|
Mini
Stakeholders' Forumi in Aleosan
Posted 19 October 2011
The Local Government Unit of
Aleosan, North Cotabato, in partnership with the Balay Mindanaw
Foundation, Inc. (BMFI), organizes a gathering of various
stakeholders working for peace and development. The activity is
dubbed “Mini Stakeholders’ Forum: Enhancing Synergy and
Meaningful Collaboration in Violence-affected Communities of
Aleosan, North Cotabato” on 21 October 2011, 9:00 a.m. at the
Municipal Hall of Aleosan.
Aside from the
community-based training interventions facilitated by both BMFI and
the MLGU, outputs of the five local peace consultations with the
communities most affected by continuing armed conflicts – namely,
Dunguan, Pagangan, Bagolibas, New Panay and Palacat – will be
presented to the partners. Hundreds of families from these
communities were displaced by renewed hostilities caused by the
junking of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD)
in 2008. These same communities at present are feared to be facing
potential violent conflicts with Kato’s disengagement from the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front and his formation of the Bangsamoro
Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in South-Central Mindanao.
In the said local peace
consultations, the occurrence of armed conflicts tops the list of
priority problems. Priority programs or projects in terms of human
resource development, land use development, agriculture-economic
development and development administration have also been identified
in each of the five barangays. If granted, according to those who
participated in the process, these would help improve their living
condition, reduce prejudices and biases among peoples, prevent
conflicts from escalating into violence, and most importantly help
rebuild and enhance mutual trust and confidence among conflicting
parties.
Through this meaningful
space, the five communities will share their actual conflict
situations, their hopes and aspirations for peace and development.
On the other hand, the invited stakeholders committed to building
equity, development and peace will share some concrete, doable and
practical actions or interventions in response to the communities’
sharing. The activity will end with the signing of a covenant for a
continuing effort of enhancing trust and confidence and improving
quality of life among the tri-peoples in Aleosan.
|
|
