The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ordered all its fighters in the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) and other agencies to strictly comply with the resolution of the MILF Central Committee suspending the implementation of the BIAF decommissioning process.
“Effective immediately, no Front Commanders, Base Commanders, Designated Deputy Commanders, or Heads of other line agencies and their representatives shall participate in any decommissioning or normalization activities unilaterally organized by Government and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity without prior written approval or authorization from the Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,” as stated in Memorandum Order No. 037 of the MILF Central Committee dated August 16.
The order warned that failure to comply will be considered “a serious breach of command discipline” and offenders may be punished with administrative and disciplinary actions.
The MILF suspended the decommissioning process of the remaining BIAF fighters because the Government of the Republic of the Philippines failed to fulfill many accompanying provisions to the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), as well as decommissioning and disbandment of its combatants. A key issue is the implementation of socio-economic projects for decommissioned fighters. According to the MILF, “not a single” fighter who surrendered his weapon has successfully “transitioned into a productive civilian life” because the requirements for this were not fulfilled, except for the ₱100,000 given to each fighter.
