DAVAO CITY (MindaNews /25 August) – Only 5% or 1,286 out of 26,145 decommissioned combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), are from the six MILF camps previously acknowledged by the national government, and 9,582 or 37% are from areas outside the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), including one from Metro Manila and one from Cebu, a map on the geographic distribution of decommissioned combatants shows.
Only 16,563 (63%) of those decommissioned are from within the BARMM.
At least 96% of the decommissioned combatants (DCs) are male (25,072) and 4% are women (1,073).
A total of 40,000 combatants and 7,200 weapons are to be decommissioned, and as of the third phase that ended on July 4, 2024, the DCs now number 26,145 (65.4%) and decommissioned weapons at 4,625 (64.2%).
Where the remaining 13,855 combatants and 2,575 weapons will come from, only the MILF Central Committee knows. It has not submitted a list of the combatants it wants decommissioned for the fourth and final phase — the phase where the seven front commanders, at least 30 base commanders and the Chief of Staff of the BIAF, are to be decommissioned.
But the MILF last month suspended the decommissioning process until there is “substantial compliance” by the national government in the other tracks of normalization, such as the provision of socio-economic package to the 26,145 DCs. On August 16, MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim issued a memorandum prohibiting its commanders and officials from participating “in any decommissioning or normalization activities” organized by the national government and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) “without prior written approval or authorization” from him.
GPH Peace Implementing Panel chair Cesar Yano said the present challenges in the Bangsamoro peace process “are a wake-up call for all of us, that while we have gained strong momentum, we must never lose sight of the foundation that built the partnership between the government of the Philippines and the MILF over the past many years. Nurturing this relationship is key to securing the gains of peace.”
“On the part of the national government, we are steadily striving to deliver on the commitments we have promised, particularly the socioeconomic component of the agreement,” he told participants of “Titayan 2: Bridging to Sustain Peace in the Bangsamoro” that Cardinal Orlando Quevedo convened here on August 19.
All 26,145 commandants have received their P100,000 cash assistance, for a total of PhP 2.61 billion. The socio-economic package which includes livelihood, housing and educational assistance are in various stages of implementation.
The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), signed by the MILF and the Philippine government (GPH) on March 27, 2014, paved the way for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) which is now on an extended transition period (it should have ended on June 30, 2022 but was extended twice).
The region is governed by the 80-member, MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Authority appointed by the President during the transition period from February 2019 until October 30 this year, when the first elected Members of Parliament take over. The BARMM is the lone autonomous region in the country that was born out of a peace agreement and the only one with a parliamentary system of government.
The campaign period for the October 13 elections starts on Thursday, August 28.
The impasse on decommissioning “sinks any hope of a peaceful parliamentary election in October, as the MILF and its political party the UBJP (United Bangsamoro Justice Party) head to the polls without having accomplished full decommissioning,” a Joint Statement of the Climate and Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) and the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) on August 18, warned.
“Promises and assurances that guns will not be used to intimidate and harass opponents are dubious and unreliable,” the statement said, adding that the impasse also renders the accompanying development works in the BARMM, especially in the camp development project, “at extreme risk of failure and/or capture.”
The CAB is an 11-year old peace agreement that has spanned three Presidential administrations.
16,563 decommissioned inside BARMM, 9,582 outside BARMM
A map of the geographic distribution of the 26,145 DCs prepared by the GPH-MILF’s Joint Normalization Committee (JNC) and Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC) shows that 16,563 DCs are from the BARMM, including Sulu which was still part of the BARMM as of the third phase of the decommissioning, while 9,582 are from 18 other provinces in Mindanao and Isabela City in Basilan but not part of BARMM, while two are from outside Mindanao — one in Metro Manila and one in Cebu.
Altogether, the DCs are from 24 of 28 provinces in Mindanao (23 on the list but Maguindanao is now divided into two); eight regions (all six regions in Mindanao — BARMM, Regions 9, 10, 11, 12 and Caraga), and two outside Mindanao (in Metro Manila in the National Capital Region and Cebu in Central Visayas).
In the BARMM, there are 16,563 DCs: the then still undivided Maguindanao with 8,521, followed by Lanao del Sur at 5,432; Cotabato City with 998, Sulu (then still part of the BARMM) with 778, Basilan with 691 and Tawi-Tawi with 324.
