Decommissioning panel in PHL-MILF peace pact gets new chairman, chief of staff

The verification and validation of the weapons and combatants submitted by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the first phase of decommissioning process, will continue with the Independent Decommissioning Body having new top officials.

The seven-man body reconvened Tuesday, October 20, with Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Pulat as its new chairperson and Norway’s William Hovland as chief of staff.

The IDB is in charge of conducting inventory, verification, and validation of the MILF’s combatants and weapons as well as developing and implementing a schedule for the decommissioning. Planning, designing, and implementing of techniques that will put the decommissioned weapons beyond use are also among the tasks of the IDB.

Pulat succeeds Ambassador Haydar Berk who led the team that was instrumental in guaranteeing a smooth decommissioning of the initial 145 MILF combatants and 75 crew-serve and high powered armaments last July 16. 

No less than President Benigno Aquino III was present during the turnover.

Hovland, meanwhile, previously served as the Chief Operations Officer of the International Monitoring Team (IMT), another integral body that is part of the ceasefire mechanism between the government and the MILF.

He led the IMT in restoring the ceasefire that broke down on January 25 in Mamasapano and in conducting the IMT's own investigation on the incident.

He is joined by three other Norwegians who will head the Joint Verification and Monitoring Teams (JVMTs) of the IDB who are taking turns in administering the weapons storage area of the decommissioned firearms inside Camp Iranun (Abubakar) in Barira, Maguindanao.

These are Inger Grete, a retired female police officer; Jan Stenvik; and Asbjorn Lode, who have previously served in various peace-keeping capacities in different parts of the world.

Every JVMT has a member each from the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine National Police, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces of the MILF. The JVMT supervises the Joint Peace and Security Teams which help secure the stored weapons.

IDB is the mechanism established by the Philippine government and MILF negotiating panels and tasked to oversee the decommissioning of MILF weaponry and combatants.

“People on the ground are closely watching what is happening to the 145 initially decommissioned combatants. We are here, ready to assist, and willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure the success of the process,” Pulat said during his team’s courtesy call on Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles and GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer early Friday.

The meeting was also attended by GPH peace panel members -- former Agriculture secretary Senen Bacani and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao. Retired Lieutenant General Rey Ardo and Professor Mario Aguja, two of the local experts assigned with the IDB were also present.

Deles said decommissioning is a very critical part of the similarly critical normalization process.

“As you understand, there is still no BBL so you are joining us at a crucial and interesting time,” she told Pulat.

“We appreciate you getting on board at this time. It is our view that it is better to have systems and the architecture in place for decommissioning even before the basic law is passed rather than scramble later,” she added.

Ferrer, meanwhile, stressed that she looks forward to seeing a “fully working IDB very soon.”

“Phase 1 remains to be completed,” she said, adding, “the validation of MILF combatants is a very vital step in ensuring an efficient decommissioning once the Bangsamoro Basic Law hurdles Congress."

“Decommissioning, as understood in the negotiated agreement, is both voluntary and a commitment on the part of the MILF. Meaning, for instance, the MILF would have to determine where or who to decommission first. Here, IDB’s working relationship with the MILF is vital,” she said.

Decommissioning is one of the important components of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed in 2014 by the government and the MILF. It is under the bigger and broader normalization arrangement which seeks to return normalcy to communities affected by the decades-long armed conflict in Mindanao.

 However, the CAB dictates that the decommissioning process will be done gradually and in sync with identified milestones in the legislative timetable of the BBL. Accordingly, the next phase of decommissioning which will involve 30% of the MILF’s combatants and weapons will occur after the passage of the BBL and before its ratification through a plebiscite.