Kalinga sa Bayan,
“Kauswagan is not a sanctuary of war but of peace”
By Jun Enriquez
Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte,
August 2, 2015 – There were 299 children from 13 barangays with at least 23 children participants from each Barangay attended the Kalinga
sa Bayan ng Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte conducted on August 1-2, 2015, held at
the Kauswagan Central Elementary School this town, spearheaded by the 15th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, led by Lt. Col. Leomar Jose Doctolero, Battalion Commander. Kalinga sa Bayan is an activity for children
and the youth to capacitate them through leadership training as part of the
Internal peace and security program (IPSP) of the Armed forces of the
Philippines. The two-day program covers activities, the Bihis bayani
choreography, Drug forum by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA),
Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) by the Youth for Development (Y4D), First
Aid training, Paraisong Pambata, Football clinic, and dance workshop. The participants received certificate of participation during the
two-day activity.
Fatima C. Asum, School Principal |
Mr. Dionesio Fuentes,
Administrator of the local government of Kauswagan represented Mayor Rommel
Arnado, said there is no peace when there is no development. He said that Gawad
Kalinga is about housing and it’s not only physical about housing but the moral
lesson is to build the good future of the youth. Fuentes recalled the conflict happened
in Kauswagan in the past decades rooted on misunderstanding and disagreements,
a painful experienced from the past among the Muslims and Christians. He said
the objective of the Mayor is to collapse the wall of biases and install the
bridge of peace. The wall of biases divided the people of Kauswagan. Fuentes
said the youth is the hope of the fatherland. He said Mayor Arnado is motivated
not by his self-interest but looking for the future of Kauswagan to have a
peaceful community to live in. He said peace starts in the family. The local
government is committed for development programs for the youth
Fuentes said the Kalinga sa
Bayan is not the end of the journey to become Kauswagan a peaceful community. The
Kalinga sa Bayan is part of the transformation process in the municipality with
presence of multi sectoral approach, the military, civil society organizations
(CSOs), education sector and other stakeholders, to prevail the culture of
peace and break the culture of violence. Fuentes said that Kauswagan is not a
sanctuary of war but a sanctuary of peace. He reiterated when there is no peace
there is no development.
In his message,
Lt. Col. Leomar Jose Doctolero, Battalion Commander of the 15 Infantry
Battalion Philippine Army, extended his thanks to the local government of Kauswagan,
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Jollibee, Youth for development (Y4D),
the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine
National Police (PNP), Magbalantay Press Corps of the 2nd Mechanized
Brigade, Barangay Chairmen, Department of Education, Gawad Kalinga and other
stakeholders.
Doctolero said “we are here to
give happiness to the children”. He said the children is the hope of the nation
and empower them to promote peace in Kauswagan, through the unity of the
Muslims and Christians and become good citizens in the country. Doctolero said Kauswagan municipality is the seventh
held Kalinga sa Bayan activity in their area of responsibility. The 15th
IB is based in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte. During the previous peace gathering, the people of Kauswagan led by Mayor Arnado supported the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in congress to give peace a chance for Mindanao. The children and the youth enjoyed the military band joining songs and dances.With reports from Phil Paalan, Photos by Malyne Gungob.
No comments:
Post a Comment