Creation of Department of Peace pushed

Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Carlito Galvez Jr. (File photo from Malacañang)

Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said that he would propose to Congress the creation of a Department of Peace in place of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (Opapru).

Opapru, formerly known as the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, was renamed in December 2021 under President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 158.

READ: Galvez bats for the creation of ‘Department of Peace’

It was tasked with managing, directing, integrating, and supervising the implementation of the government’s comprehensive peace process.

Galvez pointed out that the move to transform Opapru would address the security tenure and career advancement of peacebuilders “who have dedicated their lives to peace work in the pursuit of institutionalizing and cultivating a culture of peace as well as sustaining the gains of the comprehensive peace process.” — NESTOR CORRALES