Peace panels working to form body that will decommission MILF

The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels have started the procedure to create the different bodies that will implement the normalization process for the proposed Bangsamoro political entity, which includes the decommissioning of the MILF.

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF peace panel chairman and head of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, said the two panels met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from April 24 to 25 to discuss the composition of the bodies.

International Decommissioning Body

The gradual decommissioning of MILF forces and weapons will be overseen by the International Decommissioning Body (IDB). The IDB shall be composed of three foreign experts, including the chairperson, and four local experts jointly nominated by the parties. The parties shall also invite three states to provide the foreign experts.

In a phone interview with GMA News Online, Iqbal said they have sent a letter to Brunei and Norway to ask them to nominate members for the IDB.

“Hindi pa formally nako-constitute kasi yet to reply pa yung Brunei and Norway sa invitation namin; they have yet to agree sa nomination,” he said.

Asked when they expect the two countries to reply, Iqbal said they have set no deadline for it.

“Wala namang issues nung meeting, pinag-usapan lang yung constitution ng bodies at ang infrastructure,” he said.

The creation of the IDB is included in the Annex on Normalization, one of the key documents of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

“The IDB would be the one to supervise, oversee, and basically implement the decommissioning process,” government chief negotiator Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said in a press statement.

“The procedure is for [the MILF] to submit a list of weapons and combatants, an inventory. After which, the IDB will verify the list and work towards the programming of the decommissioning schedule as agreed upon in the Annex on Normalization,” she said.

MILF combatants can join police

The Normalization Annex states that “normalization aims to ensure human security in the Bangsamoro. It helps build a society that is committed to basic human rights where individuals are free of violence or crime and where long-held traditions and values continue to be honored.”

The annex was signed in Kuala Lumpur on January 25.

“We really have to put up the body as soon as possible so that the job of verification of the inventory that would be submitted by the MILF will begin,” said Coronel-Ferrer.

“Everything proceeds from there. Until we are able to verify the number of weapons, the kinds of weapons and also the combatants—who are they, where are they located?—we can’t actually begin, for example, the socio-economic programs that we’ll be providing for the communities of these combatants,” she added.

She said that there will be no wholesale integration of the MILF forces into the Armed Forces of the Philippines nor the Philippine National Police (PNP) similar to the integration of the Moro National Liberation Front undertaken during the Ramos administration.

However, Coronel-Ferrer said, interested and qualified former combatants are welcome to join anytime.

“We have a provision for the setting up of the police force for the Bangsamoro, which will still be part of the PNP, and it will be significantly provided with resources to guarantee its professionalism and capability to take charge of peace and order concerns,” she said.

The decommissioning of MILF forces shall be parallel and commensurate to the implementation of all the agreements of the parties, according to the Normalization Annex.

The MILF shall undertake a gradual program for the decommissioning of its forces so that they are put beyond use. The decommissioning process includes activities aimed at achieving a smooth transition for the members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) of the MILF to productive civilian life.

Commission to hear grievances

Coronel-Ferrer said the formation of the Joint Normalization Committee (JNC) and the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) was also discussed in the meeting.

The JNC is mandated to coordinate all components of the normalization process. It will be co-chaired by National Security Council Undersecretary Zenonida Brosas on behalf of the government, and by Mohamed Nasif on the side of the MILF.

The government and MILF panels agreed to invite the government of Switzerland to provide an expert who would chair the TJRC. The TJRC is tasked to study and recommend to the parties the appropriate mechanisms to address legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people, correct historical injustices, and address human rights violations through land dispossession.

The panels have also identified their respective representatives in the Joint Peace and Security Committee that will coordinate the joint teams that will assist in maintaining peace and order in conflict areas, and the study group that would propose the terms and criteria for the amnesty and pardon of MILF members in conflict with the law.

Both panels also named the people who will work for the transformation of six previously acknowledged MILF camps in Lanao and Maguindanao into productive communities. The amnesty and transformation of the camps are the two confidence-building measures defined in the Annex on Normalization.

The Terms of References of the IDB, JNC, and TJRC were signed by the GPH and MILF peace panels on March 22, 2014, days before the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

The government and MILF panels also agreed to cooperate in the current review process of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law that was submitted by the BTC to the Office of the President on April 22.

The review process is being led by the Office of the Executive Secretary and Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel.

President Aquino will certify to Congress the draft law as urgent after the review process is completed. — BM, GMA News