Department of Education Region 10 division director Estrella Babano urged participants of the 5th Mindanao Educators Congress to help create a culture of peace in the wake of the recent bombings that hit the area.

“The reason why after almost ten years that we only started to recognize that Mindanao is Mindanao, therefore we have to address it as Mindanao educators. We don’t have an actual agenda and we do not have common platform for Mindanao on how to attain peace, progress, and sustainable development,” Babano said.

“Ang galing galing natin magsalita, alam natin yan kahit natutulog tayo, pero may ginagawa ba tayo? Bakit hanggang ngayon andito pa rin tayo? Magulo pa rin (We’re good at talking about it, even in our sleep but are doing something about it? Why are we still here now? There is still chaos),” she added

Babano, one of the proponents of peace education in Mindanao was one of the special speakers in the three-day congress held in Butuan City, Agusan province last July 8 to 10, which gathered almost 900 educators from the six regions in Mindanao — Regions 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (CARAGA) and ARMM.

The peace advocate pushed for Mindanao educators to be good examples to children to create a culture of peace in this conflicted part of the country because according to her, education is the start for peaceful development.

“As a Mindanaoan I’ve seen a lot of intervention coming in, a lot of dialogue, a lot of forum, symposium but I don’t feel the impact, I don’t see that we have attained peace. It’s very important that peace have to be given more way through peace education. We have to have an environment of peace. So that is very basic, that is very vital,” Babano said.

Babano has been actively working for peace education in Mindanao organizing programs like School of Peace, Arabic Language on Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) program, Indigenous Peoples Education Center (IPEC), among others.

“Working for peace acquires particular urgency we cannot wait for tomorrow, the time is now. Not apart from the children but through the children. The future depends on us. We carve the future, we mold the child and therefore it’s high time that we accept that responsibility and start working with the kids,” she said.