MANILA, Sept 9 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines has started reintegration of former rebels into society, a move Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, said, will bring “lasting peace” in southern Philippines.
Chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and interim chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, handed over an assault rifle to Duterte, at the start of a decommissioning ceremony in Simuay, Sultan Kudarat in southern Philippine Maguindanao province.
Murad said, the the assault rifle was “a token” by MILF for its “very strong appreciation for what (Duterte) has done to the Bangsamoro people and our homeland.”
The decommissioning process of 1,060 MILF combatants is the implementation of “normalisation” of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). The first batch is part of 12,000 or 30 percent of the 40,000 MILF-Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), to be decommissioned until Mar or Apr next year.
The decommissioning also includes 920 weapons and about 20 “heavy weapons” of the MILF, including over 600 rounds for the seven rocket launchers.
Duterte lauded the “significant progress” in the implementation of the CAB, including the normalisation that covers the decommissioning process.
Duterte assured the MILF combatants “that the government will assist you as you reintegrate into society and enjoy fruitful and productive civilian lives.”
“I look forward to having you as government’s partners as we take further strides in securing lasting peace and order in Mindanao,” Duterte added.
Duterte urged “all concerned stakeholders to continue working with the government, so that our gains for many years of peace-building efforts will never go to waste.”
Under the normalisation track, the combatants, their families and communities will receive a comprehensive socioeconomic package, which includes social protection package, sustainable livelihood programmes, capacity-building training, health benefits and educational assistance.
Saturday’s decommissioning ceremony took place seven months after the organic law for BARMM was ratified in a plebiscite.
