CAMP LUCERO, CARMEN, NORTH COTABATO (AUGUST 1, 2019) – Around 225 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) will kick off their basic military training Thursday to capacitate them as members of Joint Peace and Security Team (JPST).

“This training is the gateway for former combatants to serve and join the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police in maintaining peace and order in the Bangsamoro,” said Presidential Peace Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Carlito G. Galvez Jr. in a statement a day before the training begins.

According to Galvez, 200 JPST (teams) shall be established to ensure the security of residents within the six government-acknowledged MILF camps during the decommissioning process which officially begins on September 7.

The JPSTs, he said, will be composed of members of the AFP, Philippine National Police and MILF-BIAF. These teams will serve until the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao interim government (BTA) ends its term in 2022.

Galvez said President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and other top cabinet and security officials will be witnessing the launch of the highly-anticipated decommissioning process.

“No less than President Duterte will be attending the event to demonstrate his full support to the decommissioning process and normalization,” he said.

The Presidential Peace Adviser underscored the crucial role of JPSTs, particularly as the main security for the decommissioning in the different assembly and processessing areas (APAS), assist in settling disputes, and efforts on counter drugs and terrorism.

“These JPSTs will be tasked to maintain peace and order in areas that have been mutually identified by the GPH and the MILF,” Galvez said.

“More importantly, these teams will also support the work being carried out by the existing ceasefire mechanisms, particularly in addressing pressing issues on security and maintaining order,” he added.

The decommissioning process is part of the Normalization Track’s goal of putting MILF fighters and their weapons beyond use, and enabling them to achieve their desired quality of life through sustainable livelihood and political participation in a peaceful and deliberative society.

The decommissioning of the MILF-BIAF members is in line with the Normalization Track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by the national government and the MILF in 2014.

The Normalization Track has four main components. These include security, socio-economic development, confidence-building measures, and transitional justice and reconciliation.

Based on the Normalization Track, 30% or 12,000 MILF combatants and their weapons will be decommissioned this year.  At least 35% will undergo the same process next year, while the remaining fighters will be decommissioned by 2022 in time for the signing of the Exit Agreement under the CAB. ###