Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos on Friday pledged to bring peace education to the barangays and its inclusion as one of the criteria for the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) Awards.

Abalos said these during the 2nd National Peace Education Summit in Quezon City held last Tuesday, that he is discussing with the Office of the Presidential Adviser of Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) to make peace education mandatory in all barangays in three years' time through a training program to be spearheaded by the DILG through the Local Government Academy (LGA).

"We will win this war! After this seminar, I will go to the LGA with OPAPRU to conduct a seminar for all of our barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials after the election so that this program on peace education will be on the grassroots," he said.

According to the DILG secretary, peace education in barangays can also be a criterion in granting the highly coveted SGLG Awards in a bid to further the goal of mainstreaming and bringing peace education to more communities.

The SGLG Awards, institutionalized under Republic Act No. 11292 or "The Seal of Good Local Governance Act of 2019", gauges LGU performance in governance areas such as financial administration and sustainability; disaster preparedness; and social protection and sensitivity, among others.

During the summit, Abalos likewise said the DILG is committed to programs that will bridge communities toward development and closer to genuine peace such as the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) and the Support to the Barangay Development Program (SBDP).

"I have always said, we could only have peace if there is economic development in the countryside all over," Abalos said

The DILG secretary, likewise, underpinned the critical role of nutrition in the education of children saying that it can be integrated in the efforts of the government for inclusive peace. "This could be part of our program in peace, going to the grassroots and having a dialogue with the people. Knowing their needs and responding to them."

Meanwhile, Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Carlito Galvez, Jr. said that partnerships with national government agencies such as the DILG can strengthen the goal to institutionalize peace education in basic and higher learning institutions nationwide, in accordance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s relentless campaign on peace and order.