GPH, MILF panels: Claims of corruption in rebel decommissioning not true

Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RAFFY LERMA

MANILA, Philippines — The allegations that there is corruption involved in the decommissioning process of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels are “baseless,” the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and MILF Peace Implementing Panels both said.

In a joint statement released on Saturday, the two panels assured the public and members of Congress of the integrity of the peace process.

READ: ‘We’re not corrupt’: Galvez feuds with Tulfo at Senate hearing

“Contrary to baseless allegations on corruption, especially in the decommissioning, the GPH-MILF Peace Implementing Panels assured the public that proper mechanisms and procedures are in place to guarantee accountability, and trust and confidence in the process,” the joint statement, signed by GPH Panel Chair Cesar Yano and MILF Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal, read.

The two panel leaders particularly defended the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB), which recently came under fire in a previous Senate hearing when senators questioned the IDB’s assessment of rebels who shall be decommissioned.

According to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, the IDB oversees the decommissioning process and is composed of representatives from Turkey, Norway, Kingdom of Brunei, as well as local experts nominated by the GPH and MILF peace panels.

“Informed by lessons of the past, best practices, and internationally accepted norms on processing combatants and weapons, the Independent Decommissioning Body undertakes stringent verification and validation, among other established safeguards, before MILF combatants and weapons undergo decommissioning,” the two parties said.

Full transparency

The joint statement likewise said that the implementation of programs meant to reintegrate former rebels into society “are adequately accounted for by proper documentation and in compliance with rigorous monitoring processes to ensure transparency.”

These Socioeconomic Development Programs are part of the Normalization Track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the two parties explained.

“The Parties assure the esteemed members of the Philippine Congress and the general public that the implementation of various programs under normalization are conducted with utmost truthfulness,” the peace panels added in the same joint statement.

In a previous statement, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. also denied that there is corruption involved in the decommissioning process of MILF combatants.

READ: Reject Duterte’s call for independent Mindanao, Galvez tells public

Questionable?

The two parties’ and Galvez’s statements stemmed from accusations made by Senator Raffy Tulfo during a Senate hearing on February 6.

The senator pointed out the alleged inconsistency in Galvez’s own report which said that there were 26,132 decommissioned MILF combatants but only 4,625 surrendered weapons to the government.

Tulfo said that there is a “big discrepancy” in these numbers and the entire decommissioning process must be looked into as corruption may be involved since these surrenderees received P100,000 cash each.

But Galvez, in his own statement, stressed that the MILF combatants who receive financial assistance “undergo a stringent validation and verification process to ensure that they are the legitimate beneficiaries.”