In the six MILF camps previously acknowledged by the GPH – Camps Abubakar, Badre, Busrah, Omar, and Rajmuda – all in the BARMM, and Bilal in Lanao del Norte, the map shows 530 in Busrah, 218 in Rajamuda, 188 in Abubakar, 181 in Bilal, 146 in Badre, 23 in Omar and or a total of 1,286.
Among areas outside the BARMM (9,401 DCs), North Cotabato tops with 2,826 DCs; Lanao del Norte with 1,990; Sultan Kudarat with 948, Zamboanga del Sur with 593, Davao Oriental with 519, Davao del Sur with 503, South Cotabato with 409, Sarangani with 387, Zamboanga del Norte with 341, Zamboanga Sibugay with 291, Davao del Norte with 211, Compostela Valley (now Davao del Oro) with 170, Davao Occidental with 91, Bukidnon with 44, Agusan del Sur with five, Misamis Oriental with four, Misamis Occidental with two, Agusan del Norte, National Capital Region and Cebu with one each and Isabela City which is in Basilan but is not part of BARMM, with 64.
It is not clear how many of the DCs in North Cotabato are from the Special Geographic Area which comprises the villages that are now part of BARMM.
1,073 women out of 26,145
At the Forum on Normalization and Women Peace and Security at the Waterfront Insular Hotel here on August 13, several members of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Women’s Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB) lamented that only 1,073 or 4% of the 26,145 DCs are women.
A BIWAB member said they have about 20,000 members but only 256 have been decommissioned.
The BIWAB is a support group of the BIAF, many of whom served as medics. Out of 1,073 women who were decommissioned, only 256 are from the BIWAB while the remaining 817 are from the MILF’s Political Committee, Social Welfare Committee, and Health and Dental Department.
In response to a BIWAB member’s question on why only a few of them were decommissioned out of the estimated 20,000, Ariel Hernandez, co-chair for the government in the Joint Normalization Committee (JNC) said, “hindi controlled ng (government panel). Submission (of the list) comes from the MILF panel which submits the list to the IDB (Independent Decommissioning Body), then government concurs, then decommissioning starts.”
He explained that those who will be decommissioned are only those listed by the MILF’s Central Committee. Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, who served as concurrent interim Chief Minister of the BARMM from February 2019 to March 2025, heads the MILF Central Committee. President Ferdinand Marcos appointed Abdulraof Macacua, then Maguindanao del Norte OIC Governor and concurrent chief of staff of the BIAF, as the new Chief Minister.
Phases and faces
The first three phases of decommissioning were on June 16, 2015 under the Aquino administration (ceremonial: 145 DCs and 75 weapons), the second phase on August 26, 2019 until March 11, 2020 under the Duterte administration (12,000 DCs and 2,100 weapons) and the third which started on November 7, 2021, under the Duterte administration and ended on July 4, 2024 under the Marcos administration (14,000 DCs and 2,450 weapons).
The regional police force envisioned in the CAB and supposed to be the political milestone to be achieved for the third phase of the decommissioning, was not carried into RA 11054 or the Organic Law for the BARMM. Lawmakers cited Section 6, Article XVI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which provides that the State “shall establish and maintain one police force, which shall be national in scope and civilian in character.”
Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF Peace Implementing Panel, told MindaNews on Monday that the front commanders and base commanders will be decommissioned on the last phase “because walang mag-control sa remaining combatants namin” (no one will control our remaining combatants).
Macacua, Murad’s successor as BIAF Chief of Staff and as interim Chief Minister, told a press briefing on his first day in office on March 20 this year: “I have to be decommissioned because we are also subject for decommissioning.”
“I haven’t been decommissioned yet because if we are decommissioned, we will lose contact with the ground. So it will be harder if we lose contact with the ground. So this is maybe the wisdom why the leadership of the MILF and also the government. I haven’t been decommissioned yet. So good enough that I can still command the ground until now,” he added.
MindaNews asked Iqbal if members of the MILF Central Committee would also be decommissioned since members of the political committee in the communities were among those decommissioned. He replied: “Front commanders and base commanders will be decommed but the political leadership will not be the subject of decommissioning.”
After the peace agreement was signed in 2014, Murad had repeatedly said they would transform the MILF into a “social movement.”
No exact numbers, just percentages
The first step in decommissioning is for the MILF to submit a list of combatants it wants decommissioned, to the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) created by the peace agreement, to oversee the verification, validation and decommissioning of MILF combatants and weapons.
