Of the total amount, Php 5.3 billion will cover the implementation and sustain the momentum of OPAPRU’s high-impact projects under its PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) Program.
The PAMANA projects account for over 74% of the OPAPRU’s 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Both houses of Congress will now move to the bicameral session to deliberate on the inclusion of the peace agency’s budget in the 2025 national budget.
PAMANA: OPAPRU’s flagship program
PAMANA is the national government’ comprehensive peace and development convergence program implemented in conflict-affected and vulnerable communities nationwide.
Its projects include the construction of community-level infrastructure facilities such as roads, bridges, water systems, and housing units to address the main drivers of conflict.
Under the 2025 NEP, the OPAPRU allotted Php 1B for Luzon, Php 1.2B for Visayas, and Php 2.7B for Mindanao for PAMANA projects that will be implemented in 15 regions, 47 provinces, and 120 municipalities across the country.
During the Senate’s deliberations, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel noted the similarities in coverage of PAMANA and the Barangay Development Program (BDP) that is being implemented by the National Task Force to End Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), particularly the target beneficiaries of the said programs.
Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, sponsor of OPAPRU’s budget, clarified that while the BDP also caters to former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), it is only being carried out at the barangay level.
Dela Rosa, on the other hand, noted that PAMANA is focused on carrying out projects at the provincial and municipal levels.
He pointed out that the OPAPRU-led program has a wider scope of coverage, as it also caters to former members of other groups including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), CPP-NPA-NDF, Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA/ABB), and Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA).
PAMANA has also integrated Conflict-Sensitive and Peace Promoting (CSPP) approaches in all its projects to ensure that they foster social cohesion, greater collaboration, and the more active involvement of all stakeholders.
The OPAPRU also has a Social Healing and Peacebuilding (SHAPE) Program that aims to repair the torn social fabric of communities, particularly areas that have been affected by armed conflict.
As of November this year, OPAPRU has attained a high disbursement rate of over 90% in the implementation of its programs and projects for FY 2024.
As a result, the office was ranked among the line agencies with the highest budget utilization rate for the first half of the fiscal year.