Over 1,000 MILF fighters set for deactivation starting August

PEACE PARTNERS In this 2018 photo, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. (second from left), then serving as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, welcomes Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim(second from right) to Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. It was the first visit of an MILF leader to the Philippine military’s main headquarters. —NINO JESUS ORBETA

KORONADAL CITY—Some 1,301 former combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are set to be deactivated this year with the resumption of the third phase of the decommissioning process on Aug. 3.

According to Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., the achievement of such a target will bring to 26,000 the number of decommissioned members of the MILF’s armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF).

Under the Annex on Normalization of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) that the MILF forged with the government in 2014 after 17 years of negotiations, the 40,000-strong BIAF will have to be decommissioned and its weapons “put beyond use.”

“Once that number is decommissioned, it will complete the first, second and third phases involving a total of 26,000 [MILF fighters],” Galvez said in a statement issued on Thursday by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (Opapru).

This leaves 14,000 BIAF members for deactivation starting next year, Galvez added.

Galvez gave updates for the decommissioning process during the post-State of the Nation Address (Sona) discussions attended by several government agency heads on Wednesday in Metro Manila, two days after President Marcos delivered his report to the nation.

Milestones

As agreed by the parties, the decommissioning process proceeds in step and commensurate to the achievement of other milestones in the peace agreement such as the disbandment of private armed groups, delivery of socioeconomic support to former combatants and their communities and the transformation of MILF camps, among others.

The first phase of the decommissioning process happened in June 2015, in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, following the signing of the CAB. Then President Benigno Aquino III graced the occasion, which involved 145 MILF fighters and 75 high-powered weapons.

The second phase set off in September 2019 with then President Rodrigo Duterte attending the event also in Sultan Kudarat town. It was completed in March 2020 with the decommissioning of 12,000 combatants, 2,100 assorted weapons and ammunition.

The third phase began in November 2021, targeting 14,000 combatant and about 2,500 weapons.

Completing process

Galvez said that the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) was expected to complete the process before the first election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in 2025.Based on the CAB, it is the IDB, which is composed of international and local experts, which oversees the decommissioning process.

The scheduled first parliamentary elections in May 2022, alongside the national and local polls, was reset to 2025 through a law signed by Duterte, giving the MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) time to complete its tasks of laying the strong foundations for effective autonomous rule.

In his Sona, Mr. Marcos, who appointed the second set of BTA members, said that he was “proud of the progress that the BARMM has taken.”

Galvez noted that “it’s very critical that we build on the peace gains and ensure continuing progress.”

“The partnership between the government and the MILF enabling the final leg of the Phase 3 of the decommissioning to push through, serves as a testament that both sides are sincerely committed to implementing the 9-year old agreement,” said Cesar Yano, chair of the government panel overseeing CAB implementation.

RELATED STORY:

Galvez says gov’t to finish process of disarming MILF fighters before 2025