LIBERTAD, Misamis Oriental – The Ministry of Public Order and Safety (MPOS) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the 103rd Infantry Brigade held a three-day peace-building training for former insurgents from September 12 to 14 in C Resort, Barangay Gimaylan, here.
It aims to further intensify peace-building activities and integrate the former Dawlah Islamiyah combatants based in Lanao del Sur who have returned to the fold of law.
ONE-hundred thirty-one former insurgents from Lanao del Sur attend a three-day peacebuilding training conducted by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-Ministry of Public Order and Safety in partnership with 103rd Infantry Brigade and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). (Bonita L. Ermac)
A total of 131 rebel returnees from different towns in this province who surrendered after the Marawi Siege up to present participated in the activity.
BARMM-Ministry of Public Order and Safety Peace Program Officer Sittie Janine Gamao said that participants were encouraged to listen to lectures and messages and share their experiences and stories.
Gamao said that they shared their experiences and stories to enable them to motivate others and their thoughts would be incorporated into the future agenda of the Bangsamoro government.
Further, she said the training, which started in Sulu and Maguindanao in 2021, is the first of its kind conducted for this province.
Gamao said that they were able to reach out to 384 former Abu Sayyaf and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters militants.
She thanked their partners who helped achieved their noble aim.
Col. Billy dela Rosa, 103rd Brigade deputy commander, stated that the training is part of their pursuit to foster peace in this province. He said they want to emphasize that there would never be a substitute for peace and this could not be bought.
Dela Rosa encouraged participants to not let go of the peace they have been relishing and this should be amplified and promoted.
Al-Rashid Balt, MPOS director general, commended participants for accepting the government's offer to return to the fold of law and choose to live a peaceful life, and Dr. Haroro Ingram, a visiting expert from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), lauded the former insurgents for taking steps not only to improve their lives but also contribute to a stable society for their families and the next generations.