MANILA, Philippines – Sinuspinde ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ang decommissioning ng natitira nitong ‘combatants at mga armas’ hanggang sa sumunod ang gobyerno sa probisyon ng Annex of Normalization, isang bahagi ng peace deal sa pagitan ng dalawang partido noong 2014.
Ayon sa isang resolusyon ng central committee nito, ide-decommission ng MILF ang natitira nitong 14,000 forces at 2,450 weapons “only upon the substantial compliance by the GPH (Government of the Philippines) in other tracks of normalization, including the provision of socio-economic package as agreed by the GPH and MILF Peace Implementing Panels to the 26,145 combatants.”
Ipinalabas ang resolusyon kasunod ng isang pagpupulong noong July 19 subalit isinapubliko lamang noong July 26. Nilagdaan ito ni MILF chairperson Al Haj Murad Ebrahim at MILF Secretary Muhammad Ameen.
Ang Annex of Normalization ay kailangan sa Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) sa pagitan ng Philippine government at MILF. Ibinalangkas nito ang mga proseso para tiyakin ang human security aat payagan ang mga komunidad sa Bangsamoro na makamit ang kanilang ninanais na kalidad ng buhay.
“Whereas, the track on decommissioning of MILF forces and weapons is very important in the normalization process, but so are the other tracks, i.e., policing, redeployment of troops and units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), disbandment of private armed groups (PAGS), socio-economic development, detection and clearance of unexploded ordinances, transitional justice and reconciliation, and the confidence building measures of camps transformation, and amnesty, pardon and other available processes to persons charged with or convicted of crimes connected to the armed conflict in Mindanao,” ang nakasaad sa resolusyon.
Winika pa ng MILF na habang ang 26,145 MILF combatants ay na-decommissioned, “not a single one has successfully undergone ‘transition to productive civilian life.'”
“Whereas, to be true to the letter and spirit of the Annex on Normalization, there should be some showing of substantial compliance of the socio-economic interventions for combatants who have been profiled for decommissioning before other combatants are made to undergo the initial steps towards decommissioning,” ang nakasaad pa rin sa resolusyon.
Nagpahayag naman ng pagkadismaya ang Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity’s (OPAPRU) Office for Bangsamoro Transformation sa naging desisyon ng MILF na suspendihin ang decommissioning ng combatants nito, idinagdag na ang socioeconomic interventions ay nasa lugar na.
“While the CAB was signed in 2014, the GPH and MILF Peace Implementing Panels only approved the Socioeconomic Package Framework for the MILF decommissioned combatants in February 2024. Despite this, major socioeconomic interventions have been implemented since 2015,” ang sinabi naman ni Presidential Assistant David Diciano sa isnag kalatas.
“Aligned with the provision of the Annex on Normalization, socioeconomic interventions are based on the ‘needs assessment’ process under the DSWD. This means that the services provided are tailored to the specific needs of each of the decommissioned combatants,” dagdag na wika nito, tinukoy ang Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Tinuran pa ng OPAPRU ang desisyon ng MILF Central Committee na paulit-ulit na i-delay at kalaunan ay ipagpaliban ang final phase ng decommissioning process simula pa noong 2022.
“It is unfair and unjust for those who are willing to undergo the decommissioning process, depriving them of their opportunity and right to be transformed into productive, peaceful citizens as envisioned in the CAB. The decision of the few should not deny the aspirations of the many,” ayon kay Diciano.
Matatandaang, sinabi ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na ang administrasyon noong 2023 na pabibilisin nito ang Normalization Program para sa mga dating MILF combatants, kanilang pamilya at mga komunidad.
At nang sumunod na taon, pinagtibay ni Pangulong Marcos ang kanyang commitment na gawing normal ang mga komunidad sa Bangsamoro region sa pamamagitan ng amnesty application ng mga dating rebelde. /Kris Jose
