12,000 decommissioned MILF combatants given cash aid, attended school

This file photo shows some of the 1,060 combatants of the MILF who were decommissioned in 2019. (Photo by Bong Sarmiento, Inquirer Mindanao)

MANILA, Philippines — At least 12,000 decommissioned combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were either given cash aid or have attended skills training and basic education, Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo Jr. said Saturday.

In a statement, Lagdameo said that 5,499 received cash assistance while 3,000 completed their skills training with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and 3,658 finished basic education through the Alternative Learning System.

The Palace official also said that 35,000 birth certificate applications of former MILF combatants have been processed under the Normalization Program.

Lagdameo likewise confirmed that aside from the continuation of the MILF Decommissioning Phase 3, other aspects of the government’s Normalization Program under the Bangsamoro peace agreement have been resumed.

“The completion of the third phase signifies the strong partnership of the government and the MILF to pursue a singular mission of transforming the Bangsamoro, reflective of the President’s vision to build a Bangsamoro that is self-governing, progressive, and effective,” he said.

Lagdameo stressed that the decommissioning program is a vital step towards the “transition of former combatants” into mainstream society as “productive and peaceful citizens.”

Lagdameo said members of the Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization are set to reconvene on August 10 to tackle and follow up on other commitments made under the initiative.

FILE PHOTO: The signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014 between the Philippine government, represented by chief negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferrer (right, front), and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, represented by its peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal (left, front), is among the most important achievements of the administration of then President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III (second from right). Philippine Daily Inquirer/Lyn Rillon

Meanwhile, an official of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) said also on Saturday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is determined to accomplish goals under the Bangsamoro peace agreement.

OPAPRU Director Wendell Orbeso said in a press conference: “I equivocally say that he will not waver in his commitment to implement the peace agreement, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which was started by his father before under the Tripoli Agreement.”

Orbeso said that 26,145 combatants have already been decommissioned since the program started in November 2021. He added that 14,000 more are expected to be decommissioned this 2023. The government is aiming to all decommissioning efforts before 2025.

The decommissioning program is part of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which was signed in 2014 between the Philippine government and MILF.

According to Orbeso, an exit agreement may be signed in 2025 once both parties have fulfilled their commitments.

Earlier, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. announced the resumption of decommissioning program beginning August 3.

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