Govt OKs P746-M for peace program

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the release of P745.5 million to support continuing development and peace-sustaining activities throughout the country.

The funds will go toward financing the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Pamana) program, which establishes policy reforms at the national level and paves the way for the delivery of social services to conflict-affected communities, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

“Through these funds, we can help ensure that impoverished families in the region will receive critical goods and services that were, in the past, compromised by regular armed conflict,” noted Abad.

Specifically, the funds will be spent for the rollout of closure agreements in the Cordilleras and Visayas, relief and rehabilitation efforts for typhoon victims, and information and education efforts in relation to peace negotiations, among other activities.

Pamana is a project jointly implemented by the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process, the Department of National Defense-Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the regional government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“The PAMANA is one of the key ways through which we are able to address socio-economic issues that have long plagued risk-prone communities. Not only will they benefit from the reform and economic successes posted under this Administration; they can also make a gradual transition towards enduring peace and stability,” Abad said.

The Philippines was ranked as one of the top 5 countries with the highest improvements in peacefulness this year— together with Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bhutan, and Guyana—based on the 2012 Global Peace Index by the Institute for Economics and Peace.  – Rappler.com