Lasting peace no longer a pipe dream

It was my first time meeting Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).

I was expecting someone tough and scary, battle-scarred. After all, he was a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), chief of the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) during the Marawi siege laid by ISIS-inspired Maute group and unified commander of all forces during the five-month intense battle to liberate Marawi, commander of the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao, battalion commander of the 1st Army Scout Ranger battalion, the youngest military officer to command the Basilan-based 104th Infantry Brigade where he led military operations against the Abu Sayyaf group, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Sandiwa” class of 1985, deputy chief of staff for operations (J3) of the AFP and a secretary for national defense.

It was under Galvez as Wesmincom chief where 436 Abu Sayyaf members, 276 communist rebels, 311 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and 1,065 Maute members were neutralized and a total of 1,343 loose firearms were recovered.

He was also the chief implementer of the National Task Force against COVID-19 from 2020 to 2022, and he later became the vaccine czar at the height of the pandemic.

What struck me most was his calm demeanor. The way he spoke, the way he explained things, and the way he carried himself. More like the scholarly type. Even fatherly. All my fears and apprehensions were assuaged. I was even having dinner and a rare conversation with him.

No wonder he was able to convince insurgents to lay down their arms and return to mainstream society using the power of words, as one newspaper article aptly put it.

His sincerity in ending armed conflict and achieving lasting peace, especially in Muslim Mindanao, through negotiations and addressing the root of these conflicts, made him the perfect choice as the country’s peace czar.

While he has been in the military for more than 34 years, Galvez also finished his Master’s degree in Project Management from the University of New South Wales in Australia and Leadership Executive Education from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was class president and valedictorian of the AFP Command and General Staff College, a recipient of the United States Eisenhower Fellowships in 2006 and a professor at PMA.

Galvez also attended the Asian Institute of Management TeaM Energy Center for Bridging Leadership, where he counts the late Washington Sycip among his mentors.

Before Galvez joined OPAPRU in 2024, its predecessor agency, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), was a complete mess. In fact, former presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza resigned after failing to prevent corruption in the agency. There was no accountability or system whatsoever in almost every aspect of operations.

But Galvez knew what needed to be done. Every project, including those in infrastructure, had to go through the eye of the needle, from feasibility study to careful implementation monitoring, to ensure that every peso is well spent and accounted for. After all, among his strengths is project management, honed by his stint as J3 of the AFP.

OPAPRU is the government agency mandated to manage, direct, integrate, and supervise the implementation of the comprehensive peace process and is guided by the five-point peace, reconciliation and unity agency, namely: first, completion of peace agreements with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front; second, ending of armed conflict with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front and local armed groups by expanding the transformation programs for local peace process and forging political settlement; third, completion and sustainment of the gains of the signed peace agreements with the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade and the Cordillera Bodong Administration – Cordillera People’s Liberation Army; fourth, enhancement of the resilience for peace of communities and vulnerable groups through social healing and peacebuilding approaches in support of the peace processes; and fifth, enhancement of the delivery of Conflict-Sensitive and Peace-Promoting-compliant intervention in addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict through convergence and complementation in support of the peace processes.

OPAPRU’s work does not end with resolving armed conflicts, signing peace agreements, and complete disarmament. The more arduous task is preventing violent extremism from recurring and resurging. After all, among the major root causes of armed conflict and insurgency in the country are poverty, underdevelopment, and inequality. As the President once said, peace is more than the cessation of hostilities. What was needed was a whole-of-nation, whole-of-society approach to sustain the peace.

OPAPRU’s Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program remains a cornerstone of the government’s efforts to address key drivers of conflict and uphold the Comprehensive Peace Process. Through its sustained and expanded implementation of conflict-sensitive and peace-promoting socio-economic and development interventions, PAMANA aims to foster peace and development in conflict-affected and conflict-vulnerable areas, ensuring no one is left behind. The program’s key initiatives include the construction of vital infrastructure such as roads and bridges, livelihood and capacity-building programs, and the delivery of basic social services to empower marginalized communities.

Of OPAPRU’s P7-billion budget, around P5.2 billion is allocated for the PAMANA program, of which half, or about P2.5 billion, goes to the five BARMM provinces.

Lasting peace for every Filipino is no longer a pipe dream.

“Once scarred landscapes, where the sounds of gunfire echoed, are now turning into flourishing rice fields and agricultural areas teeming with promise. Weapons of war are being laid down and are being replaced by ploughshares and fishnets that symbolize a future where violence is a thing of the past … Once remote, underdeveloped communities, which were perennially in the throes of conflict, are finally experiencing the transformative power of peace,” Galvez said in one of his messages.

And true enough. Tourism and investments in BARMM have started to flourish. And very soon, the government can tell the whole world, even foreign tourists and investors, that there is nothing to worry about this once strife-torn region.

During the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21, Galvez emphasized that “peace that our country now enjoys was not achieved overnight but is the result of decades of peacebuilding work that began when we, as a nation, realized that we must take responsibility for our peace… The sound of gunfire has been replaced with the hum of tractors, motorcycles, and business activity… Today, we are reaping the dividends of peace as former rebels, combatants and violent extremists have laid down their arms and are now living as peaceful, productive, and law-abiding members of society.”

Galvez has always believed that victory can be achieved without direct combat. He once said that the country’s peace-making experience has made it a potential global model for its success in resolving internal armed conflicts after having entered into peace agreements with four armed revolutionary groups.

There are now proposals to create a Department of Peace to institutionalize OPAPRU and its gains in achieving peace, as well as a Peace Fund. This trust fund will put together monies coming from the public and private sectors, as well as international communities and donor organizations. Peace is not something to be stingy about, and many Filipinos can sleep soundly at night because of the gains that OPAPRU has achieved.

OPAPRU may not be as widely known. It has a meager budget and even occupies a small office with few staff members. But its work speaks highly of itself. It deserves all the support that it can get from all of us. After all, we all sleep under the mantle of peace they helped build.

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