P781.3-million allotted for decommissioned MILF fighters

MANILA, Philippines — Some P781.3 million had been allocated for the implementation of socio-economic programs for soon-to-be decommissioned combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Friday said it has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) for the implementation of the program.

The agreement formalized the funding support of OPAPP to the DSWD for the implementation of the program, which is anchored on the Executive Order on Implementing the Annex on Normalization under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

According to the DSWD, the funding shall be used for socio-economic interventions to help decommissioned MILF combatants settle in their communities and live normal lives.

A total of 7,163 decommissioned MILF fighters from the three assembly processing areas in Region 12 and in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao would be assessed for the program.

At the heart of the normalization process is the complete transformation of MILF combatants into peaceful and productive members of the communities. 

Based on the Normalization Track, 30 percent or 12,000 MILF combatants and their weapons would be decommissioned this year. At least 35 percent will undergo the same process next year, while the remaining fighters will be decommissioned until 2022 in time for the signing of the Exit Agreement under the CAB. – With Jose Rodel Clapano