In observance of Mindanao Week of Peace 2023, the Bangsamoro Peace Institute (BPI) of the Ministry of Public Order and Safety (MPOS), with the support of the United Kingdom Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched the fourth cohort of BPI trainees. This batch of trainees involves twenty-four (24) Civil-Military Operations (CMOs) Officers from the Philippine Army in the Bangsamoro region. The training, conducted from December 4 to 6, 2023, in Davao City, featured an intensive workshop with interactive activities focusing on crucial peacebuilding competencies. These competencies include the fundamentals of peacebuilding, conflict transformation, gender sensitivity, strategic communication, and the cultivation of a culture of peace.
Established in 2021 by MPOS, the BPI serves as a capacity development mechanism and the peacebuilding advocacy arm of the ministry, led by its Peace Education Division. The institute is dedicated to providing training opportunities for peacebuilders, peacekeepers, and peacemakers across both formal and non-formal institutions in the region. The overarching goal is to mainstream key concepts vital for co-creating a community of practice that fosters sustainable and effective peacebuilding in Bangsamoro.
The three-day workshop was graced by MPOS Minister Hussein P. Muňoz. In his opening speech, he highlighted the challenging duties of the military in building peace in local communities. Minister Muñoz said that, “𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.” He also emphasised the critical role of CMOs in bridging communities together. He added that, “𝘈𝘴 𝘊𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.” Furthermore, Minister Muñoz reiterated the role of the BPI which acknowledges the imperative need to provide learning platforms to empower men-in-uniform with skills sets and lenses to become impactful agents of peace through reinforcing understanding of conflict-sensitive peacebuilding strategies and deepening commitment to unity, understanding, and collaboration.
MPOS, in collaboration with its partners, remains committed to providing meaningful platforms through BPI to enhance the institutional capacities of agencies in the Bangsamoro region. This commitment ensures the nurturing of essential principles and values for effective and impactful peacebuilding operations in local communities. In Minister Muñoz’s closing message, he emphasised that “𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴,” expressing hope that, armed with the knowledge gained, participants will return to their respective roles with renewed determination to inspire positive change and create lasting impacts.
MPOS is the leading ministry of the Bangsamoro government for maintaining public order and safety in aspects such as peacebuilding, reconciliation, and unification. It is mandated to exercise coordinative functions with agencies involved in peace and security mechanisms in the region.
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