COTABATO CITY -- The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) continues to reach out to its peace partners and provide updates on the Bangsamoro peace process.
In a radio interview on Saturday, OPAPP directors Wendell Orbeso and Atty. Ishmael Bahjin, explained the two major tracks of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) -- the political and normalization tracks.
“It’s really good to have a platform like this to make all our stakeholders aware not just with the current status, pati na rin kung ano ang ma-expect nila as we move forward together sa expectations na binigay sa atin ng Bangsamoro Organic Law,” Bahjin said.
Orbeso stressed the importance of highlighting the peacebuilding initiatives being carried out by the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Peace Implementing Panes under both tracks, while rallying public support behind these interventions.
“Number one ‘yung decommissioning, very familiar yung Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao kasi andiyan yung sinasabi nating assembly at processing area ng Independent Decommissioning Body. Nandiyan sa Old Provincial Capitol,” Orbeso said.
The decommissioning process, which is under the normalization track, aims to help former MILF combatants reintegrate themselves into mainstream society as peaceful and productive civilians, while transforming their communities into show windows of peace and development.
The GPH and MILF Peace Implementing Panels, Joint Normalization Committee, and other normalization mechanisms are now gearing up for the third phase of the decommissioning process wherein 14,000 MILF-Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) members are scheduled for decommissioning.
A total of 12,145 MILF-BIAF combatants have already been decommissioned under phases 1 and 2 of the decommissioning process.
The normalization track has four major components that are designed to help the decommissioned combatants in their transformation process: security, socio-economic development, confidence-building, and transitional justice and reconciliation.
Atty. Datu Michael Mastura, host of the radio program and also a former member of the MILF Peace Negotiating Panel, thanked OPAPP for its continuing information and advocacy efforts.
“This is very important, we are online, apps and live streaming also. Malaki po ang audience natin,” said Mastura. (OPAPP)
