Senator Loren Legarda underscored her lifelong dedication to peacebuilding, citing decades of experience in negotiating hostage releases, mediating conflicts, and advancing development programs anchored on peace agreements for underserved communities.
Legarda delivered the message as Guest of Honor and Speaker during the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the PAMANA Program between the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) and local government implementers. The event was held on March 26 at Foro de Intramuros.
“Negotiation may stop the gunfire for a time, but only development can prevent it from starting again,” Legarda said.
The senator reflected on her early missions in Sorsogon, Lianga, Marilog, Kalayaan, and Jolo, where she risked her life to secure the release of police officers, soldiers, and journalists.
“I placed myself in the middle of a crossfire with no script and no certainty about what would happen, focused only on the outcomes that the captives would return home alive, that we could open space for peaceful dialogue, and that I would return safely to my children,” she recounted.
Legarda also recalled working with the late Jesus Varela and Tomas Millamena of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente in securing the release of Army Major Noel Buan, as well as journalists Arlyn dela Cruz, Ces Drilon, and Jimmy Encarnacion.
She emphasized that lasting peace must go beyond negotiations and be sustained through addressing poverty, exclusion, injustice, and lack of opportunities—root causes that continue to fuel conflict.