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Wao, Lanao del Sur: Philippine National Police (PNP)
Deputy Director Gen. Jesus A. Verzosa on Wednesday lauded Gawad
Kalinga for building a 30-unit housing project for former Muslim
rebels in the province of Lanao del Sur.
“Gawad Kalinga’s generosity
has reached our brothers in Wao, Lanao del Sur. This is a big step
towards the government’s peace-building efforts in Mindanao,”
Verzosa, the chairman of the PNP Housing Board, said in a statement.
Verzosa said police and military
personnel helped in the construction of other Gawad Kalinga housing
projects in Mindanao.
Last year, Gawad Kalinga also
built housing projects in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao; Camp Abubakar,
Shariff Kabunsuan; and Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte.
Verzosa also thanked Gawad
Kalinga and other shelter agencies for building housing projects for
homeless police officers.
“Gawad Kalinga has been our
partner in building houses for our personnel. They provide us decent
housing. In the process of building houses, they also build
lives,” Verzosa said.
Tony Meloto, the man behind the
Gawad Kalinga movement, in a statement expressed appreciation for
“the relentless efforts of the high-spirited volunteers, who
worked hard and sweated in building a village where Christian and
Muslims co-exist in peace and harmony.”
“The more we sweat for peace,
the lesser we bleed for war,” he stressed.
Meloto, the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay
Awardee for community leadership, underscored the aim of Gawad
Kalinga in providing shelter, “So that the villagers will become
self-sufficient while living in a peaceful, healthy and clean
environment.”
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