OPAPRU-Eastern Mindanao

READ: Meet Nanay Maria — a widow from Asuncion, Davao del Norte, who chose forgiveness when she came face to face with the former rebel responsible for her husband’s death. Their encounter took place during the Restorative Justice Program led by the AFP’s 60th Infantry “Mediator” Battalion, Kalinaw SEMR, and OPAPRU-LCT FISU Mindanao on October 6–8, 2025.

With the theme “Pag-alim ug Panaghiusa para sa Tinuod ug Malahutayong Kalinaw” (Healing and Unity for Genuine and Sustainable Peace), the program brought together former rebels, families of fallen soldiers, IPs, and local officials to promote healing, reconciliation, and reintegration—showing that true peace begins with forgiveness, dialogue, and collective action.

Read more of her story below.

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺, 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁:

𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗢, 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗘

ASUNCION, Davao del Norte – With trembling hands yet an unshaken heart, 60-year-old Nanay Maria (not her real name) from Davao de Oro stood face to face with the man who, under orders from the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army in Southern Mindanao, took her husband’s life—Ka Pedro, once a feared New People’s Army rebel, now a former rebel, seeking to make peace with the ghosts of the past.

Years of grief and unanswered questions weighed on her shoulders, but in that charged moment of truth, Maria chose not to curse the past, but to confront it—with forgiveness. It was a scene that captured the soul of the Restorative Justice Program—where a woman’s pain meets courage, and where peace, fragile yet real, begins to take root.






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JRTF-ELCAC XI, Pinuri
sa Planong Kapayapaan

Ipinahayag ni Presidential Peace Adviser Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. ang kanyang papuri sa JRTF-ELCAC Region XI sa pagpapatibay ng Provincial Transformation Program Plans ng mga probinsya sa Davao.

Ayon kay Galvez, ito ay malaking hakbang sa pagpapanatili ng kapayapaan sa Mindanao at nagpapakita ng kanilang dedikasyon sa pag-unlad ng rehiyon.






https://peace.gov.ph/2025/10/galvez-lauds-jrtf-elcac-xi-for-adopting-provincial-transformation-program-plans-of-davao-provinces/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNUaW5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFHTDBCaG1LVkg4R2xJQmlDAR6FQ1EiNV3GdIeJXcvtvz-CQhdNzoiHBVUC3Grb7pIITYqR5EBBN-61mQanew_aem_iQDBd4Z6Hrn79I7teTCUbQ

𝗝𝗥𝗧𝗙-𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗔𝗖 𝗫𝗜 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀

DAVAO CITY — The Joint Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (JRTF-ELCAC) Region XI has officially adopted the Provincial Transformation Program Plans of the four Davao Provinces, solidifying the region's shift from military-centric operations to a sustained, civilian-led development and peacebuilding approach.
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairperson and Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for Region XI, Secretary Leo Tereso A. Magno, who chairs the JRTF-ELCAC XI, stressed the importance of institutionalizing these localized Transformation Program plans.

“This gathering serves as an important platform to keep track of our collective efforts across clusters and to monitor the continuing implementation of the transformation program plans in the provinces of the Davao region. It is through this regular engagement that we ensure our initiatives remain aligned, responsive, and geared toward the long-term goals of peace, security, and development,” Magno said in his speech during the JRTF-ELCAC XI 3rd Quarter Full Council Meeting held on 03 October 2025, at the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Office, this city.

𝗝𝗥𝗧𝗙-𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗔𝗖 𝗫𝗜 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀

DAVAO CITY — The Joint Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (JRTF-ELCAC) Region XI has officially adopted the Provincial Transformation Program Plans of the four Davao Provinces, solidifying the region's shift from military-centric operations to a sustained, civilian-led development and peacebuilding approach.

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairperson and Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for Region XI, Secretary Leo Tereso A. Magno, who chairs the JRTF-ELCAC XI, stressed the importance of institutionalizing these localized Transformation Program plans.

“This gathering serves as an important platform to keep track of our collective efforts across clusters and to monitor the continuing implementation of the transformation program plans in the provinces of the Davao region. It is through this regular engagement that we ensure our initiatives remain aligned, responsive, and geared toward the long-term goals of peace, security, and development,” Magno said in his speech during the JRTF-ELCAC XI 3rd Quarter Full Council Meeting held on 03 October 2025, at the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Office, this city.

The adoption of the provincial-level Transformation Program Plans signifies the devolution of peace and development initiatives. This is to ensure that strategies are localized to address the peace and security issues, and socio-economic issues of each provincial local government unit of Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental, and Davao Oriental. Of the five Davao provinces, only Davao del Sur was not able to present their Transformation Program Plan despite the invitation by the JRTF-ELCAC XI.

Transformation Program Plan as NAP-UPD Implementation Plan

Guided by the NTF-ELCAC’s Memorandum, the Transformation Program Plan serves as the core implementation plan of the national task force’s NAP-UPD. The TP Plan becomes an important peace framework for preventing the recovery of the CPP-NPA and addressing the transformation needs of former rebels, their families, and communities.

The JRTF-ELCAC XI’s move is to align with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-ELCAC) recalibrated roadmap under the National Action Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development (NAP-UPD) 2025-2028, with the five provinces’ Provincial Transformation Program Plans emphasize social transformation, healing, and reconciliation after achieving an insurgency-free status for the region in late 2022.

Among the major outcomes of the approved Provincial Transformation Program Plans are the localized implementation and sustainability of the Transformation Program by provincial local government units (PLGUs), the institutionalization of sectoral and community-based peacebuilding efforts, and the successful undertaking of healing and reconciliation interventions in conflict-affected and cleared barangays.

Addressing Root-Causes of Conflict through TP Plans

The provincial plans are built on the four key components of the Transformation Program: security, confidence-building measures, healing and reconciliation, and socio-economic interventions. They are expected to focus heavily on the delivery of basic services, the implementation of crucial infrastructure projects in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs), and bolstering livelihood programs and legal support for the former members of the CPP-NPA-NDFP, their families, and other vulnerable communities.

Apart from these components, the adopted programs will strengthen the region's commitment to protecting vulnerable sectors, particularly Indigenous Peoples (IPs), women, youth, and children, from exploitation and recruitment by communist groups.

Meanwhile, the JRTF-ELCAC XI will monitor and evaluate the implementation of these plans across all clusters, ensuring that resources are strategically deployed to maintain stability and accelerate equitable development across the region.

“Through these concerted efforts, Region XI continues to exemplify the government’s vision of a peaceful and shared progressive Mindanao, anchored on unity, partnership, and lasting reconciliation,” Magno said. # # #