DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 15 Oct) – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has committed to allocate P2.6 billion to build more roads and bridges in Davao City next year, Mayor Sara Duterte said.
In her State of the City Address (SOCA) on Monday, Duterte said the DPWH would undertake more road and infrastructure projects in support of the local government’s “Peace Project” that is “envisioned to finally interconnect all the barangays of Davao City.”
The DPWH here, however, said they do not know the details of the projects referred to by the mayor. “I have yet to ask what these projects are and their locations,” said DPWH spokesman Dean Ortiz.
Boasting of the success of the localized peace campaign under the Task Force Peace 911 or Peace 911 program, Duterte claimed the Area Clearing Validation Board of the Armed Forces of the Philippines had declared all of the 13 barangays in Paquibato District insurgency-free.
Peace 911—comprising, among others, representatives the from City Social Services and Development Office, City Health Office, City Agriculturist’s Office, and City Veterinary’s Office—was established by Executive Order No. 12 issued on May 10, 2018 as the implementing arm for the peace-building efforts of the city government.
Peace 911 was the successor of the Davao City Advisory on Peace and Development (DC PEACE DEV), created in 2017 supposedly to conduct community consultations in pilot barangays and through which the localized peace talks with the communist guerillas operating within the city were supposed to happen.
The implementation of Peace 911 had led to road rehabilitation, construction of school buildings, improved health services, and tourism and socio-economic activities in Paquibato.
Duterte said the local government is expanding the campaign’s coverage to the city’s Third District.
She added that Peace 911 is also “supporting the indigenous tribes in the city in the implementation of their Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan and in strengthening their Indigenous Political Structures.”
During Peace 911’s first anniversary last May, Duterte said the local government awarded P1.985 million to livelihood projects to 14 former rebels. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)