The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) decided to stop the decommissioning of its 14,000 fighters until the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) complies with the many provisions that should accompany the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) process and the decommissioning or formal withdrawal and disbandment of its combatants.
The decision appears in a resolution released by the MILF Central Committee during its regular meeting held on July 19. The resolution became public on July 26, two days before Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s State of the Nation Address. Marcos’ speech mentioned did not address the issue or any Bangsamoro matters. There have been no response from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace, Unity and Reconciliation.
According to the MILF, the decommissioning of forces and weapons should coincide with other initiatives. The MILF identified the redeployment of AFP troops and units in MILF areas, as well as the disbandment of private armed groups. It insisted on the simultaneous implementation of socio-economic projects. The MILF also cited other confidence-building measures such as camp transformation and amnesty for those charged or convicted of crimes related to armed conflict in Mindanao.
In recent years, MILF has decommissioned or removed 26,145 combatants from the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the MILF army. This represents 65% of the group’s total 40,000 armed forces. According to the MILF, “not a single one” of them has successfully “transitioned to productive civilian life” because the requirements for this were not fulfilled, except for the ₱100,000 given to each fighter.
“To be true to the letter and spirit of the Annex on Normalization, [the agreement detailing the process of the MILF armed forces decommissioning,] there should first 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,” the resolution said.
The final agreement between the GRP and MILF was signed back in 2014, under the Aquino administration. Turkey, Brunei, and Norway administered the decommissioning of fighters and the weapons surrender.
