CHED Commissioner, Dr. Ronald L. Adamat is calling for the proclamation of a “National Peace Day” or “Truce Day” to promote ‘national unity’ under the new administration.
During the press conference held on June 18, 2022, he shared his current and future initiatives for education, peace and development, and indigenous peoples’ rights. At present, he is developing a roadmap under the concept “Peace Makes One Nation, One Future”.
On the same day, he also received the actual award of the Mahatma MK Gandhi for Non-violent Peace. He is the first Filipino recipient to receive such award, chosen among 258 nominees from around the world. The prize is given annually to individuals who have made significant contributions in the field of propagating peace, science, education and culture throughout the world. The virtual award ceremony was held last March 27 attended by peace advocates and prominent figures across the globe.
“I am also grateful to the leadership of HWPL Chairman Lee Man-hee. Without his blessing, my nomination and subsequent conferment of the Mahatma MK Gandhi Prize for Non-violent Peace may not have happened,” Dr. Adamat said.
He was nominated by the 2016 awardee Chairman Lee Man-hee of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a South Korea-based non-governmental organization advocating for world peace and cessation of war. HWPL expanded its peace movement in the Philippines starting in Mindanao through the civilian-led peace agreement between local representatives known as “Mindanao Peace Agreement” signed on January 24, 2014.
Engagements between Dr. Adamat and HWPL started in 2017 when he attended the international peace summit of HWPL in South Korea.
Through the commissioner, CHED and HWPL officially entered into a partnership through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed in January 2018. The partnership resulted in the approval of CHED Memorandum Order No. 1 Series of 2019 mandating all higher educational institutions to integrate peace studies in their respective curricula.
He also established the Volunteer Individuals for Peace (VIP), a non-government organization promoting peace and non-violence. VIP also signed a partnership with HWPL in 2019.
From 2019 to 2022, HWPL has conducted 14 sessions of the Peace Education Capacity Building Program for 2,551 educators both under CHED and the Department of Education. Currently, there are 36 educational institutions that are implementing peace education.
Aside from the integration of peace education, he also pledged to establish peace monuments inside the campuses of the 25 state universities and colleges (SUCs) under this supervision. He also received support from the SUCs to establish Peace Clubs among students as he believes that ‘students are the bedrock of peace’. Club activities would include peace competitions among universities and colleges for song writing, poetry, and visual arts.
His ‘peace team’ is currently preparing to hold a National Peace Convention in October this year. (PR)
