Peace Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. on Wednesday is batting for the creation of a Department of Peace, which he envisions will eventually replace the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
Galvez explained that the proposed Peace Department aims to sustain the gains achieved under the comprehensive Philippine peace over the years and institutionalize the national government’s peace agenda.
With the creation of the Department of Peace, Galvez hopes that all the peace initiatives of the previous administrations and the present will be consolidated, integrated, and institutionalized – which the succeeding administrations can build upon.
“Nakita namin kasi na best practices ng other countries, meron talagang institution… meron talagang Ministry or Department of Peace,” Galvez pointed out.
According to Galvez, the move to transform OPAPRU aims to address the security tenure and career advancement of peacebuilders who have dedicated their lives to peace work in the pursuit of institutionalizing and cultivating a culture of peace as well as sustaining the gains of the comprehensive peace process.
Under the agency’s current set-up, he noted that a majority of OPAPRU management and personnel hold contractual positions, and therefore, don’t have security of tenure.
“This endeavor likewise ensures that an entity with a more permanent character in the national government. It shall contribute to the promotion of peace that is not merely a fleeting priority or an ad hoc approach, but rather a sustained and consistent effort of the government,” a statement issued by OPAPRU reads.
Once OPAPRU becomes the Department of Peace, Galvez expects continuity and more effective implementation of the national government’s peace policies, approaches, and strategies.
Under EO 158, OPAPRU is mandated to manage, direct, integrate, and supervise the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Process through promoting and reinforcing reconciliation and unity among the Filipino people.
The agency has three major objectives: embedding peace, reconciliation and unity in the social fabric; enhancing resilience for peace; and pursuing social, economic, and political reengineering.
Galvez said that as OPAPRU, the organization has recalibrated the way it carries out its peacebuilding strategies so that it becomes more focused and responsive to emerging developments in the peace and security front.