The seeds of the Yes for Peace – Bayanihan ng Bayan campaign was planted in the University of the Philippines System in December 1988. 

The campaign was initiated as the DiYES FOR PEACE – Bayanihan para sa Kapayapaan na Batay sa Katotohanan Tungo sa Kalayaan to help give flesh to Administrative Order No. 30 dated 11 August 1987 issued by President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino (PCCA) which states, “The successful realization of peace demands a holistic approach that will require the combined and integrated efforts of the civilian government, the military and the citizenry as a whole.”

It was inspired by one of the four elements four Major Elements of the government’s Peace Efforts, “This will involve the realization of a systematic process for enlisting the cooperation and collaborative efforts of all groups in support of the pursuit of the Government’s peace initiatives.”

At the outset, it aimed to prove:

1. There is a peaceful means towards an earnest commitment for liberated unity of the Filipino people;
2. “Peaceful assertion will encourage purposeful action that will lead to the sovereign search for solutions to the problems of the Filipino people; and
3. “The means in itself is the end.”

It was proposed to the Office of the Peace Commissioner that made it clear that it “will only participate as a conduit to the President once half a million signatures have been generated as has been agreed upon.”  

The National Peace Conference (NPC) committed its participation in the solicitation of five hundred thousand (500,000) duly accomplished LIHAM NG SAMBAYANANG FILIPINO PARA SA KAPAYAPAAN TUNGO SA KALAYAAN. 

The erstwhile complicated and tedious process of generating 500,000 responses was simplified upon the suggestion of the Presidential Commission on Youth Affairs (PCYA).

Ten (10) questions formulated in cooperation with the PCYA, the Kabataan para sa Kapayapaan (KAPAYAPAAN) – the youth and student sector of the NPC – and the UP College of Education Student Council (UPCESC) based on the 1948 United Nations’ Declaration on Human Rights and the 1987 Constitution. These were field-tested among constituents of the Diliman, Los Baños and Manila campuses of the University of the Philippines System with the end view of declaring all campuses of the UP System as a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) with PhP10,000.00 seed fund from UNICEF channeled through and disbursed by the UP Inter-Fraternity Council (UP-IFC).