The government has formed a group composed of military men and rebel returnees to curb criminality in the newly established Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
Three thousand former Moro Islamic Liberation Front members were expected to finish government-initiated trainings in 2020 so they can help secure peace within their jurisidiction, Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Carlito Galvez told Palace reporters Tuesday.
Around 200 MILF members started training this month to become members of the Joint Peace and Security Teams that will function as peacekeeping forces in the region. The other half of the security force will be composed of 1,600 policemen and 1,400 soldiers.
This project is part of the “normalization track” of BARMM which superseded the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao aimed to achieve long-lasting peace in the region, Galvez said.
Under the normalization initiative, the combatants and their families will receive a comprehensive socio-economic package which includes social protection package, sustainable livelihood programs, capacity-building trainings, health benefits and educational assistance.
Galvez said the trainees will be given allowance during their 26-day basic military training and they will be allowed to use their private firearms, as the government aims them to return into mainstream society.
“The budget has already been given to us so we will finish that by 2020,” he said.
“The era of armed hostilities is now gone. We are now ushering a new age of genuine and sustainable peace throughout Mindanao,” he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier signed Executive Order No. 79 or the Annex on Normalization to consolidate the peacebuilding initiatives under BARMM.
This year, at least 12,000 combatants will be decommissioned and their weapons put beyond use, Galvez said.
Another 35 percent of the MILF forces will undergo the same procedure next year, while the rest will undergo the process until 2022 in time for the Exit Agreement between the government and the rebel group.
