Southern Philippines peace in progress as thousands of combatants turn in arms

MANILA: Over 1,000 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters were decommissioned on Thursday in a major step in the implementation of a peace agreement between the Philippine government and the country’s restive Muslim south, which had for decades sought independence from Manila.
Bangsamoro, a region covering predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao, has been undergoing a peace process that began in 2014 when the government struck a permanent cease-fire deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front after almost four decades of conflict.
MILF is an armed breakaway group of the Moro National Liberation Front — the oldest Muslim separatist movement in Mindanao — which continued to fight when its parent organization reached a peace agreement with Manila in the 1990s. MILF fighters only agreed to turn over their firearms in 2014, in exchange for self-rule in Bangsamoro.
The 2014 peace deal includes a target of decommissioning 40,000 MILF combatants, a process that also involves turning in and putting weapons beyond use.
As 1,301 more fighters joined the fold on Thursday, they bring the total number of decommissioned fighters to over 26,000, or more than 65 percent of the target, the autonomous Muslim region BARMM said.
“This occasion signals the success of the peace process in the Southern Philippines … The MILF recognizes that the decommissioning process is a significant component of the normalization track under the comprehensive agreement on the Bangsamoro,” BARMM Chief Minister Ahod “Al-Hajj Murad” Ebrahim said during a ceremony on Thursday.
“For some, the process of decommissioning might be slow, but may I remind you all that this process takes some time because we are not only transforming the individual lives of combatants and making them productive members of our society, (but just as) importantly, transforming all communities across the BARMM to become peaceful and progressive.”
In his State of the Nation Address last month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gave a nod to the Bangsamoro peace process and said he was “proud of the progress that BARMM has taken.”
The Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said that it was “very critical that we build on the peace gains and ensure continuing progress.”
The peace agreement is also “on top of the Marcos’ administration” agenda, he said.
BARMM Chief Minister Ebrahim is looking forward to finishing the entire decommissioning process, he told Arab News, as it will officially conclude the peace deal.
“Once the commitment is fully complied with, then we will have the signing of an exit agreement,” Ebrahim said.
BARMM is now urging Manila to speed up other aspects of the decommissioning process, including the development of infrastructure in the region.
“We call upon the national government to expedite the other components of the normalization because many have yet to be fulfilled or started,” Ebrahim said.
“Because the real challenge is the lack of funds for normalization. So, we’re asking that it will be hastened.”
As part of the peace process, Bangsamoro residents voted for its greater autonomy in a referendum held in 2019. The transition period will culminate in 2025 when the region will elect its legislature and executive.

Southern Philippines peace in progress as thousands of combatants turn in arms