Basilan Rep. Hataman sees flaws in MILF decommissioning process

Armed conflict is likely to persist in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) given the current state of the decommissioning of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters, a Mindanao-based lawmaker said Monday.

According to Basilan Representative Mujiv Hataman, only 62% of the target 40,000 MILF combatants have been decommissioned eight years since the group signed a peace deal with the government.

"We should prioritize decommissioning of armed combatants so nobody can take up arms anymore, because we are addressing armed conflict here," Hataman said during a congressional briefing on the state of the peace process and on the peace and order situation in BARMM.

Hataman was referring to the normalization phase of the peace agreement inked between the government and the MILF in 2014 wherein MILF combatants will abandon armed struggle by turning over their functional firearms to the government in phases, depending on the progress of the implementation of the peace deal.

The lawmaker said the bloody encounter between the military and MILF forces in Basilan last week, which left three soldiers and three MILF fighters dead, would not have happened if only the government did have a full list of the 40,000 MILF combatants that are due for decommissioning.

"I know of someone who is not a part of the MILF but became a part of the decommissioning process. I did not even ask the person, he is the one who told me," Hataman said.

Vice Chairman William Hovland of the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB), which validates MILF members due for decommissioning, said during that same hearing that 24,844 out of the 40,000 MILF combatants have been decommissioned so far, and that 4,625 firearms have been turned over to the government.

"These (4,625 firearms) are high powered ammunition and are functional based on a safety and functionality test. But it is not in our position to go into the details due to a confidentiality agreement," Hovland said.

"But as to the decommissioning of the number of combatants, 40,000 is the final target for combatants and 7,000 for firearms," he added.

These figures were confirmed by Undersecretary David Diciano of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), who also admitted that they are still expecting the MILF to submit additional names due for decommissioning next year.

He also said the number may balloon because the government cash assistance of P100,000 for each decommissioned individual can also cover non-fighters or those who used to support MILF fighters in their armed struggle.

Hataman then warned Diciano that such a process cannot go on without baseline data on who are due for decommissioning.

"Kung tama ang decommissioning mo, I’m sure, hindi mangyayari ‘yung [engkwentro] sa Basilan. By phases? Even before the extension of the term of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, this list should have been asked from and submitted by the MILF at that time, when the bargaining power of the government is higher," Hataman said.

(If you are doing the decommissioning well, that gun battle would not  have happened.)

"But up to now, we don't have a list. That is a violation of the signed agreement, right?" Hataman asked, to which Diciano replied, "For that particular agreement, it is being violated, sir."

Hataman then urged both the government and MILF peace panels to resolve this.

"This is a weakness of [the] normalization [process]. This is a wake up call to all of us. Let us be honest with each other. Huwag tayo maglokohan kasi niloloko lang natin ang sarili natin," he said.

(Let us not fool each other because we will just be fooling ourselves.)

"If the decommissioning process goes on like this, this decommissioning will never end," Hataman added. —KBK, GMA Integrated News