NCR peace council reviews Eastern Visayas’ best practices

TACLOBAN CITY, June 19  -- Officials of the National Capital Region (NCR) Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) visited Eastern Visayas on Monday to learn how the region deals with its security, and peace and order concerns as well development issues and interventions carried out after super typhoon Yolanda.

“We wanted to personally hear it from them and also learn several other programs, which we can also adopt in Metro Manila like the Women Peace Table,” said Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) NCR Regional Director Maria Lourdes Agustin during the RPOC Interfacing between authorities of NCR and Region 8 (Eastern Visayas).

Women Peace Table is the peace council and a DILG program launched early this year in Northern Samar intended to end the exclusivity of negotiating tables for men.

It aims to include women as active player in peace building and not view them as mere “victims” of conflicts and not “actors” to end wars.

The initiative is an integral part of Eastern Visayas Regional Peace and Prosperity Roadmap produced through brainstorming of governors from six provinces in the region.

“We wanted to see how the women are able to participate in governance and in peace building. This is more of an exchanging of information and program that we can learn from,” Agustin said.

“Although Metro Manila and Leyte have different settings, interventions to address the issues can be replicated by reconfiguring it to attune it with the condition of NCR,” she added.

“We are here to know how it works and how we can adopt it to our own conditions. Why do we have to create our own if there is already one that works?” she asked.

Women Peace Table provides a venue for the inclusive discussion of issues relevant to peace and development by stakeholders, create consensus on issues, plan and collaborate on actions, appreciate the diversity of identities and views, and promote healing and reconciliation.

The program is supported by five pillars that serve as purpose to attain just and lasting peace. These are sound business and economic development, responsible use and equitable distribution of resources, high levels of human capital, social cohesion, and strong and stable inter-local government ties.

Prior to the meeting with RPOC members at the DILG regional office in this city, the group, accompanied by RPOC Region 8 chair Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan-de los Santos made a courtesy call to Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla.

Petilla presented to the contingents the programs and intervention for agriculture development of the provincial government in hard-to-reach and conflict-stricken villages.

Agustin said that after the interfacing, the NCR peace and order council members will convene again to talk and discuss the programs in Eastern Visayas that are doable in Metro Manila. (RTA/PNA)