Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary for Inclusive-Sustainable Peace and Special Concerns Alan Tanjusay expressed the agency’s commitment to the Bangsamoro peace process during the Eid Al-Adha festivities in Barangay Dapao, in Pualas town, and Barangay Sawir in Masiu town in Lanao del Sur from June 19-20.
“On behalf of Secretary Rex Gatchalian and the entire DSWD family of social and development workers, we thank you for welcoming us to join you in celebrating Eid al-Adha. In recognizing our mutual sacrifice for peace and development, we also reiterate our unity and solidarity with you in your quest to expand the peace we have invested in and nurture more development projects and programs in the municipalities that were once inaccessible due to armed conflicts,” Undersecretary Tanjusay told the attendees of the festivities.
The DSWD official said the agency’s support for the residents and officials’ unified efforts to realize peace and development in the said municipalities that have been affected by decades-long armed conflict with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) stationed at Camp Bilal in Barangay Dapao and Camp Bushra in Barangay Sawir.
“The DSWD will continue providing social protection projects and programs, including assistance to residents in disaster and calamity-affected areas within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). This support will be coordinated with appropriate BARMM ministries,” Undersecretary Tanjusay pointed out.
During the celebration, Undersecretary Tanjusay also led the ceremonial distribution of family food packs (FFPs) to decommissioned combatants from the six acknowledged MILF camps in the towns of Pualas and Masiu.
A total of 3,000 boxes of food packs are targetted to be provided to the identified MILF camps from June 19 to 28, as part of the solidarity and confidence-building activities of the government.
Alongside DSWD delegates, officials from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) held a courtesy meeting with Member of Parliament Basit Mimbantas, Masiu Municipal Mayor Alonto Mimbantas Gubar, Pualas Municipal Mayor Amanoden Ducol, and other local officials.
Also part of the celebration was a dialogue between the government and MILF base camp commander Abuhais Abdusamin, sub-commanders, and fighters regarding the implementation status of the Normalization Program contained in the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and concerns about ongoing decommissioning activities. #
