group and the Ayala Foundation, of course [we] are committed to helping all your initiatives. Please count on our continued support,” he added.