DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 29, 2012) – More than a thousand people have joined a peace march on Thursday in the southern Philippines.
The event, dubbed as “March for Peace,” was participated by “peace and development volunteers” and members of civil organizations, the police and military, local governments.
“Peace is the key to success. Without peace, we would not attain progress and development in our region,” said Tessie Sugabo, of the Indigenous People’s Sector.
Col. Joselito Kakilala, commander of Joint Task Force GenSan, said that peace and development is the result of cooperation and concerted efforts.
“Attaining lasting peace is a shared responsibility and everyone must take part in any undertakings to achieve it,” he said.
Some 800 people also joined a similar activity in Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Compostela Valley provinces.
The “Martsa Alang Sa Kalinaw,” seeks to sow courage in the hearts of the people to denounce insurgency and encourage everyone to be part of the solution and call for genuine peace and development, said Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division in Davao City.
“The participants represented the collective voice of the people who believe that the only way to attain a genuine and lasting peace is to collaborate with all sectors to put an end to insurgency. The AFP joins this event to show the people that we are one of their partners for peace and development,” Paniza said.
Davao City Mayor Sara Carpio, in her message, said that attaining peace requires concerted and complementary efforts where each one must take an active role in peace building.
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