A kick for peace in Mindanao

Roel Gener. https://www.phlazkals.com photo

MANILA, Philippines – Football in the Philippines is no longer just a sport, it has also become a way to bring peace to war-torn Mindanao – thanks to the Philippine Azkals.

Azkals team members Roel Gener and Eduard Sacapano will lead a football clinic at the Southern Christian College grounds in Midsayap, Cotabato on May 28 and 29. Both are regular military personnel from the Philippine Army.

Dubbed as “Football Para sa Kapayapaan 2012 [Football for Peace],” the event aims to teach children aged between 6 and 12 the virtue of sportsmanship and peace building.

Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Sagun, project officer and Commander of the 7th Civil Relations Group, found this an opportune time to promote the sport among the tri -people of Mindanao of Central Mindanao –Katawhang Lumad, Katawhang Bangsamoro, Katawhang Migrante – at the grassroots level.

Sagun, who was an alumnus at the SCC and a witness of war in Mindanao in his childhood, expressed his dream of lasting peace in Mindanao.

“Sports is capable of conveying basic rules and essential values of peaceful coexistence, such as tolerance, team spirit, camaraderie and fair play. In addition, it forms character skills…and it gives the value of discipline, endurance, courage and self-motivation. The ethics of sports lays the foundation for a more peaceful, humane world,” he said.

The event is an endeavor of the SCC, Asia America Initiative, Order of Demolay-Midsayap, Philippine Army, Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Team Azkals, San Miguel Corporation, REACT and JCI Manila.