Chaired by Turkey, the IDB keeps the MILF list confidential and verifies the names through profiling, biometrics and validation to pave the way for the decommissioning and the giving of socio-economic benefits.
Decommissioning is only one aspect of normalization. The other aspects of normalization are the redeployment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; policing; disbandment of private armed groups; and transitional justice and reconciliation.
According to the peace agreement, the aim of normalization is to ensure human security in the Bangsamoro, to help build “a society that is committed to basic human rights, where individuals are free from fear of violence or crime and where long-held traditions and value continue to be honored.”
The exact number of MILF combatants and weapons to be decommissioned is not indicated in the peace agreement. What is indicated is the percentage: first phase is ceremonial, 30% in second phase, 35% in third phase and the last 35% in the fourth and final phase.
When the peace agreement was signed in 2014, the estimated armed strength of the MILF was 10,000. How the number reached 40,000 for decommissioning is not clear.
“Walang written agreement”
MindaNews asked Iqbal over the weekend if there is a written agreement or document on the 40,000. He replied: “walang written agreement. But the parties agreed that the MILF will write the President (Aquino first then Duterte) about the number of combatants and weapons to be decommed.”
Iqbal, who earlier chaired the peace negotiating panel from 2003 and signed the CAB for the MILF, is the MILF’s chief historian. He wrote “Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny” under his pseudonym, Salah Jubair.
Asked if he had a copy of the letters to Presidents Aquino and Duterte, Iqbal said “mayroon pero hindi ko na ma-locate.”
Then government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, who signed the CAB in 2014, told MindaNews on Saturday that there was no number mentioned in the CAB. “MILF gave a confidential letter to PNoy (President Aquino) on the number of weapons and combatants instead,” Ferrer said, adding, “but more important is what they agreed on later.”
Irene Santiago, the government’s first Peace Implementing Panel chair (2016-2017) under the Duterte administration, said there was no mention of 40,000 during her time, too.
The first decommissioning under the Duterte administration, considered the second phase, started in August 2019 and ended in March 2020. The decommissioning rites were held in the gym of the old Maguindanao capitol in Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao (now Maguindanao del Norte) on September 7, 2019.
MindaNews checked with past and present members of the government and MILF peace negotiating and peace implementing panels on what Murad said in his letter to Aquino and learned that the handwritten letter from Murad to President Aquino was in December 2013 where the MILF chair said the estimated number of MILF combatants to be decommissioned is “from 30,000 to 40,000” and the estimated number of weapons to be decommissioned is from 5,000 to 9,000.
Iqbal cannot locate the letter Murad sent to Presidents Aquino and Duterte on the number of combatants and weapons to be decommissioned. There is no record also on the responses of both Presidents.
Jesus Dureza, Duterte’s Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process from June 30, 2016 until late November 2018, could not be reached to shed light on the 40,000. Dureza was succeeded by then newly-retired Armed Forces Chief of Staff Carlito Galvez, who chaired the government panel in the Joint GPH-MILF Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities (JCCCH) during the 2015 Mamasapano Tragedy. Galvez told MindaNews on Sunday that the figure 40,000 was already there when he assumed the post.
Reckoning 30%
Because only percentages were agreed upon in the peace agreement and the political milestone that would pave the way for the second phase of the decommissioning is after the ratification of RA 11054, MindaNews asked MILF chair Murad in January 2019 how they would reckon the first 30% of the MILF combatants and weapons that would be decommissioned. What would be the base number for 30%?
Murad said they have “30,000 to 40,000” regular members of the BIAF that “will be subject for decommissioning.” He explained that they are “not necessarily all armed but all are under the official roster of the BIAF.”
Murad said the MILF-owned weapons are only “6,000 to 7,000” and they are reckoning the 30% to be decommissioned from this number. Thirty per cent of “6,000 to 7,000” is 1,800 to 2,100 weapons.
“Automatic, ide-decommission yan, pati forces” (Automatically, they would be decommissioned, including the forces), he told MindaNews on January 18, 2019 after the “Peace Assembly for the Ratification of Republic Act No. 11054” at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City. In that event, Duterte described the law as “the centerpiece legislation of my administration” and a “landmark law” that will not only address the historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro “but also plot the course towards a brighter and more promising future for Mindanao.”
