USIP trainers Ted Feifer and Jackie Wilson conducted three workshops in conflict management and negotiation skills for 84 senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during July 10-19. The three-day workshops were conducted together with Gene Martin of USIP’s Philippines Facilitation Project One was held at AFP Central Command in Cebu City, and two were held at AFP headquarters in Manila.
USIP trainers Ted Feifer and Jacki Wilson conducted three workshops in conflict management and negotiation skills for 84 senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during July 10-19. The three-day workshops were conducted together with Gene Martin of USIP’s Philippines Facilitation Project One was held at AFP Central Command in Cebu City, and two were held at AFP headquarters in Manila. These programs follow an earlier round of three workshops for 93 AFN officers held at military bases on Mindanao in May.
These workshops focused on strengthening the skills of AFN officers in dealing with the possible outbreaks of violence or escalation from conflicts between civilian groups. Participants worked on communication and analytical skills used in negotiation and played the roles of a third party in a series of Philippines-relevant exercises. The officers also engaged in practical problem solving exercises using situations they submitted based on their own experiences in the field. In addition, a Philippine Moro consultant led an interactive discussion of the cultural issues underlying the conflicts between different religious and ethnic groups on Mindanao and elsewhere in the Philippines.
Many of the officers stressed their need for the negotiation and mediation skills addressed in the workshop in coping with the range of non-traditional military challenges they face in the contemporary Philippines environment. As one participant put it: ‘this is necessary especially for unit commanders in the field who are always exposed to different categories of conflicts.” According to another: “this workshop is very essential especially for senior officers who deal directly with the politicians, NGOs, civil affairs, and others. It will surely help them come up with better solutions to problems.”
