From Counterinsurgency to Positive Peace: Crisostomo Bas Jr. Leads IEP’s Mission in the Philippines

Tell us about your journey and interest in peace?  

Bas: I am a graduate of the Rotary-IEP Positive Peace Asia Activator Program, and during the pandemic, the IEP Positive Peace Ambassador training. It is through these connections that advocacy for Positive Peace started post-pandemic, targeting strategic- to policy-level offices and agencies. It led to meeting IEP Founder and Executive Chairman Steve Killelea at the National Task Force to End Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and paved the way to executive meetings with the National Security Adviser Secretary Eduardo Año, Head of the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) Secretary Carlito Galvez, and NTF-ELCAC Executive Director and Undersecretary Ernesto Torres. This resulted in an executive training on Positive Peace which integrated the Positive Peace Framework in the National Action Plan for Peace Unity and Development 2025-2028, and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with OPAPRU.

Earlier, from 2016-2020, I worked in enterprise security risk management, international civil aviation security, and emergency response management across private and public sectors. 

I previously held positions as the Director and National Focal Person for Capacity Building on anti-terrorism at the Anti-Terrorism Council Program Management Center under the Office of the Executive Secretary, Office of the President of the Philippines, and served as the Director of Finance, and Academy Superintendent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency from 2010 to 2015. And I served over 22 years counter-insurgency operations as an Army officer. 

I hold a Master’s Degree in International Development Policy from Duke University, Durham, NC USA and a Graduate Certificate in International Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC USA; all obtained as a Duke-UNC Rotary World Peace Fellow (2006-2008). Graduated with a Master’s in Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City, Philippines, in 1999, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Military Science from the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City, Philippines, in 1990.

Finally, I am also a member of the Rotary Peace Centers Committee, and Treasurer of the Global Partners in Peace Rotary Club of Rotary District 7730, North Carolina, USA.

What are the key challenges facing the Philippines in 2025 and beyond, including in economics and peace? 

Bas: Internal conflict in the country is at a decreased level, but its stability could be easily challenged and may quickly turn. There are key structural, cultural and institutional factors, that if remain unaddressed, will cause a progression from latent to overt conflict. Corruption is one factor that is still highly prevalent and diminishes the gains and stability of other Positive Peace pillars, causing inequality and inequity. The gains of lowering the number of armed members of the communist insurgency through military kinetics, and keeping from an offensive the secessionist armed groups through peace agreements, shall be paralleled with the undertaking of a nationwide and holistic effort on peacebuilding that addresses the structural, cultural and institutional violence. As a start, the understanding of peace, and how it shall be measured, is key in the undertaking of these efforts to achieve greater impact.

What is the potential impact of IEP having a presence in the Philippines, both for the country and also the region? 

Bas: IEP can create influence at the national and policy level by pursuing efforts that integrate Positive Peace in a systems-thinking approach, with programs and projects that will cause a trickle-down effect in the provincial, city/municipality and barangay levels nationwide. 

Strategic wins in the undertaking of Positive Peace in sustaining the gains of peace can serve as a showcase for other comparable case countries.

What are your priorities now as head of IEP in the Philippines? 

Bas: High impact policy and national scale programs and projects. I will be leveraging IEP’s highly-specialised and technically unique peace products and service offerings. Then diversify into small-scale social peace entrepreneurship efforts that have strong potential to grow nationally.

The GPI 2025 reported that global conflict is at the highest levels since WWII. What are your hopes for the future of the Philippines and the world overall? 

Bas: Through IEP’s research, I have gained an understanding of the secular dimensions of peace, while my involvement in the ministry of the Prince of Peace (Jesus) has deepened my understanding of its theological dimensions. I believe bringing these two perspectives together offers a powerful way to broaden the impact of peacebuilding.