Murad explained their three categories: 6,000 to 7,000 weapons owned by the MILF itself; weapons owned by individual members and that they were presently conducting a survey on it; and weapons of sympathizers.
He said there are weapons that are “pag-aari ng combatants. Binili nila yun” (owned by combatants; they bought those).
“Yung weapons owned by the combatants and civilians, pag-uusapan pa kung paano ma compensate ang may-ari” (we are still discussing how to compensate the owners), he explained.
The 30% of forces to be decommissioned would be reckoned from “30,000 to 40,000” on the BIAF roster – or 9,000 to 12,000 of them, said Murad, who started using his real name, Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, when he was named interim Chief Minister in February 2019.
Shared responsibility
The IAG review of the six-year BARMM transition, notes that both the national government and the MILF “share responsibility for the slow pace of the normalization track,” including decommissioning of combatants and the transformation of the MILF’s six major camps.
It said limited funding and bureaucratic issues have caused delays on the part of the national government but the MILF “has also dragged its feet.”
“As long as the normalization process is incomplete, and until a more robust effort is made to disarm private armed groups, the risk of renewed conflict will cast a shadow over politics and governance in the BARMM,” it said.
The IAG Review stressed that failure to conclude the normalization track of the peace process would “almost certainly be detrimental to the BARMM, but it is unlikely to spell an end to the BARMM as a regional government” because while peace is necessary for the Bangsamoro to prosper, “it is not in itself sufficient.”
Progress, it stressed, “also depends on the quality of governance.”
Community Perspectives / Frustration
While the peace implementing panels are at an impasse, the communities in the BARMM await timely and accurate information on how to avail of the supposed gains of the peace process.
This is among the findings of The Peace Accords Matrix Mindanao (PAM-M) and Civil Society Baseline Report on the State of Implementation of the Normalization Annex of the 2014 CAB.
PAM-M is a collaborative effort of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Philippines, designed to monitor the implementation of the CAB’s Annex on Normalization.
Myla Leguro of CRS Philippines presented the results of their study on August 19 at the Titayan 2 forum here.
Leguro cited the key findings, among them, that many potential applicants of amnesty still lack sufficient understanding of the process; that there are awareness gaps on transitional justice; that there is a need for a more comprehensive data on the delivery of needs assessments and the contents of socioeconomic packages, as well as the “consistency of support;” the minimal number of BIWAB included in the decommissioning process; the difficulty of traveling to designated centers for amnesty requirements and uncertainty and fear of detention during profiling; the “lack of communication updates or inconsistent updates on the status of decommissioning and normalization track,” and “poor information dissemination across communities.”
The report also said cited “community frustration” based on multiple interviews, particularly on aspects that have not been
Also pointed out was the “confusion over coordination” between community members, local government units and MILF base commanders.
The report noted that on the issue of decommissioning, the communities recommend inclusive participation by expanding the decommissioning process to include more BIWAB members from other areas; that clear and consistent system for identifying and validating eligible decommissioned combatants is essential; that there must be “regular and clear updates” on the status of decommissioning, including access to benefits such as cash assistance, housing, and reintegration support; and that the assistance received by each DC must be documented and monitored “to prevent duplication and ensure fairness and continuity in programming.”
On amnesty and confidence building, the communities propose that the National Amnesty Commission, Local Amnesty Board, and other relevant agencies set up satellite offices within the camps; that they be provided “clear, protective mechanisms for DCs with pending cases to participate without risk of detention.”
The communities also urge the MILF leadership to “lead by example in applying for amnesty, with the process witnessed by ground personnel and commanders to build confidence and encourage participation.”
On the socio-economic aspect, the communities recommend that leaders “act with urgency in delivering the socio-economic packages” and that “full delivery” of socio-economic packages under Phases 1, 2, and 3 be done “before initiating Phase 4.”
The communities also recommend “better access to services and a robust monitoring system to ensure that commitments made during the normalization process are fulfilled;” that enhanced collaboration is needed among local government units, MILF base commanders, and government’s line agencies to ensure timely and accountable delivery of updates and services.
The communities also said regular consultations and dialogues are vital to be heard and to stay informed, to rebuild trust and to actively contribute to the peace process.
Unfinished decommissioning and the October 13 polls
In their joint statement issued on August 18, the CCAA and the IAG, warned that the gains of the peace process “are now threatened by an impasse in the decommissioning component of the CAB that impedes the conflict-to-peace transition.”
