Maguindanao LGUs, youth to join in Mindanao week of peace

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Six local government units and the youth sector in Maguindanao province will embark on common activities to mark the December 2 culmination of the 2015 Mindanao week of peace (MOWP).

In a statement Wednesday, the United States Agency for International Development-Enhancing Governance, Accountability and Engagement (USAID-ENGAGE) entity said it has lined up various events on December 2 at the provincial capital, Buluan.

The MOWP will commence on November 26.  

Six local government units (LGUs) in towns where the USAID-ENGAGE has current projects, which include Datu Paglas, Paglat, Buluan, Mangudadatu, Pandag and Gen. SK Pendatun, all in the 2nd district of Maguindanao, will participate in the December 2 activities at the Buluan municipal gymnasium.

The USAID-ENGAGE said its culmination program for the MOWP in Maguindanao shall be capped off with a Maguindanaoan youth walk for peace, a “collective expressions” of the youth for lasting peace and development, a youth for peace congress and a youth for peace forum.

The USAID-ENGAGE is involved in projects meant to promote good governance and encourage public service efficiency among selected LGUs in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and in Basilan.

The MOWP was first launched in 1997 by the Peace Advocates Zamboanga and, subsequently, became a yearly activity now supported by various peace advocacy blocs scattered across Mindanao.

The MOWP is also being observed in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), whose chief executive, Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman, is a staunch endorser of Malacañang’s peace overture with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The executive department of ARMM has also lined up various activities meant to highlight the observance of the MOWP in the autonomous region.

The ARMM covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in mainland Mindanao and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, which are all common bastions of the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front.