CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Local government units (LGUs) in Central Luzon are strengthening their efforts in dealing with communist insurgents toward local peace engagements.
On Thursday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) regional office here, in collaboration with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process, spearheaded a consultation-meeting with provincial and highly-urbanized city task forces in teleconferencing to intensify initiatives toward sustainable peace and development.
DILG Regional Director Julie Daquioag, in her welcome remarks, cited the importance of convergence through the “Whole of Nation Approach” to successfully address governance gaps towards an inclusive and sustainable peace in Central Luzon.
Local peace engagement (LPE) is one of the 12 clusters of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), the multi-agency body created by virtue of Executive Order No. 70 or the “Whole-of-Nation Approach”.
Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. chairperson of the Regional Peace and Order Council-3 (RPOC-3), during the teleconferencing, asked all local officials in the region to strengthen their convergence efforts through the whole of government approach and also to intensify development and peacebuilding initiatives in conflict-affected areas.
As a coordinative body towards peace and development in Region 3, the RPOC 3 has signified its support through a resolution to the Barangay Development Program of NTF-ELCAC in addressing governance gaps at the grassroots level.
Meanwhile, the task forces of the region’s seven provinces and two highly-urbanized cities presented their respective LPE strategic action plan, highlighting two-track approaches on community-consultations and problem-solving sessions and conduct of local peace dialogues.
The LPE is being carried out simultaneously using two tracks: community consultation and problem-solving sessions, and local peace dialogues.
Since its implementation in 2019, LPEs have made a significant impact on the peace and security situation of communities in Central Luzon where hundreds of Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) members have returned to the fold of the law.
The LPE is a mechanism that enables the government not only to directly engage the rebels in the peaceful discourse but also touches base with residents in communities affected by the armed conflict. (PNA)
