MANILA (Mitchel Confesor / 18 Jul) A Japanese government-funded peace and development training program for the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) has begun in Davao City in the southern Philippines.
The P4.2-million training program is intended to benefit local communities and non-government organizations (NGOs) affiliated with the BDA, the economic arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which is currently negotiating peace with Manila.
The capability-building program is implemented under the Japanese Embassy in Manila through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
Taeko Takahashi, political minister of the Japanese Embassy, said Tokyo is sending a “small but very powerful missions” to Mindanao to help carry out the program, which aims to build the capacity of BDA’s peace and development facilitators and be able to manage community-based projects that JICA will soon implement in conflict-affected areas in the region.
Rolly Asuncion, director of the OPAPP’s Peace Institutions Development Office, said it also aims to provide an avenue for building trust, confidence, and cooperation between the government through and the MILF by together and managing the program.
“The training program aims to enhance the knowledge of training participants about Mindanao and the Bangsamoro people’s situation, concepts on conflict transformation and peace building, and participatory community development.”
“The program will be composed of four week-long courses, starting with a basic course where participants are introduced to the basic concepts and principles of Community Organizing, Community Development, Peace and Conflict, and Conflict Analysis,” he said.
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