ILOILO CITY – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Jose Ruperto M. Andanar was conferred the Ambassador for Peace Award by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) during the culmination of the International Youth Assembly 2018 held at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas on Sunday.
The recognition was given to individuals, whose lives “exemplify the idea of living for the sake of others and would dedicate themselves to practice which promote universal moral values, strong value in life, inter-religious cooperation, international harmony, renewal of dependent nations, as responsible public media in the establishment of cultural peace transcending racial, national and religious barriers”.
The title was presented to Andanar before some 960 youth participants from 14 countries including the Philippines, where he was also the guest of honor.
In his message, the PCOO chief shared with participants the advice he gave his 18-year old daughter who is now in college abroad — study hard, remember your family and go to church.
“By doing these, you would be guided through the values that Dr. (Yong Chung Sik) Yong earlier said –avoid drugs, avoid smoking, avoid pre-marital sex and avoid drinking,” he said.
In his keynote address, UPF Asia Pacific group chairman Dr. Yong Chung Sik exhorted youths to dream big, put on their best effort, love their country and love God.
In an interview, Andanar said it was an honor for him to be given such award as he cited that achieving peace is one of the desires of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
He explained that during the elections, the President committed to look into the country’s peace and order situation, stage war against drugs and corruption and push for federalism.
He also stressed that the youth plays a big role in as far as achieving the goals of the government, “especially that we have challenges when it comes to fake news and disinformation.”
He said they can help stop the spread of fake news. By sharing the correct information, conflict, which sometimes leads to war, can be avoided.
“We should be building and bridging peace and the youth is the big demographics in our society that could help,” he said.
He pointed out that helping combat fake news is one way of showing one’s love for the country.
The 6th International Youth Assembly gathered participants from Albania, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Fiji, Africa, Taiwan, Mongolia, Nepal, Singapore and the Philippines.
The gathering anchored on the theme “Peace-Loving Global Youth: Bridging Gaps Towards Sustainable Peace”. (Perla Lena/PNA)
