The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, and the National Task Force Against COVID-19, joins the international community in the celebration of International Day of Peace.
This year’s theme, “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world,” is a rallying call for us to collectively work towards the healing of our planet not only from the impact of COVID-19, but also from the social injustices spawned by this pandemic.
While health and safety concerns remain the top priorities in our global fight against COVID-19, we must also address the socio-economic impact of the pandemic on our people’s lives.
This is why the Philippine government, amidst the challenges caused by this health crisis, is working hard to secure a sufficient supply of COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate all qualified Filipinos.
It is our hope that as we protect our people from the deadly virus and save more lives, we also uplift the well-being of those who have been victims of violence, armed conflict and social inequality.
This is why our agency’s interventions are designed to create jobs and other livelihood opportunities for former combatants – so that they can make the transition to mainstream society and lead peaceful and productive lives.
Under our whole-of-government approach, we are ensuring that our peacebuilding work and pandemic response efforts are intertwined. They must be carried out hand in hand. This is the only way we can revive our nation’s economy and fully recover from this pandemic.
As we celebrate this occasion, our agency will continue to forge paths of peace and development, for the sake of the current as well as future generations.
Finally, we thank all of our local and international peace and development partners for supporting all our health and peacebuilding interventions.
Together, let us rise, pick up the pieces, and rebuild our world into a better, more peaceful, and more sustainable one. ###
