BANGSAMORO AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO — Middie Indal proudly shows off the graduation uniform which he had sewn by himself – a gray polo shirt matched with gray slacks.

Indal was among 155 decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members who graduated from various Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses conducted by the Technical Education and Skills Development (TESD) earlier this year.

Now 60 years-old and with six children, Indal did not expect that he would complete an NC II dressmaking course, and more so, an opportunity to learn a new skill and practice it given his background as a former fighter.

He was one of the 12,000 MILF combatants who were decommissioned under phase 2 of the decommissioning process held from 2019 to 2020.

“Dahil sa pagkakaisa ng Gobyerno ng Pilipinas at ng Gobyerno ng MILF, kami ay nagpapasalamat sa Allah (SWT) na naabutan namin ang ngayong mas magandang panahon at maganda ang pamumuhay ng aming mga anak sa ngayong panahon dahil sa nagkasundo na ang dalawang gobyerno,” Indal shared, as he noted the growing economic opportunities in the Bangsamoro now that the implementation of the peace agreements are in full swing.

(Due to the unity of the Philippine Government and the MILF Government, we are thankful to Allah (SWT) that we have reached a better period and our children are living well now because the two governments have reached peace agreements.)

Renewed hope after decommissioning

In the message he delivered during the mass graduation, Indal thanked the project proponents for giving “old combatants” the opportunity to participate in the livelihood training which he could not enroll in during his younger years.

Indal’s family, just like the rest of the families in their community during those turbulent times, were focused on getting everyone to safety. This meant moving from evacuation to the other, which greatly affected their livelihood and education.

Dahil sa hirap ng buhay, hindi kami nakapag-aral noon. Wala kaming maipanggastos noon para makapag-aral dahil sa laging nagbabakwit ang mga magulang namin,” he said in the vernacular.

(Because of the hardships in life, we could not study then. We did not have money to study because our parents were always evacuating [the family].)

The provision of vocational trainings for former MILF combatants is part of the socioeconomic development component under the normalization track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

The livelihood courses, a collaborative effort between TESDA, MBHTE and the Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC), which is among the normalization mechanisms under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), aim to provide these former combatants with the necessary skills to make the successful transition to peaceful and productive civilian life.

More importantly, these vocational courses have given Indal and his comrades a renewed sense of hope, as they start a new chapter in their lives.

Kami na mga old combatant, hindi kami nakapagtapos mag-aral dahil sa hirap ng buhay noon. Kaya ngayon na nag-iba na ang panahon dahil sa pagsusumikap ng aming mga lider kaya nag-iba na ang panahon at pamumuhay. Ngayon ay kahit gaano kahirap, ay nagsumikap kaming mag-aral at ang importante sa tao ay mayroon siyang kurso o aral na natutunan,” he shared.

(We old combatants, we could not finish school because of the hardships of life then. So now times have changed because of the hard work of our leaders so the circumstances and way of life have changed. Now no matter how hard it is, we work hard to study and what is important in a person is that he has a course or lesson learned.)

Brighter futures through sustainable livelihoods

“Ang itinuro nila sa amin sa pag-aaral ng dressmaking ay mula sa pagkuha ng sukat ng gagawan ng damit, hanggang sa dumating sa nakapagtahi kami. Ito ang natapos namin mula sa itinuro sa amin at ito na ang uniform namin ngayon sa aming pagtatapos,” Indal shared.

(What they taught us in dressmaking was from taking the measurement of the one we are sewing for, until we were able to learn to sew ourselves. This is what we produced from what we were taught, the uniform we are wearing for our graduation.)

For Indal, the decommissioning process is an opportunity to start a new life, especially now that they have been equipped with the skills indeed to move forward and earn a sustainable livelihood.

He and his comrades are in fact planning to set up their own tailoring shop as soon as they purchase the necessary equipment such as sewing machines.

“Kami na nakapagtapos ng dressmaking, plano namin na makapagpatayo ng sarili naming tailoring kapag nagkaroon na kami ng sarili naming makinang panahi,” he said.

(We who finished this dressmaking course, we plan to be able to establish our own tailoring shop when we already have our own sewing machines.)

Aside from the livelihood training courses, Indal and the other decommissioned combatants were each given an immediate cash assistance amounting to PhP100,000 after they were decommissioned.

“Ang unang naibigay sa amin ay PhP 100,000 at nagastos namin ‘yun na ‘yung PhP 60,000 dahil sa hirap ng buhay noon ay naisangla ko ang lupa ko noon kaya nalukat ko gamit ang PhP 60,000. Yung PhP 30,000 naman ay pinang-repair ng lumang bahay namin at ang naiwan na 10,000 ay nagamit namin sa daily expenses naming pamilya,” he shared.

(What was initially given to us was the PhP 100,000 wherein we spent PhP 60,000 because of the hardships of life then. I mortgaged my land then so I redeemed it with the PhP 60,000 [from the financial assistance]. The PhP 30,000 was used to repair our old house and the remaining PhP 10,000 was used for our family’s daily expenses.)

The training courses provided under TVET are making a significant impact on the lives of decommissioned combatants like Indal as they return to mainstream society, and more importantly, are demonstrating that good things come to those who walk the path of peace.

The normalization track’s other components such as security, confidence-building measures, and transitional justice and reconciliation, are also being carried out through the Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization (ICCMN), a multi-agency body mandated to ensure the timely and efficient implementation of socio-economic interventions under the CAB. ###