ISABELA CITY, Basilan, Apr 16 (PIA) – The
government is implementing in three phases the Mainstreaming Peace and
Development in Local Governance (MPDLG) program in 36 provinces in PAMANA zones
that will capacitate local government units in mainstreaming conflict
management and peace initiatives.
The MPDLG, which is a collaborative program
of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and the
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), is set to be implemented
this year. It will be linked up with PAMANA or Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan
(Peaceful and Resilient Communities), which is the government’s program and
framework for peace and development in areas affected by conflict and
communities covered by existing peace agreements.
The MPDLG will be implemented in three
phases. The first phase will focus on providing the needed capacities of LGUs
in PAMANA areas to be able to mainstream peace and development in their
planning, budgeting and programming. Second phase will involve providing
selected LGUs’ access to PAMANA funds to support the implementation of peace
and development projects identified in their peace sensitive Comprehensive Development
Plans or AIPs. Third phase, on the other hand, will include participatory
monitoring and evaluation of projects.
As one of the PAMANA beneficiaries, Maguindanao
Governor “Toto” Mangudadatu has expressed support to the government’s program,
which aims to strengthen capacities of local government units (LGUs) for them
to better manage conflict and implement peace projects.
Mangudadatu, along with officials from the
conflict-affected municipalities of Ampatuan, Buldon, Datu Piang, Kabuntalan
and Talayan, attended the recently held MPDLG workshop which intended to
integrate a peace and development framework in Maguindanao province’s Annual
Investment Plan (AIP) for 2012.
“We will show that in Maguindanao, there can
be good governance and we can uplift the economic situation of the people,”
Mangudadatu stated in his message.
OPAPP PAMANA Area Manager for Central
Mindanao Johnnel V. Raneses said in the workshop that “the aim of the MPDLG
program under PAMANA is to mainstream conflict sensitivity and peace lens in
local government planning in order to address conflict and uplift the lives of
the people.”
On the same note, Ampatuan Municipal Planning
and Development Coordinator Jose Bañaga said that “the MPDLG program is very
relevant in promoting peace and development which go hand-in-hand in advancing
the socio-economic situation of our communities.”
At the end of the workshop, the local
officials identified priority peace and development projects for their
respective communities. Following transparency and accountability mechanisms of
PAMANA, their identified projects will undergo evaluation by a provincial
technical working group and approval by DILG which manages funds for
sub-regional projects under Pillar 3.
LGUs that are covered by the PAMANA program
will be engaged in MPDLG before they could avail of the DILG-PAMANA fund for
Pillar 3 projects.
