KURINTEM, Datu Odin Sinsuat Maguindanao -- Some 331 future dressmakers, bakers, and organic farmers received on Thursday, March 10, their training certificates on Dressmaking NC II, Bread and Pastry Production NC II and Bread Making, Organic Concoctions and Extracts Production, respectively, after completing their livelihood courses.

The graduates are composed of decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants and their next of kin who are mostly of wives, children, or grandchildren of decommissioned combatants.

The provision of Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for decommissioned MILF combatants and their families is part of the socioeconomic development program of the normalization track under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

The graduates were trained by institutional partners of the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) under its Technical Education and Skills Development (TESD) arm.

These accredited training institutions include the Ebrahim Institute of Technology, Inc., Foureych Institute of Technology and Learning Center, Inc., Sajahatra Services Cooperative, and Farasan Institute of Technology, Inc.

The TVET courses were provided through the collaborative effort between the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Government of the Philippines (GPH) Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC) Chairperson and BARMM Member of Parliament Atty. Laisa M. Alamia, in her video message, underscored the importance of the TVET.

"Layunin ng TVET na linangin ang kakayahan ng mga decommissioned MILF combatants at ng kanilang pamilya para magkaroon sila ng mas maraming oportunidad tulad ng pagkakaroon ng maliit na negosyo o di kaya ng mas magandang trabaho," Alamia said.

According to Sanabila Sabil, representative from the GPH TFDCC Secretariat, the provision of skills training to Decommissioned Combatants and their families is a “stepping stone,” and will help them prepare for the provision of more government interventions as part of the socioeconomic development program under the normalization process.

“Ang programa natin ay para sa inyo. Ito po ang tutulong sa atin kapag pumasok ang ibang social services ng government tulad ng livelihood and employment. Papaano [natin ma-manage ang] livelihood at employment kung kulang tayo sa kakayahan? Kaya nauna ang skills training para sa inyong individual capacity development. May Alternative Learning System (ALS) din para sa mga kasamahan natin na dahil sa kahirapan o giyera ay hindi nakapag-aral,” Sabil said.

Also present during the ceremony were Pared A. Blah, president, EIT; Engr. Salekh B. Mangelen, provincial director, MBHTE-TESD BARMM Maguindanao PO; Sheikh Hisham S. Nando, director, BARMM DAB; and Sela M. Kamsa, focal person, MILF BIAF 118 Base Command.

Decommissioned combatants from other areas in Maguindanao, as well as from the provinces of Lanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, have also started their vocational training under the TVET. (OPAPRU)