MILF leaders accused of taking ‘cuts’ from ex-Moro rebels’ cash aid

STANDING GUARD Members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s armed wing, stand guard at the entrance of the front’s main Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town in the then undivided Maguindanao province in this file photo in 2019, the same year the peace accord was finalized, leading to the decommissioning of BIAF combatants – BONG S. SARMIENTO

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders are allegedly getting a 50-percent “cut” from the P100,000 cash assistance given to former Moro combatants for laying down their firearms as part of the peace deal that the secessionist rebels had entered into with the government.

This was revealed by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who presided over the Senate national defense committee hearing on Tuesday on the delays on the decommissioning process of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the MILF’s armed wing.

Estrada also called on the government to ensure that the cash aid given to each decommissioned MILF combatant is not being used to buy more firearms.

“The problem is, these MILF rebel returnees were given P100,000 as promised by the government, but when they received the P100,000, their commanders took half of it, and that is one of their concerns,” said Estrada, who, along with Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., met with some of the former MILF fighters a few hours before Tuesday’s hearing.

Estrada said the MILF rebel returnees executed affidavits narrating their complaints against their superiors.

Intervention needed

He added he did not let them attend the hearing to protect their safety, but urged Galvez to look into the matter.

“If we have 26,000 combatants who are willing to surrender, that’s P1.3 billion that won’t be received by the rebel returnees, but will instead go to their commanders. Maybe we need to investigate this,” he added.

During the previous hearing, it was bared that 4,625 firearms were surrendered by 26,132 former BIAF fighters, who got P100,000 each in cash assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development in exchange for laying down their arms.

READ: Alleged 50% ‘cut’ in rebel returnees’ cash aid bared in Senate

“We need to intervene. This involves government money. We cannot turn a blind eye here,” Estrada said on Tuesday.

He also expressed concern that the cash aid would only be used by the MILF commanders to buy firearms.

“I’m quite worried … brigade commanders might use it to buy firearms. It’s as if the government ends up paying for the MILF’s weapons. And that’s quite possible,” said Estrada. INQ