KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will not proceed with the decommissioning of its remaining forces until the Government of the Philippines (GPH) substantially complies with the provisions of the Annex on Normalization.
The decision was reached by the MILF Central Committee during its regular meeting last July 19 at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao del Norte. The copy of the resolution, signed by MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and MILF secretary Muhammad Ameen, was made public on Saturday, July 26.
“It is hereby resolved that the decommissioning of the remaining 14,000 MILF combatants and 2,450 weapons shall commence only upon the substantial compliance of the GPH in the other tracks of normalization, including the provision of socio-economic package as agreed upon by the GPH and MILF Peace Implementing Panels to the 26,145 combatants,” the resolution stated.
MILF combatants and their weapons deactivated during Phase 2 of the decommissioning on September 7, 2019 in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte. MindaNews photo by BONG S. SARMIENTO
As of 5 p.m. Sunday, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace, Unity and Reconciliation, headed by Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., has yet to comment on the decision of the MILF not to proceed with the deactivation of its remaining fighters.
The Annex on Normalization is an integral part of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) that government and the MILF signed on March 27, 2014, after 17 years of peace negotiations.
Under the normalization track, decommissioning of MILF combatants and weapons are to be done by phases, with corresponding milestones on the part of government.
Section C Item 9 of the normalization annex states that the decommissioning of MILF forces shall be parallel and commensurate to the implementation of the agreements of the parties.
Ebrahim said that to be true to the letter and spirit of the Annex on Normalization, there should be some showing of substantial compliance of the socio-economic interventions for combatants who have been profiled for decommissioning before other combatants are made to undergo the initial steps towards decommissioning.
Datuan Magon Jr., spokesperson of the MILF peace implementing panel, explained that the decommissioning of the remaining MILF forces will proceed after the Philippine government substantially implements the normalization components, particularly the socio-economic aspects.
“The decommissioning of MILF forces should be parallel and commensurate … Yan ang tinitingnan natin kasi mahirap naman na maubos na yung decommissioning samantalang yung other components ng normalization hindi siya tatakbo,” he told MindaNews on Sunday.
So far, a total of 26,145 MILF combatants had been decommissioned, or 65 percent of the 40,000-strong MILF forces.
In a show of goodwill during the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III, the MILF deactivated 145 combatants and 75 weapons on June 16, 2015.
The second phase of decommissioning was under the Duterte administration, on September 7, 2019 involving 12,000 combatants and 2,100 weapons.
The third phase began on November 8, 2021, with the deactivation of 14,000 MILF combatants and 2,450 weapons, also during the Duterte administration.
The Philippine government and the MILF had set up the foreign-led Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) to oversee the process of decommissioning of MILF forces and weapons. The IDB is chaired by Turkey along with Norway and Brunei, and two representatives each from the Philippine government and the MILF.
The remaining 14,000, or 35 percent of the MILF forces, and 2,450 weapons will proceed once the GPH substantially complies with the other tracks of normalization, including the socio-economic provisions that both sides agreed, Ebrahim said.
The MILF Central Committee lamented that of the 26,145 decommissioned MILF members, “not a single one has successfully undergone ‘transition to productive civilian life’, as other interventions for decommissioning have essentially not been provided, save for the P100,000 per combatant.”
The other tracks of the Annex on Normalization are policing, redeployment of troops and units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, disbandment of private armed groups, socio-economic development, detection and clearance of unexploded ordnances, transitional justice and reconciliation, and the confidence-building measures of camps transformation, and amnesty, pardon and other available processes to persons charged with or convicted of crimes connected to the armed conflict in Mindanao. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
