Peace education part of curriculum in Lanao Sur - Bishop

MANILA, Philippines - While government has yet to institutionalize it in the regular school curriculum, peace education has long been done in Lanao del Sur province. Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Peña said the effort to integrate peace education in school curriculum has already been implemented in the province, with great emphasis on dialogue of life and faith. "It is our thrust to encourage faith-based organizations and religious leaders in our province to help in developing a culture of peace and building a peace constituency," Dela Peña said in a statement on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website. He cited three institutions where peace education is very much active in the vicariate namely the "Kalilintad (Maranao term for "peace") Peace Learning Center in Baloi, Lanao del Norte; Mindanao State University (MSU); Peace Center in Marawi City and the Halley Peace Building in Our Lady of Peace High School in Malabang, Lanao del Sur. Dela Peña said the centers operate as "peace institutions" giving insights on the significance of dialogue as a way of life in the province of Lanao. He added that peace education in his vicariate is taking a key role in transforming a conflict and building a positive peace in the local communities where Muslims and Catholics co-exist. Also, he said that through peace education, children who are mostly the beneficiaries of the project will understand the roots of conflicts in Mindanao and the true meaning of peace. In MSU Marawi alone, Dela Peña said, the school has already been a venue for dialogue. He said the students who have a significant numbers of Muslims and Catholics are living together peacefully, learning from each other their customs and traditions. "This only shows that our people here in Lanao have manifested their commitment to dialogue of life and faith. Dialogue gives a strong message of peace among Muslims and Catholics in Lanao," he said. Fr. Efren Reyes, parish priest of the Our Lady of Peace Parish in Malabang, Lanao del Sur said they are also initiating activities that encourage reflections and discussions on beliefs and faiths. "We are able to maintain harmonious relationships where everybody in the community is encourage taking its role in building peace and justice, to share religious experiences including religious celebrations and dialogue of discourse drawing learning from the Qur'an and the Bible," he said. He said efforts at the grassroots levels should be sustained and pursued especially to those Muslims and Catholics who are still skeptical about it. But some still find that peace education fails to address other social issues in the local communities like the problem of "rido" (family feud) among Maranaos. For its part, the business sector in Malabang is optimistic that through the peace education initiative of the people there will be greater opportunities to achieving lasting peace. "We help the Church here because we believe in its noble mission to maintain a reconciling presence among Muslims and Christians," said Benjamin Ventura, president and manager of the Bagong Bangko Rural ng Malabang (BBRM). The pre-school peace learning center in Malabang is intended for both Muslim and Christian children where they can learn and play together in peace. Children are under the care of two teachers, a Muslim and a Christian. The school is under the management of the Missionaries of Jesus (MJ) and is supported by the local business community. - GMANews.TV