MILF starts laying down arms

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) begins turning over its weapons on Tuesday, in a symbolic gesture that the government, military, Congress and the Catholic Church hail as a show of sincerity in pursuing peace in war-torn Mindanao.

President Aquino will be the guest of honor at the ceremonial turnover of high-powered weapons at the MILF’s Darapanan Camp in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao province, Malacañang said on Monday.

MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the rebels would help the Presidential Security Group in securing President Aquino during the ceremonies.

Besides turning over 55-high powered rifles and 20 crew-served weapons, which require more than one operator, the MILF will also decommission 145 of its fighters in what Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, called “a historic event.”

Catapang, who served in Mindanao as a young military officer during the 2000 “all-out war” ordered by then President Joseph Estrada, said this was the first time a rebel group on the island was turning over its weapons and allowing its combatants to return to civilian life.

In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), but the insurgent group did not lay down its weapons. Instead, its fighters and weapons were integrated into the military and the Philippine National Police.

Independent body

The MILF will turn over the weapons to the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) headed by Haydar Berk, Turkey’s former ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The members of the IDB are Jan Erik Wilhelmsen of Norway, Maj. Muhammad Aiman Syazwi bin Rahim of Brunei, AFP retired Lt. Gen. Rey Ardor, Dr. Mario Aguja, Von al-Haq of the MILF and Janati Mimbantas.

The IDB has a Joint Verification and Monitoring Team headed by a foreign, independent expert, with a member each from the government and the MILF.

The rebels to be decommissioned will be given P25,000 in cash assistance and government health cards.

Decommissioned combatants will also be provided with livelihood assistance as part of the normalization process.

Part of peace deal

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the event was part of the peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF in 2014.

The agreement includes the passage of a proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which would establish a new autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao.

The passage of the proposed BBL by Congress has been delayed, but Coloma said compliance with the peace deal was “essential to confidence and trust-building.”

Iqbal said the MILF agreed to hand over its weapons to comply with the peace deal, despite the delay in the passage of the BBL.

“There’s no other way but to have peace in Mindanao. We will see to it that we will comply with our obligations. We have to undertake this whether the BBL is moving in Congress or not,” he said.

Beginning of peace

Government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, in a statement, said the government hoped the first phase of the decommissioning process would be seen as the beginning of peace in Mindanao.

“Although it’s a ceremonial program, it signals something that took a long time to prepare the hearts and minds of the people who are involved in this process,” Ferrer said.

She said the first phase of the decommissioning process was “very important” because the MILF combatants who would be decommissioned would serve as “pioneers” and help assess the success of the normalization process.

Ferrer and Iqbal will join President Aquino at the turnover ceremonies in Camp Darapanan.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles, MILF chair Murad Ebrahim, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman and Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu will also be there.

Police role

The PNP has designated three police officials—Chief Inspectors Randall Lyon Bueno, Filmore Abdulsalam Calib and Christopher Muego—to assist the IDB in documenting the weapons to be turned over by the MILF.

The Joint Verification and Monitoring Team will store the weapons in Camp Iranun (Abubakar) in Sitio (settlement) Bombaran, Barangagy (village) Tugaig, in Barira town, Maguindanao.

“Like all actions related to the ongoing peace process, it is everyone’s hope that this will build trust and confidence between the government and the MILF,” said Chief Supt. Wilfredo Franco, spokesman for the PNP.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said the MILF’s gesture would be a “big help” in passing the BBL.

“This is a critical step in restoring trust on both sides. It’s not a be-all and end-all, it’s not a silver bullet but certainly it will go a long way,” Drilon told a news forum.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, speaking at the same forum, said Tuesday’s turnover of weapons was actually “optional” because it was coming ahead of the three decommissioning phases provided for in the BBL.

Quoting Annex 5 of the BBL, Pimentel said the MILF was supposed to decommission 30 percent of its weapons once the BBL was ratified, turn over 35 percent after the proposed Bangsamoro regional government was established, and hand over the last 35 percent once the exit agreement was signed.

Congress has not yet passed the BBL yet the MILF is already decommissioning some of its weapons, Pimentel said. “It should be a welcome development,” he said.

‘Good start’

Sen. Serge Osmeña said the turnover of weapons by the MILF was a “good start.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said he hoped Tuesday’s weapons turnover would lead a “total moratorium in firearms acquisition” by the MILF.

“One less firearm is one less instrument of death. The number of guns to be silenced may be small but it is a great leap forward in our journey to peace. All the parties must be congratulated,” Recto said in a statement.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., head of the local government committee that is leading BBL discussions in the Senate, said he did not think the MILF gesture would have a big impact on the Senate’s decision on the BBL, but agreed it was a good confidence-building move.

Speed-up process

Encouraged by the MILF’s gesture, allies of President Aquino in the House of Representatives renewed their call to speed up the passage of the draft BBL.

“I hope Congress moves with urgency on the proposed BBL because the decommissioning process will move much faster with the passage and ratification of the bill, and combatants … will be able to return to civilian life much sooner,” said Misamis Occidental Rep. Henry Oaminal, vice chair of the House BBL committee.

“There is perhaps no greater proof that the MILF is sincere in its efforts to begin peace-building with the government than this decision to voluntarily turn over their … weapons [despite] the delay [in the passage] of the BBL,” he said.

“The beginning of the decommissioning process is concrete proof of the strong commitment of the MILF to end the conflict in the South,” said Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the House BBL committee.

Sulu Rep. Tupay Loong issued a press statement saying the MILF’s decision to begin turning over its weapons was “a clear message to both the Senate and the House of Representatives that it is a trustworthy partner in the Bangsamoro peace process.”

Loong called on Senator Marcos to “pass the BBL at the soonest possible time,” as the bill was the foundation of peace in Mindanao.

Marcos is widely seen as delaying the legislative process to frustrate the administration’s goal of passing the proposed BBL before President Aquino addresses a joint session of Congress for the last time on July 27.

“We cannot move forward and bring the peace that our people desire and deserve without passing the BBL,” Loong said.

The Catholic bishop of Basilan province, Martin Jumoad, welcomed the MILF’s gesture, saying genuine peace could be pursued only by those who carried no arms.

Bishop Jumoad said he hoped the MILF would turn over not only its old firearms but also its new weapons.–With reports from Jocelyn R. Uy;

Jeoffrey Maitem and Ryan Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao; and AP

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