PNoy to lead MILF decommissioning ceremony in Maguindanao

(Updated 12:39 p.m.) President Benigno Aquino III will lead the ceremony that will mark the beginning of the decommissioning program for members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said Monday.

 

In a statement, the OPAPP said Aquino will attend the event at the old provincial capitol in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao on Tuesday, where the MILF will turn over 75 high-powered weapons and 145 of its combatants. 

 

The decommissiong program is part of the Annex on Normalization of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which indicates that the group's arms and forces will be put beyond use and their members will be assisted to return to civilian lives.

 

The event, which will start the four phases of the said process, will also be attended by MILF chair Murad Ebrahim. Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives were also invited.

 

Government chief negotiator Prof. Miriam Coronel Ferrer said that prior to the actual decommissioning process, an initial registration of the combatants and weapons will be done at Camp Darapanan.

 

"The combatants will be filling out forms with the supervision of the IDB (Independent Decommissioning Body) local expert from the MILF," she said.

 

She added that the weapons will be transported to the venue on Tuesday, where an "actual registration process and verification" will take place.

 

The weapons will then be taken to "a mutually-agreed upon Weapons Storage area" inside Camp Iranun (Abubakar) in Sitio Bombaran, Barangay Tugaig in Barira town.

 

The said area will be secured by 30 members of the Joint Peace and Security Teams, as supervised by the IDB's Joint Verification and Monitoring Team," Ferrer added.

 

'One of the most difficult decisions'

 

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal admitted that the decommissioning process was "one of the most difficult decisions" for them in the ongoing peace process.

 

He recognized, however, that it is a step "for the sake of peace, for the sake of having real peace in Mindanao, and for the sake of the need for normalization [of] the lives of the people, including the combatants."

 

Earlier, Iqbal told GMA News that 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 separate interview, Ferrer said among the forms of relief that the combatants will receive after decommissioning are education, livelihood assistance, and financial aid.

The MILF is the splinter group of the Moro National Liberation Front. It entered into a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 2014.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said Monday the decommissioning of MILF fighters will be a very important confidence-building step and can possibly help in the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

'Historic'

• Jan Erik Wilhemsen (Norway)
• Maj. Muhammad Aiman Syazwi Bin Haji Abdul Rahim (Brunei)
• Retirted AFP Lt. Gen. Rey Ardor
• Dr. Mario Aguja
• Von Al-Haq
• Janati Mimbantas

Catapang, who will attend Tuesday's ceremony, added: "The AFP acknowledges that the decommissioning program will be gradual and in a phased manner as indicated in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro." — Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/RSJ/KG, GMA News