Gov’t-MILF joint committee prepares decommissioning of 12,000 combatants, weapons

Members of the different joint mechanisms under the Normalization Track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) as well as international independent bodies have begun the preparations for the smooth decommissioning of at least 12,000 combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), their weapons and camps this year, according to a Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) statement.

The co-chairs of the Philippine Government and the MILF Joint Normalization Committee (JNC) said that the purpose of the two-day meeting over the weekend here is to harmonize the collaborations between the parties and their international partners as the Bangsamoro peace process enters a new phase.

“We are in unity to express our hope for faster implementation of the Normalization Track,” Ariel Hernandez, the government’s chair of the JNC and a member of the Government Implementing Panel said.

Meanwhile, Eduard Guerra, the chair of the MILF’s JNC, emphasized that a strong partnership is the key to surmount the challenges in the Normalization process.

“We should work in partnership and always with consultation,” he said.

The CAB, which was signed by the government and the MILF in 2014 has two tracks: the Political and Normalization tracks. The Political Track includes the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The Normalization track mainly involves the decommissioning of the combatants and putting their weapons beyond use, and the transformation of six MILF camps into peaceful and resilient communities.

The Normalization track as stated in the CAB is a process whereby conflict-affected communities can “return to conditions where they can achieve their desired quality of life, which includes the pursuit of sustainable livelihoods and political participation within a peaceful deliberative society.”

Last April this year, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Executive Order (EO) 79 Implementing the Annex on Normalization to consolidate the efforts of at least 17 government agencies involved in the said process.