Thursday, December 02, 2010

Mindanao army brass now a peace advocate


CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 2, 2010) - Peace cannot be attained through war and this was stressed by Major General Victor Felix, the new commander of the 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao during the closing ceremonies of the Mindanao Week of Peace.

Instead of war, Felix advocated for peaceful means to attain the long dreamed-of peace in Mindanao. He said that Filipinos, especially Mindanawons, should exert effort in understanding each other, especially those of other religious and cultural affiliations.

“The Philippine Army, specifically the 4th Infantry Division, emphasized that peace is not won through more bloodshed but through peaceful means and efforts in understanding and unifying each Filipino citizen, especially the people here in Mindanao,” he said.

Felix said that government soldiers are also trained to be peace advocates and peace builders and that right now, soldiers are doing development works in the countryside to let the people know that they also want peace and not war.

Through development work, soldiers can help build peaceful communities all over the country, he stressed. But Felix admitted that there is still a lot of work to do to attain lasting peace and this can be done if the church and socio-civic organizations unite and join hands in “fighting” for peace in Mindanao and in the whole country.

“The struggle for peace has never been an easy one. There has never been a proven short cut formula recorded all throughout history that will be able to guide us. For each situation, especially in our case, will rely purely in our understanding what is needed to be done. Because peace starts when people would learn to listen, respect and understand each and everyone's opinion,” he said. (Bong D. Fabe)

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