Gov’t to localize normalization process for ex-MILF members, says peace adviser

Local government units (LGUs) will now lead the normalization program for former members of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) said Friday.

In a statement, Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the interventions for former rebels will have more impact with the active participation of LGUs.

“Achieving this requires increased synergy among all stakeholders, especially in addressing bottlenecks in the process, as well as expediting the delivery of socioeconomic assistance to the MILF combatants,” he said.

“As we know, delays in this process slow down the decommissioning itself and the successful reintegration of combatants into civilian life,” he added.

Under the “Localized Normalization Implementation” (LNI), a joint secretariat will be created with members from the governors, Armed Forces of the Philippines, civil society groups, and lower mechanisms.

“The LNI will focus more on the provincial setting, where the governor is the one on top,” said Ariel Hernandez, the socioeconomic cluster head of the Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization.

“We will harvest the synergy of all sectors in the provincial setting like the religious sectors, CSOs, non-government organizations, women and the youth, farmers and those in the academe, the MILF, MNLF, and even the former violent extremists,” he added.

With the LNI, Hernandez said LGUs will own the projects under the normalization and transformation programs. Related interventions will be adjusted to adapt to the local setting, he added.

According to OPAPRU, the LNI aims to support the Normalization Program under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

The CAB is a peace agreement signed between the government and the MILF in 2014.—LDF, GMA Integrated News