Galvez assumes top OPAPP post, vows pursuit of peace

Former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Carlito Galvez, Jr., officially assumed his post as head of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) in Pasig City on Thursday.

Galvez said that his experiences and exposure to armed conflict made him more determined to choose peace in trying to solve political disputes.

“Have you seen the tears of a dying man? I did, many times. It is very painful,” Galvez said.

“We cannot go back to war anymore,” he added.

Galvez said some critics “have pointed out that I come from an institution that manufactures war machines.”

“But let me tell you, having been in the military for decades made me see the ugly head of armed conflict. In my early days in the military service, I was wounded in a battle somewhere in the Davao area. That experience made me choose the path of peace,” he stressed.

“There is no other person who can deal with peace than a person who faces war daily in his life as a military person,” former Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said in his farewell speech.

Galvez, the 11th Presidential Peace Adviser, is not the first retired general to lead OPAPP.

The first military man to head OPAPP was General Manuel Yan, who later became an ambassador.

It was under Secretary Yan that the Final Peace Agreement between the government and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was signed.

Other military men who served as Presidential Peace Adviser were General Eduardo Ermita and General Hermogenes Esperon.

General Avelino Razon, a former chief of police, was also named peace adviser.

Critical crossroads

Galvez thanked President Duterte for the trust and confidence given to him, saying he will do his best to be a good Secretary as the entire peace processes in the country is in a critical stage.

“We have the plebiscite in Mindanao to win. We have also newly President Duterte's EO 70 to accomplish. And we have other equally important peace tables that we need to continue to engage with,” he said.

EO 70, which Duterte signed on December 4, 2018, directs the adoption of a national peace framework and institutionalizing the whole-of-nation approach to attain inclusive and sustainable peace in the country to address the root causes of the armed conflict.

At the same time, Galvez vowed to institute reforms at OPAPP, saying the bottom line is that the agency needs to deliver the services the public deserves.