Dateline Kamuning:   President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday underscored the importance of the support given by the Japanese government to the Philippines in undertaking the peace process, particularly in the Southern region of the country. In his speech during a courtesy call on the members of the Japanese parliament, the President thanked the government of Japan for its unwavering support to the Philippine peace process and countless development assistance. “It has been a critical part of our peace process. It is a process that we have been undertaking for many, many years and I think and finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, the participation of the Japanese support in that peace process has been invaluable,” President Marcos said. The President cited the Japanese government’s Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD) program, which involves long-term support for governance, decommissioning and socio-economic develo...

    Dateline Kamuning:   The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) on Sunday said it is hopeful that the death of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison will put an end to the local communist insurgency which has largely stalled development in the countryside. "With the death of Mr. Sison, it is our hope that it will also put an end to the local communist armed conflict that claimed the lives of so many Filipinos and pushed back development in the countryside," OPAPRU chief Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a statement Sunday.     He also noted that the passing of Sison marks “the end of an era in the nation's history.” With President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s banner of unity, Galvez said the government shall vigorously carry out interventions to sustain and build on the gains the government has achieved under the peace process. The CPP earlier said the Netherlands-based Sison died a...

 Dateline Kamuning  Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez has slammed the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) over the lack of transparency and accountability in the decommissioning of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants. Gomez, during Monday’s House briefing on the state of the peace process and peace and order situation in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said the OPAPRU should have been more eagle-eyed in ensuring that the government is not placed at a disadvantage in the implementation of the normalization track of the peace agreement between the government and the MILF. “There should be accountability in the disbursement of government funds. The government cannot just allocate and release funds without being fully informed of who are the recipients of government support, without knowing who have availed of the decommissioning program. It is our duty as lawmakers and public leaders to scrutinize h...