Philippine military completes world's longest peace mural

The Philippine military on Saturday unveiled the allegedly longest peace mural in the world along a major thoroughfare in Metro Manila. Dubbed as "Lakbay Para sa Kapayapaan sa EDSA (Travel for Peace on EDSA)", the mural project spans 3,770 meters along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, public affairs office chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the peace mural is a joint project among the AFP, Metro Manila Development Authority, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Asia America Initiative (AAI), and Dolphins Love Freedom Network (DLFN). Speaking of the four-decade-long insurgency and the increasing clamor for internal peace and security, AFP Chief of Staff General Emmanuel Bautista said that the solution of the armed conflict lies in the Filipino practice of Bayanihan (a trait of cooperation) . "This project is about breaking barriers that prevent us from moving forward. I was convinced of this when I saw soldiers painting alongside children of rebels," artist Sano said during the inauguration. The project, which started on May 26, aims to promote peace as well as to beat the present record of one-kilometer-long mural painting in Chile.