UNDP exec: Good governance is key to RP peace and development
By Ben Serrano
MARFIL, Rosario, Agusan del Sur Mar 7 (PNA) - United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director Renaud Meyer challenged
residents and local officials of Barangay Marfil to disseminate
information to other barangays in Agusan del Sur about their successes
in their local peace and development initiatives and efforts.
"By doing so, you can make a statement that amidst all
support given by the UNDP, the New Zealand Government and even from your
own national government, it is always that good governance practices
exerted by local barangay officials is key to success for peace and
development efforts," Meyer told Barangay Marfil residents and officials
who gathered at the Barangay Social Hall here.
He said UNDP would be most happy if through the experiences
Barangay Marfil learned in peace and development efforts, local
residents and officials themselves can help duplicate their successes to
other communities in the province if not in the whole of Caraga Region.
“I am challenging you to become ambassadors for peace and
development, contaminate that spirit of peace within you to others, let
them understand how it works and how it will work for them for today’s
generations and the generations to come,” Meyer said.
He added that truly efficient, corruption-free, relevant and
good governance especially in marginalized communities has always been
the barometer in achieving peace, unity and progress in the Philippines
and elsewhere and that resources are only tools in achieving goals.
Secretary Dureza who is National Programme Director for the
UN-GoP Act for Peace admitted that the program cannot provide assistance
to all barangays in Agusan del Sur due to limited resources to fund
various programs under Act For Peace.
The UN-GoP Act for Peace Programme has identified 37
barangays out of total 1,301 barangays in Caraga Region as Peace and
Development Communities (PDCs). Of the 37 PDCs for entire Caraga Region,
eight are in Agusan del Sur.
According to Act for Peace, a PDC is a marginalized,
conflict affected community which is in the process of transformation
with the help of various development partners. It may consist of a
barangay or a barangay and adjacent households marked by a convergence
of peace-building and development activities.
Dureza said the Act for Peace Programme in the country will
end by December this year and it will now depend on partner countries
whether to extend the program.
Among assistance provided to Barangay Marfil were;
construction of Barangay Health Station, provision of medical equipment,
establishment of Botika Sa Barangay, installation of potable water
system and establishment of rice trading center. These projects were
priorities set by by the community themselves in their Barangay
Development Plan that they formulated using peace-sensitive and
participatory resource appraisal approaches.
The program itself and funding efforts were managed by UNDP,
the Act for Peace Programme being implemented by the Mindanao Economic
Development Council or MEDCO, in partnership with concerned local
government units of Caraga Region. The programme is also supported by
the governments of Australia, Spain and European Union.
In her speech before mammoth crowd here who attended the
short program for the dignitaries visit, Agusan del Sur officials headed
by Governor Maria Valentina Plaza thanked the donor countries, the New
Zealand Ambassador, UNDP Country Director Meyer and Dureza for the
assistance they give to Barangay Marfil.
Plaza has called on every Barangay Marfil resident and
official to nurture peace not only for the present generation but for
future generations to come.
She has given token and plagues of appreciation to the
foreign dignitaries and to Secretary Dureza as way of thanking them.
For his part, New Zealand Ambassador Andrew Matheson told
Barangay Marfil residents and local officials that his country is
committed to promote peace and development in the Philippines
particularly in Caraga Region.
He also challenged local officials and barangay residents to
spread the culture of peace and the good news it brings to communities
where unity is very much needed to attain not only inner peace but
goodwill to mankind. (PNA)
LAP/BS/jsd
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