In celebration of the National Peace Consciousness Month, a peace documentary titled “Great Legacy” premiered in a cinema in Davao City on the evening of September 6, 2022. Around 500 distinguished guests from the government, education sector, media, as well as civic society leaders, religious leaders and peace advocates from Mindanao have attended.
The documentary was produced by SMV Media Group, a broadcast company based in Seoul, South Korea, in collaboration with Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international non-profit organization advocating for global peace and cessation of war. The film showcased the groups’ successful peace movement in Mindanao which contributed to the peace process in the region.
Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte congratulated and commended HWPL and SMV on the screening saying, “By showing people documentaries and films on peace, we may encourage more to be one with us in our peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts for our communities.”
HWPL’s peace movement in the Philippines started when HWPL Chairman Lee Man-hee, a Korean war veteran, visited Mindanao. He mediated a civilian peace agreement signed by Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla and then Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto” G. Mangudadatu on January 14, 2014 in General Santos City. Before the audience of 300 people including politicians, university professors, religious leaders, and students, the representatives promised to cooperate in ceasing the conflict and building peace especially in the Mindanao region which has long suffered the aftereffects of war.
This agreement became the starting point of HWPL in raising public awareness about peace not only in Mindanao but throughout the Philippines, based on the universal principles of mutual understanding, respect, and harmony. HWPL’s peace initiatives include law enactment for peace, interfaith dialogues, peace education, and youth and women empowerment.
In the film, Martin Lee Hojian, former chairperson of the UN Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, Homoibi, highly praised HWPL Chairman Lee, who intervened in the realization of peace in Mindanao as a third person, and the Filipino people who had a keen passion for peace. Also, Nabil Tirmage, Asia Pacific Broadcasting Development Organization program manager, said that the civil peace agreement in 2014 is an ‘amazing case of realization of peace that the world should study’.
Before the screening, a press conference was held for Mr. John Rommel Garces, Chief Branch Manager of HWPL Philippines, Ms. Hyun Sook Yoon, Chairwoman of the International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG), and Ms. Sholai Lim, Vice President for Mindanao of the Philippine Federation of Local Councils of Women and Publicity Ambassador of IWPG.
IWPG, a partner organization of HWPL, unveiled the first IWPG Peace Monument on the grounds of Maragusan, Davao de Oro overlooking the sea of clouds on September 6 morning. Their delegates from South Korea traveled to the Philippines for the first IWPG Peace Tour from September 5-7.
