The government has distributed P25,000 study grants each to 237 children of profiled Moro National Liberation Front members as part of the MNLF Transformation Program, officials said over the weekend.
The financial aid, funded by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU), was handed out during a ceremony on Dec. 20, 2024 at Mindanao State University-Maguindanao.
The event was led by Brig. Gen. Buenaventura Pascual, chairperson of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) Management Committee; Minister Muslimin Sema of the Ministry of Labor and Employment in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM); and MSU Chancellor Hejira Limbona.
Sema, who also chairs a faction of the MNLF, said 287 children or next-of-kin of documented former MNLF combatants across Mindanao have received the study grant under the initiative.
“Profiled MNLF” refers to those officially documented by OPAPRU, including details of their firearms, which are kept in a government database.
“These students are still pursuing their education, and through this program, they are receiving support to help them continue their studies,” Pascual said.
He added the program represents the collaboration between OPAPRU, led by Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., and the MNLF-GPH Commitatee chaired by Sema.
One beneficiary expressed gratitude for the grant, calling it a peace dividend made possible by the MNLF’s engagement with the government.
“I value this grant because it is one of the peace dividends after our elders decided to sit down and talk peace with the government,” the recipient said.
