PEACE ZONES URGED IN BATTLEFIELD AREAS
First posted 10:26pm (Mla time) Nov 28, 2005
By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Inquirer News Service
 

LUCENA CITY—CHURCH people, residents of war-torn villages, members of non-government organization and local officials will seek divine intervention in a communal activity dubbed as “Pilgrimage for Peace” to bring back tranquility in the communities around the mystical Mt. Banahaw. The convenors also plan to declare the spiritual mountain and all the villages nestling at its base as a “peace zone.”

Estacio Lim Jr., spokesperson of the Kapatirang Alay sa Kaunlaran ng Bayan or Kaakbay-Quezon, said they will launch the activity once clashes between communist guerrillas and government soldiers stop. “Our collective move is non-partisan, non-political and non-ideological. Our only aim is to restore the inherent peace of the spiritual mountain and for the people to return to their normal lives without any fear of the military and the NPA rebels,” Lim said.

He said Quezon activist priest Fr. Raul Enriquez will lead the activity. He also said the environmentalist groups Luntiang Alyansa sa Bundok Banahaw and Tanggol Kalikasan have also signed up for the peace campaign. Lim said the mountain of Banahaw, known as a sanctuary for spirituality and peace, has now become a “raging war-zone.” Local officials from the towns of Dolores, Tiaong, Candelaria and Sariaya have declared full support for the peace project. “Peace is what we need during these troubled times. Any endeavor towards this goal is worth supporting,” said Tiaong Mayor Raul Umali.

Sariaya Mayor Connie Doromal shared Umali’s view. Doromal said residents of affected villages have started to return home since yesterday morning. “They were given the go-signal by the military. Hopefully, the situation will now return to normal,” she said. Candelaria Vice Mayor Bong Maliwanag appealed to guerrillas and soldiers to bring their war elsewhere. “I appeal to their sense of compassion to civilians. They are the ones getting caught in the middle of this mayhem,” he said. Amid Vidal, chair of Barangay Concepcion Pinagbakuran in Sariaya, said his constituents started to trek home yesterday.

“Most of us will be looking for our farm animals that have wandered far away, out of fear of bombs and gunfire,” he said in a text message. Fighting erupted anew yesterday in Lucban town, forcing at least 1,600 villagers to flee their homes. The site of the gun battle is near the pilgrimage site of Villa Dolorosa, the Grotto of Healing and Purification, of charismatic priest-healer Fr. Joey Faller. According to Elmer Litana, Nagsinamo village chief, a band of NPA rebels on Sunday told residents in remote parts of the village to gather inside the barangay hall so they would not be caught in the crossfire.

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