“We have the stories, tell the narrative” recounted Undersecretary Luisito Montalbo of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) relative to communicating the gains of Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program of the government.
Started on 2011, PAMANA program as of June 2014 has covered 3,541 barangays in 448 municipalities and 5 cities nationwide with 5,682 funded-projects worth 17 Billion reported Asec. Howard Cafugauan, Asst. Secretary for Programs on the Bangsamoro.
Project Development and Monitoring Unit (PDMU) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government Region IX reported that PAMANA in Zamboanga Peninsula has implemented 38 projects covering 21 LGUs with 236.7M budget since 2012.
However, with these statistics, only few have been communicated to the public. OPAPP to address the condition called for more peace advocates from various sectors not only in the government but also to the non-government organizations as well as from the youth sector to engage in the initiative.
Looking into communicating the gains of PAMANA, Estelle Osorio of Blas F. Ople Policy Center emphasized the role of new media especially the facebook, twitter and other social media sites.
” Facebook statistics shows that 36 Million Filipinos have Facebook account. This means that 1 out of 4 Filipinos have FB accounts in the Philippines. Imagine the potential reach if everyone is involved from all sectors to share the gains of PAMANA.” Osorio said.
She pointed out that there are many stories remained untold. It’s time for peace and development advocates to share the stories.
Meanwhile, Dir. Polly Cunanan of Communications Unit supplemented that PAMANA program of the government needs to be felt in the ground and communication is essential in gaining people’s trust and increasing people’s awareness, understanding and appreciation of the program.
” To view the update and status of the peace process including the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) anyone can visit their website at www.pamana.net or facebook page PAMANAph,” Cunanan reported.
Dir. Cunanan said that the OPAPP, performing an oversight function and implementing the (PAMANA), sought to widely disseminate the message and gains PAMANA over the new media.
Dir. Cunanan added that through PAMANA, communities especially the marginalized and vulnerable sectors (i.e, women, children, Indigenous Peoples (IP’s), former rebels etc. are provided with spaces and opportunities to contribute in community development, to actively engage in governance processes and resolve conflicts through peaceful mean.
“To LGU, she said, must maintain the transparency and accountability mechanism which includes citizen monitoring through third-party monitors, project billboard, and web posting of the status report.”
“True to its commitment, PAMANA continues to extend development interventions to isolated, hard to reach, and conflict – affected communities, ensuring that they are not left behind,” Cunanan said.