BARMM -- The Project Steering Committee (PSC) of the Mindanao Peace and Development Program-Peace and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MINPAD-PD BARMM) approved on Wednesday, February 9, project grants worth EUR 10,389,839 that will support the implementation of normalization programs in the Bangsamoro.

Co-Chaired by Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (PAPRU) Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr.; Minister Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF Peace Implementing Panel and Minister of Basic Higher and Technical Education; and Christoph Wagner, Head of Cooperation of the European Union (EU) Delegation to the Philippines, the PSC meeting provided a venue to present four new grants from peace partners which were officially approved by the Committee.

In his remarks during the meeting, Galvez stressed that the project proposals should all be in line with the overall goal of the normalization process in the Bangsamoro.

He thanked the technical review committee (TRC) for “ensuring [the] alignment [of proposals] to the thrust and priorities of the normalization program, specifically on the development of the six previously acknowledged Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camps.”

During the meeting, the PSC approved funding and implementation of the Programme on Assistance for Camp Transformation through Inclusion, Violent Prevention, and Economic Empowerment (PROACTIVE) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the Dialogue and Engagement in Communities to Foster Peaceful Camps Transformation in the BARMM of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD); the Access to Legal Identity and Social Services for Decommissioned Combatants (ALIAS-DC) by Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS); and the Building Community Resilience and Delivery of Essential Services for Post-Conflict Recovery in Lanao del Sur/Marawi City by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Iqbal, for his part, also acknowledged the key role of local and international peace partners in the implementation of peace and development interventions in the Bangsamoro region.

“I know that everybody is really contributing so that final peace and sustainable peace will take place and happen to Mindanao.” Iqbal said.

Prior to the approval of the four latest grants, three project proposals from the Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP), Fondation Suisse de Déminage (FSD), and the Philippine and Spanish Red Cross worth EUR 8,576,905.47 were also approved by the PSC.

“Let’s stay forward-looking. The government just signed a financing agreement of EUR20 million for the Bangsamoro Agri-Enterprise program. This is important because this will work on value chains in the BARMM that will support farmers' goods, food production, cash flow, and in particular for Halal and [other] products,” said Wagner.

He emphasized that the projects should focus on camps transformation, socioeconomic interventions for the acknowledged camps and Marawi City, and the decommissioning process for Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants.

“I really hope that these can start-up soon because this socioeconomic support is crucial for the peace dividends. We will continue to [provide] our support. Actually, [at the end] of the second half of this year, we are already starting the next phase or the design for the post support to the Mindanao peace consolidation process,” Wagner said.

The MINPAD-PD BARMM is a joint undertaking between the delegation of the European Union and the OPAPRU which aims to improve the social cohesion and resiliency of Bangsamoro communities, as well as improve capacities and confidence of diverse ethnic groups in the region. )