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Gov't laments MILF delay in final decommissioning phase

Philippine News Agency

By Darryl John Esguerra
July 31, 2025, 6:27 pm

MANILA -- The government on Thursday expressed disappointment over the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) decision to again postpone the final phase of decommissioning its combatants and firearms, calling it a setback for the Bangsamoro peace process.

In a statement Thursday, Presidential Assistant David Diciano of the Office for Bangsamoro Transformation under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), said the deferral of the decommissioning of 14,000 MILF combatants and 2,450 weapons "undermines a core commitment" under the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

"This batch of combatants would have constituted the fourth and final group scheduled for the decommissioning process," Diciano said.

He also disagreed with the MILF Central Committee's claim that the government has fallen short of its socioeconomic commitments.

He cited the PHP100,000 transitional cash assistance per decommissioned combatant and more than PHP4 billion worth of socioeconomic programs since 2019, including health coverage, skills training, and education assistance benefiting thousands.

"For this year, a total of 2,500 (combatants or their dependents) are benefiting from the (educational) program. For 2026, the OPAPRU has allocated funds for an additional 3,500 beneficiaries," he added.

Diciano lamented that government funds amounting to more than PHP788 million earmarked for Phase 4 of the decommissioning had to be returned to the Treasury due to repeated deferments.

"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... The decision of the few should not deny the aspirations of the many," he said.

The government noted that since 2015, about 26,000 MILF combatants have been decommissioned and six MILF camps have received about PHP8.5 billion in development projects.

The political track of the CAB also led to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which has received more than PHP420 billion in block grants and an annual PHP5 billion in normalization funds since 2020.

Diciano urged the MILF to uphold its side of the peace agreement.

"We respectfully remind the MILF, our partner in peace, to utilize the appropriate channels... to address issues concerning the implementation of the peace agreement," he said.

"As the BARMM gears up for its first parliamentary elections this October, we invite the MILF to reaffirm our shared vision: a BARMM that is free of armed groups and illegal firearms, where peace reigns." (PNA)