PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday vowed to develop Basilan, once a "conflict area," into a thriving food and fisheries production center, which would help the country attain food security and a lasting peace.

In his speech during the "Panabang si Kasanyangan" peace offering ceremony in Sumisip, Basilan, Marcos said that despite the dawn of peace in the region, there is still work to be done and various stakeholders must continue seizing the momentum to attain long-lasting peace.

"Basilan's new role is now the war against hunger. You have a land area twice the size of Singapore, blessed with a rich soil, above all more or less typhoon-free, which makes you an ideal bulwark in our fight for food security," Marcos said.

"It must be woven now into the fabric of social life. In the case of Basilan, the harnessing of its potentials — a land blessed with resources and a people rich in talent — is the key to enduring peace, one that is based on common progress and shared prosperity," he added.

Once Basilan's agri-fisheries potentials are unlocked, not only Basilan and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will benefit, but also the whole country, the President said, stressing it will put the province at the front and center of the administration's national goals.

"All that is needed is to help Basilan to become a genuine food and fisheries production center. The national government will assist in this new challenge that you are facing," he said.

"This makes Basilan no longer an island far south, but a very strategic island in the front and center of our national goals and our transformation," the President added.

Its future and fate are therefore intertwined with the nation's, Marcos said, assuring its government and people "that we will play our role as partner of Basilan's great leap forward."

"Our presence in today's event reaffirms the truth that what was once a Ground Zero of war, is now turned into an epicenter of peace," Marcos said.

"A province that was once tainted by violence and terrorism is now a zone of peace, made possible not by military might alone but more so by a people saying no to violence," he added.

Basilan is home to rubber plantations, with major cooperatives and thousands of farmers and small plantations assuming a key role in rubber production.

Copra and rice are also the province's banner products, which are the farmers' main source of income.

During his visit, the President led the distribution of eight motorcycles donated by the United Nations Development Program to former rebels to support their livelihood.

He also witnessed the symbolic destruction of 400 illegal firearms surrendered by former rebels through the current peace efforts.

"This is the kind of peace that we are witnessing in Basilan, of various faiths working together, because people chose not to let diversity be a cause of division, but used it as a source of strength and solidarity," Marcos said.

"So, amid these triumphs, it is just fitting that a year ago you unveiled the Kasanyangan Monument. It is not just a memorial of the hard road to peace, or a manifesto of never going back to the path of violence, but a reminder of the long journey ahead that we have yet to undertake. But by your actions, you have indeed honored the ideals this monument stands for," he added.

The President recognized the peace efforts of the provincial government of Basilan, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the community, religious leaders and volunteers.

He also thanked the initiatives of international partners and allies, particularly the United Nations, the European Union, and the Japanese and Australian governments for their unending support to the pursuit of a just and amicable peace.

"Peace is totally achieved not when the sound of gunfire has ended. It is when the clamor for better lives has been met. This is the kind of peace that we see that dawned of here in Basilan. This is the kind of peace where the depressing tally of the casualties of war has been replaced by the statistics of human development," Marcos said.

"The kind that endures because it uproots the causes of people's discontent that purveyors of violence may want to exploit. This is the kind of peace that draws strength from the free will of the people instead of commanding their allegiance by force," he added.

Meanwhile, Marcos ordered the national and local government agencies to push for the development of Basilan and other areas that were once considered as "conflict areas" in the Philippines.

Speaking to reporters, the President emphasized that true peace does not end by cessation of violence but developing Basilan and former conflict areas.

"Although the ceremonies that we have here [are] really very simple, it is a symbol of a very important day because this is a testament to the commitment of all stakeholders to peace," Marcos said during a media interview.

"As I said in my speech, when we talk about peace, it does not only mean the cessation of the violence, what it also means is that we continue — that we, the national government and the local governments, and the autonomous government, all work together to make sure that the livelihood and the progress will come to Basilan and all of the other provinces who are once areas of conflict," he added.

Marcos said bringing developments to Basilan and other former conflict areas in the Philippines "is the most important thing" and a very significant milestone for the Philippine government.

"That is, it is a very significant also. I'm the first President to be able to come here because this was ground zero in the time of the fighting. And so, we can — it is a very clear landmark on the progress we have been making in bringing peace to [the] Southern Philippines," he said.

While Marcos acknowledged that it was not the first time he witnessed the decommissioning of illegal firearms.

He clarified, however, that there is already an ongoing process under the auspices of the UN, the EU and other international organizations to continue decommissioning of weapons.

The President said the government and its stakeholders are continuing their efforts to convince rebels to return back to the fold of the law.

"So, it will continue. We are still ongoing in the process, and we are still trying to bring those who are still fighters to come down from the mountains and to join society," Marcos said when asked if it was the first time he witnessed the decommissioning of firearms.

"And we, for our part, will continue to support everything that they need in terms of housing, in terms of livelihood, in terms of schools, in terms of infrastructure. And that's the role that we will play," he added.

Marcos said that he also had a meeting with the governors of the BARRM who "are coming together to formalize an alliance to make it very clear the support that the governors will bring to the autonomous government, to BARMM."

"And that's the role that we will play," Marcos said, referring to the meeting with BARMM governors. "And I think that is also another very important step in the continuing road to peace."

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