PH gov’t gives P25-M farm equipment to ex-MNLF combatants

ILIGAN CITY — The government has turned over P25 million worth of farm equipment to former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in General Santos City, part of its commitment to the peace agreement signed with the former rebel group in 1996.

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) said the provision of farm equipment is part of the socioeconomic component of the transformation program of the peace agreement.

It aims to enhance agricultural productivity in the covered regions, which include communities in Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, North Cotabato, Cotabato City Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani.

The farm equipment included eight tractors, six rice combine harvesters, a corn sheller, and other accessories.

“This initiative aims to transform the lives and positively change the mindsets of MNLF combatants and their families, turning their communities into productive and self-reliant areas,” Galvez said at the turnover ceremony on December 4 during the celebration of the Mindanao Week of Peace.

Uttoh Salem Cutan, chairperson of the MNLF management committee, thanked the government for its continued support for the peace agreement.

“The MNLF, under the leadership of Muslimin Sema, is committed to sustaining the momentum of peace,” he added.

He also said the transformation program aimed to help the MNLF become productive and peaceful members of society.

“Peace is not only the cessation of hostilities but also peace in our minds,” Sema said.

Retired Brigadier General Buenaventura Pascual, chair of the government’s management committee, said 74 projects were already approved by the joint management committee under the Transformation Program. He also assured the former combatants that the government would continue fulfilling the remaining commitments under the peace agreement.

According to Galvez, a total of 1,963 former MNLF combatants had already been included in the socio-economic profiling and they also received initial support. At least 1,996 of their firearms were also documented.

“I would like to reassure our partners from the MNLF that the national government is fully committed to pursuing the remaining commitments of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement,” Galve said.

“Through convergence with the MNLF groups and strengthening the program’s implementation, we aim to improve the delivery of interventions that will positively change the lives of former MNLF combatants, their families, and their communities,” he added.