September 21, 2022- Sulong Peace celebrates the International Day of Peace with the rest of the World! Today we honor those who tirelessly work for peace and offer their lives for the hope of building a more peaceful future for the next generation. We uplift our indigenous brothers and sisters, who, in their fight for self-determination, also seek for it through peaceful means. We celebrate the teachers, the lawmakers, the engineers, the professionals, public servants. We celebrate the environmentalists, religious groups, artists, musicians, healthcare workers. We lift those who are in the margins – people with disabilities and special needs, blue-collared workers, and those whose work contribute to a better society but are often under-appreciated. Today is a cause for celebration for all the things you contribute for a peaceful world.
In the Philippines, it is also the same day the country was enveloped by fears as a result of the thousands of human rights violations during the Declaration of Martial Law 50 years ago. Martial Law period has been a dark and grim period in Philippine history which we hope and pray will never happen again. The past decades, achieving peace based on the respect for dignity, justice and development seems elusive, and the years ahead remains a challenge we have to face together.
Sulong Peace will continue the work that we have been doing for the last sixteen years which is commitment for a just and lasting peace. We will continue working towards our vision of a peaceful Philippine society. Together with our partners who join us in this endeavor, we continue our commitment to work with anyone who has the same vision and means for peace. We uphold our commitment to truth-telling, in the midst of all the systematic disinformation and historical distortion that prevails our current landscape.
We call on the Filipino society to uphold our values and traditions that have been passed on to us by our forefathers. We call on our brothers and sisters to uphold truth, justice, kindness, compassion, and generosity, especially during these times when all the world is rapidly changing. May our values be our compass in navigating the opportunities that lie before us.