Davao City – After pronouncing to withdraw the city’s operational assistance to the military’s 1003rd Brigade, city mayor Inday Sara Duterte has earned appreciation from church-based peace advocates under the Exodus for Justice and Peace (EJP).
The group said that the local chief executive’s move of pulling out support from the army’s internal security operations (ISO) plan in the hinterlands surrounding the city and her preference to peace talks and social services is laudable and a good start to work on for peace.
“We are happy to hear the ideal asserted by our city mayor. It coincides with our efforts to bring about just and lasting peace through peace talks and not militarization,” said
Duterte has recently announced the pull out of the financial support to the anti-insurgency drive of the Armed Forces of Philippines saying that the counter-insurgency strategy of the military is ‘combat heavy’.
“We are grateful that our leader believes that to solve the root cause of insurgency, the problem should be addressed not through ‘combat heavy’ operations’ but through literacy program and developmental
projects. It speaks of a leader who highly considers the respect for human rights,” Bp. Delfin Callao, convenor of EJP said.
The Exodus for Justice and Peace is an aggrupation of church leaders, lawyers, and other human rights advocates who has been recently facilitating the safety release of Prisoners-of-War (POWs) in the
region.
The group urges that the local government units should contribute to the efforts of ending the armed conflicts through suporting peace talks.#
