PAMANA Programme-Mindanaoan It's Our Time to Participate

I got this publication from the Official Gazzete of the Office of The Philippine President and I would like to share this to everybody with an end in mind that Mindanao people needs to provide inputs and recommendations because IT'S TIME FOR US TO PARTICIPATE.

December 23, 2010 press release by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process

Manila – Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles on Tuesday said that the government plans to complete in three years the implementation of its flagship program that seeks to empower internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other families living in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

The PAMANA (Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan) program, which will start implementation soon, aims to promote community resilience to conflict by reducing poverty and vulnerability in conflict areas; improving governance; and strengthening capacities of communities to address issues of conflict and peace through activities that promote social cohesion.

Deles added that the program was supposed to start this quarter.

“But the President (Benigno Aquino III) wanted a full roadmap for PAMANA. He doesn’t want it to begin without a clear-cut conclusion,” she told media representatives during a dinner fellowship in Pasig City.

“PAMANA is to be completed within three years. By that time, 5,000 barangays have already been reached by its services,” she stated.

The peace adviser also said that the program intends to help IDPs return to their homes.

“Towards the end of next year, we hope to bring the families from the remaining evacuation sites back to their homes. The number of IDPs now is 3,000 – that’s agreed upon by the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) – DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development). That’s the common number that we’re using,” she said.

She likewise said that PAMANA is a convergent program wherein all government agencies, including civil society groups, will be pooling their efforts.

Deles added that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) will collaborate with concerned agencies, such as DSWD, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Bangsamoro Development Agency and the ARMM Regional Government to ensure that conflict communities benefit from improved basic services delivery and are served by responsive and accountable governments.