Galvez pushes for creation of Department of Peace

Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. has proposed the establishment of a Department of Peace in a bid to institutionalize the government’s peace agenda. 

In a Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum, Galvez said he sees the proposed Peace Department to eventually replace the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), and be able to sustain the gains achieved under the comprehensive peace process throughout the years. 

“Nakita namin kasi na best practices ng other countries, meron talagang institution… Meron talagang Ministry or Department of Peace,” he said Wednesday. 

(We have seen the best practices of other countries, and they actually have an institution, a Ministry or Department of Peace.) 

With the creation of the Department of Peace, Galvez said he hopes that all the peace initiatives of the previous and current administration “will be consolidated, integrated, and institutionalized, which the succeeding administrations can build upon.”

A former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff, Galvez also revealed that under OPAPRU’s current setup, the majority of its management and personnel hold contractual positions, and therefore have no security of tenure.

By creating a whole new department, he said that OPAPRU will be transformed to address the security tenure and career advancement for its employees. 

Galvez added that the endeavor would ensure that there would be an entity “with a more permanent character” in the national government. 

He said that the Department of Peace would contribute to the promotion of peace “that is not merely a fleeting priority or an ad hoc approach, but rather a sustained and consistent effort of the government.” —Giselle Ombay/KBK, GMA Integrated News