September is National Peace Consciousness Month, an annual event started in 2004 that symbolizes the country’s desire for greater unity, mutual understanding and harmony.

The opening of Peace Month on Sept. 2 began with a commemoration led by President Marcos of a significant event in our history – the 28th anniversary of the signing of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The President said: “This momentous occasion brings us back to a defining chapter in our history, when the government and the MNLF formally ended the decades-long struggle.”

“From the forging of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement under my father’s administration, to the signing of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement, we have demonstrated mutual respect and strong collaboration and a burning desire for peace,” he said.

At the sidelines of the event, it was the time to talk about the gains of peace. The efforts of the national government to build on the gains of the GPH-MNLF peace process elicited praise from MNLF Vice Chairman and Chairman of the MNLF Peace Implementing Panel Abdulkarim Misuari and MNLF Management Committee Chairman Uttoh Salem Cutan.

MNLF Chair Muslimin Sema thanked the Marcos Jr.’ administration for honoring the national government’s commitments under the 1996 Final Peace Agreement.

Leading the month-long commemoration is the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) led by Secretary Carlito Galvez. OPAPRU is mandated to oversee, coordinate, and integrate the implementation of the comprehensive peace process.

OPAPRU peacebuilding efforts has forged many peace agreements, among them the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the landmark agreement between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and the 2000 Peace Agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the RPMP-RPA-ABB.

“The signing of peace agreements is just the beginning. What comes after is the challenging part, and that is, building on and sustaining the gains of peace,” Galvez wrote in his Manila Bulletin column, “Peace Month @20.”

The theme – Transforming minds, transforming lives – expresses how the citizens can help sustain the gains of peace.

“Each and every one of us has a role to play in the complete and genuine transformation of our society. This transformation begins when we shift our mindset from fear, anger, and revenge to empathy, forgiveness, and mercy, from mistrust to understanding, and from division to unity,” Secretary Galvez wrote in his column in Manila Bulletin.

“At the heart of Peace Month is the belief that peace is not just the absence of conflict. It is the presence of understanding, compassion, and shared responsibility across all sectors of society,” he said.

Galvez emphasized that establishing a climate of peace is not just the responsibility of government alone. “It takes whole-of-nation, whole-of-society. It takes everyone to make this happen. Everyone must be part of the process.”

To commemorate National Peace Consciousness Month, the question –how can you contribute to sustaining peace — would be a good topic to discuss in schools and in conversations among professionals. It’s time to talk about peace.