They said they are aware that the MILF wants to connect the suspension of decommissioning over disagreement on the package of benefits for the decommissioned combatants but stalling the process over benefit claims “rings hollow in the face of a huge block grant and continued access to special development funds that were allocated unilaterally to MILF combatants as well.”
The combatants, the Joint Statement said, “must not be used as pawns in the high-stake political games of the elite” as it noted that the “flawed logic turns the normalization agreement into a simple ‘money for weapons’ deal.”
An election held without full decommissioning, the two organizations warned, is a red flag as promises and assurances that the weapons still in the possession of the combatants will not be used to intimidate and harass opponents, “are dubious and unreliable.”
The Joint Statement also said the situation will continue to “disrupt economic certainty and security, dampen investments, and prevent any hope of reigning-in the shadow economies of the BARMM” and that peace “remains extremely fragile.”
“The same holds true for the GPH (national government) as well,” the two groups said. “Settling political differences cannot be accomplished through organizational means. Political setbacks cannot be solved through organizational disruption, such as replacing the chief minister or changing accountability rules in mid-stream. Lest we forget, the same promises and commitments to transitional justice have yet to be delivered.”
Breaking the impasse
But CCAA and IAG said finger-pointing will not solve the problem.
The only way to break the impasse, they said, “is to first acknowledge and accept the inherent weaknesses in the decommissioning and normalization processes and the peace bureaucracy that have long ignored these glaring problems.”
“All parties are equally responsible and accountable for the failure to resolve the pressing issues,” the Joint Statement said, adding that the “single most important step that needs to be undertaken now is to conduct an inclusive examination of the entire peace infrastructure with other sectors and stakeholders having a seat on the table” and that participation “must be drawn from the peripheries to the center, from the islands to the cities, and from local to national.”
“There is absolutely no reason nor political legitimacy to a process where the GPH through OPAPRU and the MILF through the UBJP (United Bangsamoro Justice Party) can exclude other stakeholders in deciding the future of the BARMM,” CCAA and IAG said.
The Joint Statement said breaking the impasse “will require a collective effort and a collective decision that includes other sectors such as the non-Moro clans and the non-Moro indigenous peoples” as this would ensure “a fresh mandate and a new momentum for peace that endures beyond our lifetime.”
Peace stakeholders in Mindanao led by Cardinal Quevedo are seeking an audience with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., hopefully on the first week of September, to break the impasse between the GPH and the MILF, on the issue of decommissioning of combatants and weapons, as well as urge them to attend to the other major concerns in the implementation of the 2014 peace agreement.
The 86-year old Quevedo, Mindanao’s lone Cardinal, convened on August 19 and 20 Titayan 2, a forum on bridging to sustain peace in the Bangsamoro (Titayan means bridge in Maguindanao). He said the first issue they would raise would be on decommissioning. “We have to ask the President to meet the MILF implementing panel and the government implementing panel to thresh out this issue and to discuss the steps forward after taking care of the issue,” Quevedo, a relative of the President on the Edralin side, told a press conference here on Wednesday, at the end of Titayan 2.
“The issue is not something insoluble. It’s a matter of dialogue between the two implementing panels,” Quevedo said. He said he wants representatives from various sectors to join him in the meeting with the President where this issue and other major concerns on the implementation of the 2014 peace agreement such as wealth-sharing and transitional justice, will be discussed.
Last phase
Phase 4 of the decommissioning, according to the agreement, is “from the operationalization of the police force for the Bangsamoro up to two months prior to the signing of the Exit Agreement, provided that the evaluation of the panels with the participation of the Third Party Monitoring Team and Facilitator that all the commitments of the parties, except the remaining stage of decommissioning, has been completed.”
This last phase involves the decommissioning of the remaining MILF forces and weapons for a total of 100% by then. In numbers, this means decommissioning of the remaining 13,855 combatants out of the 40,000 and 2,575 weapons out of the 7,200.
The peace agreement mandates that at the end of the transition period – now reckoned on October 30, 2025 – the GPH and MILF panels, together with the Malaysian Facilitator and Third Party Monitoring Team (TMPT), shall convene a meeting to “review, assess or evaluate the implementation of all agreements and the progress of implementation of all agreements and the progress of the transition.”
“An ‘Exit Document’ officially terminating the peace negotiation may be crafted and signed by both parties if and only when all agreements have been fully implemented,” the agreement states. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
