Gov’t to partner with MILF in disarming private armies

MANILA, Philippines - The government will partner with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in disarming private armed groups in Mindanao, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said yesterday.

“You don’t just talk about the arms of the MILF, but also of everyone else. That is part of normalization. How can you ask the MILF to completely disarm if other groups or some families are armed?” Deles said.

“We are looking for a real partnership among the government, the MILF, and other governance constituencies to look at this matter on how to make life more secure, to trust in the state forces to make them secure, and be engaged in other productive activities,” she said.

Deles said both parties would also work in partnership to reduce and control firearms in the region.

“As put in the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement (BFA), decommissioning is phased and calibrated and will start once political commitments are delivered…We agreed that substantial decommissioning happens when the basic law is delivered,” she said. 

She said a joint normalization committee will be formed between the parties toward full decommissioning, and will be overseen by a third-party monitor composed of domestic and international partners of the peace process. 

“It was understandable that for a movement like the MILF, which had been fighting for so long, its members would have a different perspective on decommissioning,” Deles said.

She said she is confident that decommissioning would be successful here as in other countries.

“As the fighters see this on the ground, peace is real, the land can be cultivated, there is livelihood coming in, my children can go to school, health centers will be set up. It will be a matter of not just me giving up something, but I will also get a better life for my children,” she said.

She said discussions on the decommissioning process are underway.

Deles assured the public that the government is determined to deliver the political commitments embodied in the  framework agreement.