Irene Santiago

Irene Santiago
Peace Adviser to the Davao City Mayor
MayorSara Z. Duterte–Carpio
Personal details
Political partyAksyon (1998)
OccupationCivil worker, government official

Irene Morada Santiago is a peace negotiator from the Philippines. She is Chair Emerita and chief executive officer of the Mindanao Commission on Women (MCW).[1] Santiago has negotiated peace between Muslim separatists and the Philippines government.[2][3]

She has spent 40 years advocating for the involvement of women in peace processes, serving as peace adviser to the mayor of Davao, executive director of the Mindanao Commission on Women, Inc. and campaign organizer for Women Seriously and Women's Peace Table Worldwide.

In 2020, Santiago was among the 10 finalists announced by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) for the inaugural Women Building Peace Award. She was chosen from among over 150 nominations from 51 countries. She was cited as one of the first women in the world to be both a member of a peace negotiating panel and the chair of the panel implementing a major peace agreement.[4] Her Peace 911 Initiative significantly reduced violent conflict in Paquibato District, Davao City within nine months of being implemented and is now being replicated across the Philippines.

  1. ^ "Irene Santiago". Inclusive Security. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  2. ^ Lamb, Gregory M. (12 February 2014). "Irene Santiago: Women are Vital Peacemakers". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  3. ^ Ramsbotham, Oliver; Woodhouse, Tom; Miall, Hugh (2011). Contemporary Conflict Resolution. Cambridge: Polity Press. p. 308. ISBN 9780745649733.
  4. ^ "2020 Women Building Peace Award Finalists". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2021-09-07.