By Angeline Valencia | January 16, 2010 8:00 p.m.

Bohol’s point person on Poverty Reduction for Peace and Development Program will join the delegation that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) has formed to represent Philippines in the upcoming second reintegration and peace-building technical cooperation tour in Bogota, the capital city of and largest district in Colombia.

The Government of Colombia invited point persons on insurgency from other countries to “share the Colombian experiences in issues related to peace-building and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR)” during the conference slated on January 30-February 10.

Colombian officials also aim to learn from and contribute to theories on peace-building and DDR that have been raised to the global arena.

The provincial government’s Human Resource Management and Development Office (HRMDO) head, Romeo Teruel- -point person of Bohol’s Poverty Reduction for Peace and Development Program, and seven others will join Secretary Anabelle Abaya, presidential adviser on peace process, to represent Philippines in the gab.

Abaya had issued a travel authority for Professor Ma. Nieves Confesor, panel chair of the Government of the Philippines Negotiating Panel (GPNP) with the CPP-NPA-NDF; Lawyer Tomas Cabili, member of the GPNP with the MILF; and BGen. Gregorio Fajardo of the AFP, OPAPP’s consultant to stay until February 7.

In the same travel authority, Abaya specified the attendance to the event of Teruel, representing Bohol, the first province to meet the President’s challenge to crush the NPA before she steps down Malacañang; Usec. Pedro Cesar Ramboanga Jr.; Mary Louise Castilo of the Peace Resource and Development Center (PRDC), and Act for Peace Program Manager Diosita Andot to stay until February 10.

The entire eight-man delegation will leave Philippines on January 29 to catch up with the get-together activities on Day 1 of the event wherein they will travel to Armenia from Bogota, then to Hotel Las Camelias and enjoy the traditional long siesta the entire afternoon as inherited from the Spanish culture.

Participants will be introduced to each other during the welcome dinner at Pueblo Tapao of Hotel Las Camelias.

PRDC Director Renia Corocoto will just catch up on February 5-10.

The government of Colombia offered the second technical cooperation tour in the Coffee-Growing capital of Colombia, Valle del Cauca Department, dubbed as the Pacific door of Colombia being in the western side, facing the Pacific Ocean.

It was agreed during the Colombia exploratory mission to the Philippines in November last year that the Philippine government will be given eight slots to the event.

Based on Abaya’s verbal instruction then, the delegation shall consist of a representative from each of CNN, MILF and JEMC; two from PRDC, and one from the SIP-PMO. It was also agreed to invite a representative from each of the local government unit of Bohol and the UNDP Act for Peace Mindanao.

Corocoto will just catch up to Bogota after attending the Conference on Building Infrastructures for Peace in Africa on February 2-4 , in Nairobi, Kenya.

Corocoto said this is in preparation for the Second International DDR and Peace-Building Conference slated in October this year.

Since Philippines has been nominated to host the 2nd CIDDR that will be funded by the international donor community, Usec. Ramboanga and Castillo will remain in Colombia to join Corocoto for the preparatory meetings and briefings.

The activity on January 30-February 7 has also been aimed to get specific commitments by enhancing the network of academies and practitioners; and identify and highlight the progress and challenges for the Colombian experience in DDR.

It is also aimed at providing “practical knowledge to the existent theory on the aggregated values in a DDR process, such as communication strategies, relations with private sector, financial management of the process, security, technologies and management of information, among others”.

The government of Colombia also aims to contribute to the DDR theory in national ownership of the reintegration process; coordination and inter-institutional relations; coordination of social networks, such as NGOs- -both national and international, universities, think tanks, private sector, and media.

It also aims for the regionalization and local appropriation of the National Reintegration Policy.

The government of Colombia also expects the activity to “generate a debate over the best practices in DDR related issues”, and “produce a complete set of memoirs that provide theoretical contributions” which can later be considered as sources of information on DDR topics.

It is also expects participants to consider the Cartagena’s Contribution to DDR.

During the conference, the participants will have an opportunity to listen to demobilized persons and receptor community members at a rural visit to El Retén, Magdalena.

With working languages in Spanish, English and French, the course includes both theoretical and practical methodology through workshops, conferences and field trips.

In choosing participants, Colombia targets those who have basic knowledge on peace support operations and strong interest to learn about DDR. They can be part of the civil society, diplomats, civilian police, military personnel, academe, and representatives of international and NGOs.

On Day 2, there will be a presentation on DDR from a Development Perspective, DDR in Colombia, peace-building efforts of the Government of Colombia; the on media and DDR on Day 3. Other topics are Children, Gender Perspectives and Peace-building efforts; Private Sector, Academy and Peace-building in Colombia.

On Day 4 The participants will travel to the municipality of Santuario in the Department of Risaralda where they will have a “Reconciliation Coffee” during an Elaunch Event.

They will also visit the municipality of La Linda and have an interaction with the community.

From Santuario, they will proceed to Cali and stay at Hotel Club Campestre and Hotel Radisson to prepare for the forum in Javeriana University and El Valle University, delving on the role of the academy and DDR the next day where they will also have a table discussions on DDR in the World; and a forum on perspectives from the demobilized and the peace; then the midway evaluation follows.

From Cali on Day 6, they will proceed to Santander de Quilichao to hear from Indians Association who will also present the program called “repairing the way home”. Then they will return to Cali for the show event Delirios.

On Day 7, they will be briefed on the Valle en paz project and the Carvajal Foundation: Aguablanca district field visit. Then they will return to Bogota in the evening to prepare for the presentations of conclusions or wrap up and compromises during the last session on Day 8.

Then, the participants will share a farewell lunch and go for a city tour in Bogota, before they leave to their respective countries the following day.

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