Return to peaceful life too slow – Mohagher Iqbal

Mohagher Iqbal

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato, Philippines — As the third phase of the decommissioning of former Moro rebels starts on Monday, Nov. 8, one of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leaders involved in the peace deal with the government lamented the snail-paced implementation of the normalization process.

Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF peace implementing panel, said this was particularly true in the setting up of the 6,000-strong Joint Peace Security Team (JPST), the body tasked to secure communities during the disarming of the Moro combatants and the transformation of their camps into productive economic zones.

“So far, only 300 to 400 individuals have been trained as members of the JPST in the last two years,” he said in a virtual press conference. “If you compare [these figures] with the 6,000 [targeted members], it’s very, very way behind.”

In a phone interview with the Inquirer on Sunday, Iqbal cited funding requirements and the COVID-19 pandemic for the delayed training and deployment of JPST members.

30 kph

Training facilities such as Camp SK Pendatun, the Police Regional Office headquarters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, also could not accommodate a large number of trainees at the same time due to limited space, he added.

“If we liken it to the speed of a car, perhaps we are running at a slow speed of 30 kph (kilometers per hour),” Iqbal said.

The start of the third phase, to be conducted at the Old Provincial Capitol in Barangay Crossing Simuay, Sultan Kudarat town of Maguindanao, would focus on 14,000 MILF combatants and about 2,500 weapons.

Undersecretary David Diciano, chair of the government peace implementing panel, said that this particular phase should have begun last year but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) led by Turkey is overseeing the deactivation of MILF fighters and their weapons.

William Hovland, IDB vice chair, said the body was targeting the processing of at least 175 MILF combatants daily from Nov. 8 to Dec. 17.

“During [the third phase of the] decommissioning process, IDB and other normalization mechanisms or units will ensure compliance with COVID-19 health and safety protocols,” he said.

On April 24, 2019, President Duterte signed Executive Order No. 79 implementing the Annex on Normalization under the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

Disarming

Under the agreement, the normalization phase would follow after the political track, which had been accomplished with the passage of the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, signed by Mr. Duterte in 2018.

Through normalization, communities affected by the decadeslong armed conflict in Mindanao were expected to return to a peaceful life and pursue sustainable livelihoods free from fear of violence and crime. The process involved the transition of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) to a peaceful civilian life, including their disarming.

The President also created the Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization “to ensure the timely, appropriate and efficient delivery of the Normalization Program.”

Under the security aspect of EO 79, “the MILF forces and weapons shall undergo a verification, validation and decommissioning process” to be conducted by the IDB composed of three foreign experts and four local representatives agreed upon by the government and the MILF.

Blame it on pandemic

As part of its peace deal with the government, the MILF had sought the decommissioning of 40,000 combatants. Instead, the JPST composed of 3,000 BIAF members, 1,600 policemen and 1,400 soldiers would oversee peacekeeping in former rebel strongholds.

During the first phase of the decommissioning in 2015 which was largely ceremonial, 145 BIAF members and 75 high-powered weapons were deactivated.

The next phase commenced in September 2019 with Mr. Duterte spearheading the activity. Involving 12,000 MILF combatants, at least 2,100 assorted weapons and more than 500 ammunition, it ended in March 2020.

In September this year, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Carlito Galvez Jr. told senators the government was behind in the decommissioning process by 28,000 combatants because of the pandemic.

So far, 12,000 of the 40,000 MILF members have been processed, he said during the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process budget hearing at the Senate.

He added that 14,000 MILF combatants were supposed to have been decommissioned in 2020 and another 14,000 in 2022.

—WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