Over 26,000 former MILF fighters decommissioned

Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr.  

MANILA, Philippines — Over 26,000 former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters have been decommissioned since 2014, according to Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr.

Galvez on Wednesday said a total of 26,132 MILF fighters, as well as 4,625 of their weapons, have undergone the process of decommissioning.

Each former MILF fighter received P100,000 “to help them in their transition into peaceful and productive civilian life,” according to Galvez.

Previously, Galvez said the government is targeting to decommission 7,000 firearms this year, and another 7,000 in 2025.

The decommissioning process, handled by the foreign-led International Decommissioning Body, is part of the peace deal that the MILF signed with the government in March 2014.

Because of the peace deal with MILF, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was established through the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which became effective in Aug. 2018.

In 2023, Galvez said that the disarming process of the MILF members will be finished before the first election of the BARRM government in 2025.