GUESS who came to the big peace party of 2009?

It was no other than the “pure energy” himself, singer-actor Gary Valenciano, who virtually brought the house down when he made a surprise performance at the kick-off ceremony of the month-long observance of the National Consciousness Month at the Quezon Memorial Circle in suburban Quezon City on Sept. 1.

The crowd shouted “Gary, Gary, Gary” as he ackowledged their greetings.

Valenciano, who is the UNICEF ambassador of peace, wowed the more than 2,000 peace advocates, including Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Avelino I. Razon Jr., and Presidential Management Staff chief Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr.

Before he sang his first song, Valenciano said the people are crying for peace.

Valenciano virtually brought the house down when he rendered two songs as the crowd rooted for more.

“They want peace,” both Christians and Muslims alike, he said.

As ambassador for peace, Valenciano had the opportunity to go around conflict areas in Mindanao following the outbreak of hostilities between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) recently.

He vividly recalled how he met children of war in Central Mindanao wherein they could distinguish the kind of weapons fired by both sides while fighting raged a few distance away.

These children, who have been exposed to warfare knew exactly the type of small arms that they heard, he said.

Valenciano noted that the children caught in armed conflict silently cry for help.

The popular singer whose num de gere is “pure energy” because of his quick movements while rendering a song, said it is the responsibility of all countries that are experiencing internal conflict to end the bloodshed once and for so that peace will reign.

A religious person, Valenciano told his audience of over 2,000 people at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City that music and arts are also important tools to attain harmony and peace in the country.

He further wowed they crowd when he performed his unique style of shaking his hands and heads and gyrating his body to the tune of rock and roll music.

The Philippines has the second longest running insurgency war in Asia for the past 40 years against Muslim and communist rebels.

Razon has expressed confidence to resume peace negotiations with these two separate groups shortly.  He said the government is sincere of peace the peace process up front.