By Perfecto Raymundo, Jr./PNA
MANILA — The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on Tuesday disclosed that it is proposing a PHP1.1-billion Pamana (Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan) project for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) next year.
During the DSWD Pamana Peace Conference in Makati City, Director Pam Ann Padilla-Salvan of OPAPP’s Peace Policy Unit said, “Executive No. 3 provides for the peace policy framework of the government.”
“The first project under the Pamana is the shelter assistance project,” she added.
“At a minimum, the program/project does not make the conflict worse and usually also makes a positive contribution. Pamana is implemented by the government and its partners,” she said.
According to OPAPP, Pamana project is the national government’s convergence program that extends development interventions to isolated, hard-to-reach and conflict-affected communities, ensuring that they are not left behind.
Meanwhile, DSWD Director Christian Deloria of the National Convergence Technical Support Unit said the agency has been implementing more than 13,000 peace-promoting projects since 2011.
“(Around) 10,913 projects which are under the regular program; 4,729 peace are peace and development projects; 6,184 are DSWD/local government units-led livelihood projects and 8,023 projects are 100 percent completed,” Deloria said.
“For 2019, the DSWD is proposing a PHP979-million budget for Pamana projects. This was due to the ‘cash base budgeting’ method being utilized by the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) for the proposed PHP3.757-trillion 2019 national budget,” he added.
Among these projects are the various Pamana initiatives in Barangay Karkum, Sapad, Lanao del Sur; coffee production and consolidation in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat; construction of water filtration in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur; and construction of mini-market in Loreto, Agusan del Sur.
The DSWD official noted that the Pamana project, a community-driven program, started with 158 projects in conflict-affected areas in 11 regions in 2011.
“Under the 2018 GAA (General Appropriations Act), PHP1.45 billion is allotted for the Pamana projects, PHP798 million of which is intended for the peace and development, while the remaining PHP652 million is for the DSWD livelihood program,” Deloria said.
“For the last seven years, PHP5.8 billion, an average of PHP1 billion a year more or less, was used for the implementation of the Pamana projects,” he added.
