Report of the 32nd World Peace Tour
Country visited: Philippines
Period of Stay: January 23, 2023 (Mon) – January 28 (Sat)
Submitted a Resolution to Declare a National Peace Day on January 24th to the President of the Philippines
Erected a Peace Monument at the Cotabato State University in Manila
Held a Peace Concert in Mindanao 50 Years after the conflict
The 1st National Peace Convention in Plenary
At the 1st National Peace Convention in Plenary held at the Philippine International Convention Center on January 25th, the Volunteer Individuals for Peace (VIP) and its peace partner, HWPL, have unanimously agreed to draft a resolution calling on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., to declare a National Peace Day, otherwise known as “Truce Day,” through a Presidential Proclamation. This was submitted to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
Each sector group—legislative and policy-making sectors, education and youth sectors, media and news sector, religious sectors including indigenous people and Muslims, and women sector—drafted its resolution respectively in the sessions. Including this resolution, a total of six resolutions were submitted to the OPAPRU.
This resolution emphasizes the peace roadmap and the institutionalization of peace founded and grounded on the concept of PBBM-SD otherwise known as “Peace Builds Binds Minds for Sustainable Development,” the agenda of Marcos administration for national unity agenda, and the “Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW).”
<see more -> Full text of Approved BBM Peace Day Resolution>
Also at the conference, the Volunteer Individuals for Peace (VIP) presented the “Manila Declaration of Peace and National Unity” with the education and youth sectors, the religious, inter-faith, Indigenous peoples, Muslim, and inter-cultural sectors, the women sector, the media sector, the private sector, the government sector including the legislators and policy-makers, public officials and employees. They pledged to institutionalize peace in the Philippines in cooperation with HWPL.
<see more -> Full text of Manila Declaration of Peace and National Unity>
Peace Monument Unveiling Ceremony
On 24 January 2023, the peace monument unveiling ceremony was held at the Plaza Asuncion in Malate. This monument, spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Manila Metro (RCMM) in collaboration with HWPL, calls for citizens and the government to make efforts to build peace and express support for the DPCW. On January 27, the unveiling ceremony of the HWPL-VIP peace monument was held at the Mindanao Cotabato State University, designated as the first peace academy in the Philippines.
Support for the DPCW, Designating January 24th as a Day of Peace
The City of Manila and the Province of Davao de Oro proclaimed a resolution supporting the DPCW. Ahod B. Ebrahim, the Chief Minister of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), signed to support the DPCW and designated January 24th as the official day of peace in the BARMM region.
We Are One Music Peace Festival in Mindanao, About 6,000 Youths Urge for Peace
On 26 January, for the first time in nearly 50 years since the conflict broke out, the “We Are One Music Peace Festival” was held at the Cotabato State University (CSU) gymnasium. It can be seen that Mindanao is safe and peaceful enough that 6,000 people can attend and enjoy the festival safely. Kutawato Greenland Initiatives (KGI) that organized this festival is establishing peace in the Cotabato region with HWPL.
