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FACT CHECK: Manila Standard opinion article wrongly cites OPAPRU on MILF deactivation

1023 manila standard

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) did not issue a statement that community trust in the decommissioning process for combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been eroded because it has not been accompanied with the dismantling of its base commands, contrary to an opinion piece based on a statement issued by the BARMM Governors’ Caucus (BGC) and published by the Manila Standard on October 9.

BARMM stands for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which is in an extended transition period until June 2025 with the interim government led by the MILF.

The opinion article, without a byline, said: “Despite the completion of the third decommissioning phase, there has been no corresponding dismantling of MILF base commands. This absence of concrete security improvements in LGUs where MILF camps and base commands are located has eroded community trust in the decommissioning process and the overall peace process, the OPAPRU said in a statement.”

The BGC statement referred to was cited in an article published on Politiko last October 5. A similar report was aired last October 10 by iMINDS Philippines, an online media company based in Cotabato City.

“The Bangsamoro Governors’ Caucus, composed of five BARMM governors, lamented there has been no dismantling of MILF base command despite the completion of the third decommissioning phase. The absence of concrete security improvements in LGUs where MILF camps and base commands are located has reportedly eroded community trust in the decommissioning process and the overall peace process,” the Politiko article said.

As of August 10, 2023, a total of 26,132 MILF combatants and 4,625 of their firearms have been successfully decommissioned since 2015 by the IDB, which is tasked to implement the decommissioning process, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a news article  published on the OPAPRU website on October 12.

The IDB or Independent Decommissioning Body was created by the Philippine government and the MILF to oversee the MILF decommissioning process.

“The peace adviser doused worries over the decommissioning process saying that the IDB, which is a third party created under the peace agreement, ensures that a high level of trust and confidence is maintained,” the OPAPRU article, apparently alluding to the BARMM governors’ statement, said.

“The good governors must understand that decommissioning is not a stand-alone process. It is complemented by our interventions to address the proliferation of loose firearms and neutralize private armed groups,” it quoted Galvez as saying.

As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact-check stories. 

MindaNews is a verified signatory to the Code of Principles of the International Fact-Checking Network. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)

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MindaNews Fact Check seeks to fight misinformation and disinformation circulating on the internet, news platforms and communities that we serve. 


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Politicians, government officials and other public and private figures at times tend to bend facts to suit or advance their vested interests, or their principals, in effect misleading the public. The distorted facts spread easily with the popularity of the internet and the wide influence of social media.


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Fact-checking Unit: Romer (Bong) Sarmiento, Yas D. Ocampo

 

Mindanao Institute of Journalism

 

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Amalia B. Cabusao (Doc Can.)
Robert D. Timonera
Ellen P. Alinea

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