DAVAO CITY – The city government announced on Sunday the reactivation of the Peace 911 initiative in Paquibato District before the month ends.
In a statement, the city government said the comprehensive peace-building and development initiative will now be handled by its new program action officer Aileen Mabanding, who committed to delivering the vision of the program.
“After some needed adjustments were done, we are once again out to restart the program,” it said.
The implementation of the initiative was temporarily suspended in August after it encountered challenges that warranted an urgent reevaluation of some of its aspects.
The bringing of government services, such as health and nutrition and other services to far-flung areas of Paquibato District, will also resume.
“With this, we reiterate that the local government is committed to fully deliver the promise of meaningful peace and sustainable development to our indigenous brothers and sisters in Paquibato District,” the statement read.
Formerly a hotbed of the terrorist activities of the New People’s Army (NPA), Paquibato District is now slowly coming out of the depressing condition of poverty and hunger, lack of livelihood, inaccessibility of education, and problematic road network and infrastructure that could stimulate local economic activities.
“This situation has gripped Paquibato District for many years and we want to reverse the condition of the people for the better. The program’s livelihood intervention for the residents —called Peace Economy— will continue after it has already gained an encouraging headway,” it further said.
The statement added the road and bridge projects aligned with the program will also push through and paperwork for these projects is currently being completed.
“Under Peace 911, we also continue to pursue the establishment of the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP) campus in Malabog as we prioritize the education of the indigenous children living in the area,” it said.
During its launching in 2018, Mayor Sara Z. Duterte said Peace 911 is a human-centered approach to development which directly answers the needs of people in Paquibato District. (PR)
