Palace: EO towards decommissioning of MILF fighters approved

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has approved a proposed executive order that would pave way to the decommissioning of fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.  

The proposed EO on the implementation of the normalization annex of the 2014 peace deal with the MILF was approved during a Cabinet meeting last Monday.

"The chief executive during the same Cabinet meeting approved the proposed executive order on the implementation of the annex on the normalization under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front," presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a press briefing Tuesday. 

Panelo said the approval of the proposed order would boost peace efforts Mindanao, where development has been impeded in conflict-affected areas. 

"Anything that is contributory to the goal of peace in that place, we will do it," the presidential spokesman said. 

The annex on normalization, one of the four annexes to the Bangsamoro framework agreement, outlines steps that will lead to the decommissioning of the MILF's armed forces. 

The three other annexes to the agreement deal with power sharing, transitional modalities and revenue generation and wealth sharing.

The annex described normalization as "the process whereby communities can achieve their desired quality of life, which includes the pursuit of sustainable livelihood and political participation within a peaceful deliberative society."

It provided for the creation of a Joint Normalization Committee a Joint Peace and Security Committee, and joint peace and security teams to settle disputes, coordinate arrangements for activities and track and document armed groups. 

Under the annex, the MILF shall undertake a graduated program for decommissioning of its forces so that they are put beyond use. Decommissioning will include activities that will help members of the MILF armed units transition to a productive civilian life. 

The government and the MILF will also craft a plan to disband private armed groups and to intensify development efforts to provide the needs of internally displaced persons and poverty-stricken communities. 

The annex also required the government and the MILF to come up with a program for transitional justice to address the legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people, correct "historical injustices" and address human rights violations. 

The 2014 peace agreement is the basis of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which formed a new autonomous region with greater share in national government resources.

Members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority assumed leadership over the new region last Feb. 26 and will serve as the interim regional government until June 30, 2022. 

Planning workshop for new BARMM government

On Monday, the Bangsamoro Autonomos Region in Muslim Mindanao's Ministry of Local Government and the United Nations Development Programme started a two-day program to strengthen governance in the region.

The newly-created MLG has jurisdiction over 118 towns in ARMM’s five provinces, Cotabato City and the 63 barangays in North Cotabato province.

The UNDP and other offices under the United Nations have been supporting the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim is interim chief minister of the BARMM, which is a product of peace talks, congressional action, and a plebiscite.

The UNDP-assisted strategic governance planning activity is meant to identify measures that can maximize governance in BARMM’s territory for the bilateral peace and development goals of the newly-established regional government and President Rodrigo Duterte to fully takeoff. — with John Unson in Cotabato City