Town, NGO urge village execs to strengthen peace

KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato - The provincial government here together with the Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. urged village officials of Aleosan town to make peace everyone’s business.

In an assembly held recently, Karlos Manlupig, founder and chairman emeritus of Balay Mindanaw, emphasized that barangay chairperson and council members are among the key people to secure peace.

Manlupig also noted that dialogue is always the best platform to listen to grievances and to look for answers to end disputes.

“As leaders, the barangay chair[persons] play an important role in keeping peace and harmony as well as in helping solve various problems in the community,” he stated.

Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. is a Mindanaobased non- profit organization which carries out peacebuilding and development in rural areas of the region. Aleosan town is among its beneficiaries.

The organization spearheads a community peace dialogue to hear from barangay leaders and stakeholders and share thoughts and concerns particularly on the peace process between the government and rebel groups.

Meanwhile, Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza elaborated the significance of consensus building among barangay leaders in creating a unified action in addressing peace and conflict issues.

“We have to build trust as we listen to each other’s sentiments,” the governor emphasized, adding that in the quest for peace, people must work together amidst different points of views and ideas.

Mendoza noted that village officials should help in promoting peace in the municipality as Aleosan has issues to deal with on land conflict, rido and boundary disputes particularly in the villages of Tapudok, Pagangan, Bagolibas, Lawili and Dungguan. SJDuerme-PIA12 with report from JSta. Cruz-NorthCot Media Center