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Sunday, March 20, 2005
Australia backs Mindanao's peace, development programs
THE Government of Australia renews its commitment to provide assistance to various peace and development initiatives in Mindanao by pledging AU$17 million for the upcoming Action for Conflict Transformation for Peace (ACT for Peace) Programme through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) Programme.
"Our contribution will form a significant part of the overall program, signifying Australia's continuing commitment to the welfare and stability of the Philippines," Pearce said in a statement.
"This undertaking is seen to contribute in the consolidation of peace and development through continued assistance to Peace and Development communities (PDCs) which include former combatants of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Indigenous Peoples' (IPs) in the island region," she added.
According to Pearce, the project will initially focus on the transformation of PDCs, and other conflict-affected and conflict-vulnerable areas in developing and harnessing their own initiatives for peace.
She also cited that the project aims to strengthen peace building and conflict transformation capacities of actors and institutions in the area and to provide critical partnerships towards sustaining an environment of trust, confidence and collaboration for peace and development.
Pearce also stressed that PDCs are the basic unit of the whole peace and development framework of the entire program and serves as the focal point of all interventions in Mindanao.
"The ACT for Peace Program will specifically continue in developing people's organizations, deliver basic services such as health and nutrition, reproductive health, water sanitation, relief and rehabilitation, promotion of on-farm and off-farm livelihood, enterprise development, and capacity building for conflict transformation among MNLF ex-combatants, LGUs, and other stakeholders," she said.
A successor undertaking of the Government of the Philippines-United Nations Multi-Donor Program Phase 3 (GOP-UN MDP3), the ACT for Peace Program is a five-year project which is expected to commence early this year, highlighting partnership between the government and various donor agencies, in support to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's peace building efforts in Mindanao under her 10-point agenda and Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP).
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (March 20, 2005 issue)
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