MILF raises concerns over alleged lapses in decommissioning process

COTABATO CITY — The chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has barred members from participating in decommissioning activities, accusing the government of reneging on its obligation to provide former guerrillas with support for reintegration into society.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) refuted the MILF’s claims via radio stations in the Bangsamoro region, citing records that contradict the front’s insinuations.

Radio reports on Monday, August 18, quoted David Diciano of OPAPRU’s Office for Bangsamoro Transformation, saying the government had allocated P4 billion for the decommissioning process since 2019.

Records obtained by Mindanao-based reporters from OPAPRU’s central office showed that 26,145 MILF combatants had been decommissioned since 2019, each receiving P100,000 in cash assistance along with skills and livelihood training to enhance their productivity.

Ahod Ebrahim, chairman of the MILF’s central committee, issued on Saturday, August 16, a written directive for commanders and members of the front not to participate in any activity related to the fourth and final phase of the decommissioning process, which is part of their peace compact with the government, the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro.

The agreement, a product of 22 years of peace talks between the government and the MILF, paved the way for the replacement in early 2019 of the then 27-year Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with a more empowered Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Ebrahim served as the appointed chief minister of BARMM from 2019 until early this year. He was replaced in March by Abdulrauf Macacua, chief of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, through an appointment by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Provincial governors and mayors in Central Mindanao, where there are MILF enclaves now recognized as “peace zones” by the police and military, had suggested to Ebrahim to talk peacefully with OPAPRU officials about their assertion that the government has reneged on its commitment to religiously facilitate the decommissioning of their guerrillas in BARMM and elsewhere in Mindanao.

Members of the 80-seat BARMM parliament, where the MILF has representatives, told reporters on Monday that the issue is best settled through dialogues, in the presence of representatives from Malacanang and the front’s central committee. They volunteered to help check the veracity of the complaints of the MILF that had circulated on social media.