After being delayed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the national government will officially kick-off Monday, Nov. 8, the third phase of the decommissioning program of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces and their weapons as part of the normalization process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) announced Saturday, Nov. 6, that a total of 14,000 combatants of the MILF’s armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), will be decommissioned, given government assistance programs, and reintegrated back to the mainstream society under the new Bangsamoro government.
“The continued implementation of the decommissioning process is an integral part of the normalization track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). It is a testament of the sincerity and steadfast commitment of the government of the Philippines’ and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)’s implementing panels to honor the commitments they have made under the CAB,” said Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Carlito Galvez Jr. in a taped message shown during a virtual press conference.
The decommissioning process is among the key provisions in the normalization of the CAB which was signed by the national government and MILF in 2014. The CAB eventually paved the way for the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in 2018 and the establishment of the BARMM in 2019.
In a Senate hearing back in September, Galvez had admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the completion of the four-phased decommissioning process of the 40,000-strong MILF forces, which was among the conditions set before the BARMM was created.
The first phase took place in June 2015 where 145 combatants and 75 weapons were ceremonially deactivated while the second phase was held from September 2019 to March 2020 involving 12,000 combatants (30 percent of MILF’s force) and 2,100 weapons.
The third phase involving the decommissioning of 14,000 fighters (35 percent) and 2,500 weapons was supposed to commence immediately after the second phase in 2020 but restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic prevented both parties from conducting the process. Instead, it was moved from Nov. 8, 2021 to June 2022.
Meanwhile, the fourth and final phase will include the decommissioning of another 14,000 MILF fighters (35 percent) and their weapons which will start once the third phase is completed.
The third phase will be launched at the Old Provincial Capitol in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao on Monday where the Independent Monitoring Body (IDB), which oversees the decommissioning, will process 175 combatants per day. The IDB is chaired by Turkish Ambassador to the Philippines Ahmet Idem Akay.
OPAPP Undersecretary David Diciano, chairman of the national government’s implementing panel, assured that measures are already in place to ensure that safety and health protocols will be strictly observed in the decommissioning process.
“We have procured and provided the antigen tests to be used by the MOH to test combatants before going to APA because this is the requirement of IDB that all combatants should be negative of COVID-19,” Diciano said.
Meanwhile, Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF implementing panel, hopes that both the national government and MILF will deliver its promises to the combatants who agreed to lay down their arms after four decades of fighting for the Bangsamoro people’s right to self-determination.
He said this includes the provision of P100,000 in cash assistance and various socio-economic development programs to each of the decommissioned combatants.
“Admittedly, the decommissioning process is a critical component of normalization and it commences the MILF combatants’ journey to become productive members of the community and secure better lives for their families,” he said.
“We cannot leave the decommissioned combatants in the wilderness and at the mercy of circumstances. We cannot afford the conflict in Mindanao to recur because we are remiss in our joint and respective commitments and responsibilities,” he added.