EU grants to peace process hit P650M since 2007

Thanks to the continuity of the European Union in support of the Bangsamoro Peace Process, Konrad Adenauer Foundation Philippines Office (KAS) was awarded a grant to promote the political development in Muslim Mindanao. Since 2007, the EU has invested more than P650 million in programs that contribute to the peace process in southern Philippines. 

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and the Cotabato-based Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) today launched a project aimed to prepare the future autonomous Bangsamoro entity for a meaningful autonomy.

The initiative, called the Democratic Party Development or DEPAdev, aims at contributing to the establishment of a pluralistic political landscape in southern Philippines.

Specifically, it focuses on raising capacities of Muslim, Christian, Indigenous and other underrepresented groups for active political participation under a parliamentary system.

Benedikt Seemann, KAS Philippines Office resident r epresentative, affirmed that “this 18 month project is a non-partisan approach in which seminars and training activities will be implemented for existing political parties, members of civil society groups and members of both, religious and non-religious groups throughout Min-danao”.

Seemann added: “We want to empower stakeholders and underrep-resented groups to transform their interest groups and operate them as functional programmatic political par-ties or movements based on the rule of law. These objectives build a founda-tion on which active civil society par-ticipation in political affairs within the autonomous region will be possible.”

The education series, in fact, kicks off right after the public project launch at Dusit Thani Hotel Manila. This conference hosted honorable guests from the Diplomatic Corps, Govern-ment, Congress, Bangsamoro Tran-sition Commission and stakeholders from Muslim Mindanao. Prominent speakers were EU Ambassador Franz Jessen, Secretary Teresita Deles, Pro-fessor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Chair-man Mohagher Iqbal and Congress-man Rufus Rodriguez among others.