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Decommissioning of MILF fighters to start on June 16
By ANDREI MEDINA and JOSEPH MORONG, GMA News
(Updated 8:07 a.m. June 12) The Moro Islamic Liberation Front will begin the first phase of decommissioning its fighters on June 16, the chief negotiators of both parties said Thursday.
In a joint press conference on Thursday, government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer confirmed that decommissioning, or rendering MILF fighting units "beyond use" and returning their fighters to civilian life, will begin then.
The decommissioning, announced the day before the Philippines marks its 117th year since declaring independence from Spain, is meant as a step towards lasting peace in a region of the country affected by insurgency since 1969.
The decommissioning, announced the day before the Philippines marks its 117th year since declaring independence from Spain, is meant as a step towards lasting peace in a region of the country affected by insurgency since 1969.
"Phase one of the process will begin with the ceremonial turnover of 55 high-powered firearms and 20 crew-served weapons, and the decommissioning of 145 members of the MILF's Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces," Ferrer said.
President Benigno Aquino III is expected to be the guest of honor at the symbolic turnover, which will be done at the old Capitol building in Maguindanao.
The weapons that will be turned over to the International Decommissioning Body (IDB) will be kept in a secure arms storage facilitiy in Barira, Maguindanao.
In an earlier report, Chief MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told GMA News that 75 high-powered and crew-served firearms will be turned over to the IDB.
On Thursday, Iqbal said most of the 145 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces who will be decommissioned are veterans of the all-out war ordered by President Joseph Estrada in 2000.
In a press statement, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles said the MILF's move is unprecedented.
"We've never had an armed organization that has been fighting with government as an organization voluntarily—in partnership with the government—turn over weapons," she said.
Iqbal said going through with the decommissioning was a difficult decision for the MILF but one that had to be made "for the sake of peace".
On Wednesday, Congress went on recess, with the House of Representatives setting aside voting on the Bangsamoro Basic Law — now called the Basic Law on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region — in plenary.
The Senate version of the bill, enactment of which is meant to operationalize the peace agreement between the government and the MILF, has yet to get past the committee level.
Sen. Marcos, said he plans to file a substitute bill that will address perceived flaws in the BBL, including provisions that are supposedly unconstitutional.
The Palace has maintained that the draft BBL that is submitted to Congress last year falls within the Constitution. — JDS/LBG, GMA News
Gov't, MILF peace panel chairs announce start of MILF decommissioning on June 16. | via @Joseph_Morong pic.twitter.com/61CRhgh8Xt
— GMA News (@gmanews) June 11, 2015
"This is just the start of the decommissioning process, which the MILF has committed to undertake as a show of its sincerity to peace building," Ferrer also said.President Benigno Aquino III is expected to be the guest of honor at the symbolic turnover, which will be done at the old Capitol building in Maguindanao.
The weapons that will be turned over to the International Decommissioning Body (IDB) will be kept in a secure arms storage facilitiy in Barira, Maguindanao.
In an earlier report, Chief MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told GMA News that 75 high-powered and crew-served firearms will be turned over to the IDB.
On Thursday, Iqbal said most of the 145 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces who will be decommissioned are veterans of the all-out war ordered by President Joseph Estrada in 2000.
In a press statement, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles said the MILF's move is unprecedented.
"We've never had an armed organization that has been fighting with government as an organization voluntarily—in partnership with the government—turn over weapons," she said.
Iqbal said going through with the decommissioning was a difficult decision for the MILF but one that had to be made "for the sake of peace".
He said in jest that he would like to see Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Alan Peter Cayetano during the ceremony. Asked why, he said "because they are special people."
Bangsamoro Basic Law awaits passage
Cayetano has been a vocal critic of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the MILF. He was initially a co-author of the BBL but withdrew support after the Mamasapano clash in January, where 67 people — including 44 elite police officers — were killed during an operation against terrorists in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao.
He has since called the MILF a terrorist group.
Marcos, meanwhile, is chairman of the Senate committee on local government that has been holding hearings on the BBL. He has said that the BBL is a flawed proposal because it does not take into account the needs of other stakeholders like indigenous peoples and the sultanates in the proposed Bangsamoro region.
Bangsamoro Basic Law awaits passage
Cayetano has been a vocal critic of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the MILF. He was initially a co-author of the BBL but withdrew support after the Mamasapano clash in January, where 67 people — including 44 elite police officers — were killed during an operation against terrorists in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao.
He has since called the MILF a terrorist group.
Marcos, meanwhile, is chairman of the Senate committee on local government that has been holding hearings on the BBL. He has said that the BBL is a flawed proposal because it does not take into account the needs of other stakeholders like indigenous peoples and the sultanates in the proposed Bangsamoro region.
The Senate version of the bill, enactment of which is meant to operationalize the peace agreement between the government and the MILF, has yet to get past the committee level.
Sen. Marcos, said he plans to file a substitute bill that will address perceived flaws in the BBL, including provisions that are supposedly unconstitutional.
The Palace has maintained that the draft BBL that is submitted to Congress last year falls within the Constitution. — JDS/LBG, GMA News
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