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Fr. Angel Calvo, President of ZABIDA extends his
warmest greeting on the participants during his
opening message.
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With
the current political trend heating up towards elections and the peace process
snagged over the apparent delay in the passage of the BBL, some Local political
leaders, and heads of non-government sectors gathered to confront the real
issues behind the current peace and security situations in Zamboanga Peninsula
including those of the island provinces (Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi) in a
forum last December 9, 2015 in Zamboanga City.
Fr.
Angel Calvo, President of ZABIDA extends his warmest greeting on the
participants during his opening message.
More
than 60 participants to the Regional Forum on Peace and Security, with the
theme “Current Political Developments in the Region and Implications on the
Peace Process”, discussed and worked out schemes to manage and or resolve the
issues and problems informing the peace, security, and development concerns of
the provinces.
In his
welcome note, Fr. Angel Calvo, the President of Zamboanga-Basilan Integrated
Development Alliance, Inc. (ZABIDA), highlighted the overarching spirit of the
event to: “Confront our aspirations to reach the dream of living in harmony.
Conscious of our identity, celebrate our diversity. Conscious on (about) the
challenges and struggles of the historical conflicts that we suffer and that we
carry also in our journey.”
National
and local resource speakers expounded on a range of select topics comprising
The Peace Process Journey, Security Situation in the Region, Current MNLF-MILF
Unity Effort, Restorative Justice and Reconciliation, and The Indigenous
Peoples’ rights in the Context of the GPH-MILF Peace Process.
Tracing
the journey of the Peace Process, IAG Executive Director Atty. Benedicto
Bacani, accentuated the importance of having a clear framework, in
understanding the framework of the peace negotiations and the implementation of
the peace agreement. He pointed further: “Hindi ho ganun kadali ang kwento ng
peace process, hindi rin ho ganun kadali ang pagtatranslate ng peace agreement
into what we call public policies and implementation of public policies” (The
story of the peace process is not that easy, nor is it easy to translate peace
agreements into what we call public policies and implementation of public
policies).
