Gawad parangal: Building peace through collaboration

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

- AMENAH F. PANGANDAMAN

On Dec. 4, 2025, I was recognized for my contributions to peace-building during the Founding Anniversary of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which marked the seventh year of advancing the government's peace and development agenda. Though I was honored, my initial response was actually one of pause, not of pride.Awards have a way of doing that. They make you look back not only at milestones reached, but at the people and moments that shaped the journey.

And my thoughts drifted to local government leaders who stayed long after consultations had ended. There were civil society members-mostly mothers who shared that water systems are finally reaching their communities, and farmers who spoke of newly paved roads allowing their harvest to reach the market before spoiling.

These are not stories often highlighted in formal reports, yet they are the reason the work matters. For me, the recognition belongs as much to them as it does to any official who served.

As former Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management and as designated Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security, I had the responsibility of presiding over several Joint Regional Task Force (JRTF)-ELCAC meetings in Caraga. The rooms were filled with data, plans, and presentations, but what stood out most was the collective resolve. There was a shared understanding that peace-building should not remain abstract-it had to be felt where people lived.