About 200 youths from the different barangays in the City of Mati took part in Davao Oriental’s one-day Limitless Youth Summit 2021 on September 29, 2021.
The summit was organized by the provincial government in partnership with a non-government organization Global Impact to shield the youth dubbed as the “most vulnerable sector” from the threats of human trafficking and recruitment by Communist insurgents.
With its theme “Together for Peace”, the summit aims to provide awareness, voice, involvement and safety for the youth as an alternative program in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70 or the Whole-of-Nation-Approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
The summit is also a part of the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG’s) remedial measures on the Localization of EO 70 as a peacebuilding initiative under the framework of Capacitating Urban Communities for Peace and Development (CUCPD) which seeks to empower target sectors especially the (1)Youth, (2)Labor, (3)Transport, (4)Urban Poor, and (5)Women.
Representing Governor Nelson L. Dayanghirang, Davao Oriental Vice Governor Niño Sotero L. Uy has stressed the significant role of the youth in nation building. Pressing the youth to become advocates for peace and development, Vice Governor Uy says: “When there is no peace, there is no development. Likewise, when there is no development, there will be no peace’.
The Provincial Task Force ELCAC Vice-Chairman Ednar Dayanghirang along with the former Child Soldier Survivor-Advocate Agnes Lopez F. Reano also known as “Lola” shared their wisdom and experiences and encouraged participants to steer away from the recruitment and influences of the CPP-NPA and its allied organizations that actively uses the social media platforms.
Similar summits were also conducted in the following day, September 30, 2021 to the youths in the Municipalities of Lupon and Banaybanay to be followed by the labor sector summit for the month of October.
Also present during the program who extended their messages to the youth were the Founding Director of Global Impact Philippines Foundation, Inc. Pastor Amy Muranko-Gahan, Davao Oriental Police Provincial Office Provincial Director Police Col. Efren Orlina; 701st Brigade Commander Col. Oliver Maquiling, DILG Representative Benjie Belarde, City Government of Mati Representative Alan Andrada and other peace and development partners. By Mark Oliver L. Alvite
