By Teng Lauban Datu
Cotabato City Bureau Chief .
CAMP LUCERO, North Cotabato — Two hundred nineteen former combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) completed their 26-day basic military training (BMT) here Tuesday to serve as peacekeepers.
The training is a requirement for the former combatants to become part of the composite Joint Peace and Security Team (JPST). The graduates will now form the 6,000-strong JPST contingent that will be composed of 3,000 MILF, 1,600 Philippine National Police, and 1,400 Armed Forces of the Philippines members.
The 6,000-member JPST will be divided into several teams whose main task is to maintain peace and security in the MILF communities that will undergo the Normalization Process within and outside the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm).
The Normalization Track is part of the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro which the government and the MILF signed in 2014.
At the heart of the Normalization Track is the decommissioning of 40,000 MILF combatants wherein their weapons will be put beyond use. The MILF camps will also be transformed into peaceful, progressive and resilient communities.
The entire process is expected to be completed within a three-year period, starting this year until 2022 in time for the signing of the Exit Agreement between the government and the MILF.
On Sept. 7, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is expected to lead the public launching of the decommission process of the MILF combatants and their weapons.
Speaking on behalf of the Barmm Interim Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, Al Haj, Minister of Finance, and Budget and Management Eduard Guerra described the graduation ceremony as a historic event for the Bangsamoro peace process.
“You are now part of history as you will be the first batch of JPST to be deployed where you will be joining your comrades from the PNP and contingents from the army,” Guerra said.
“I am really impressed. This is beyond my expectations. You really persevered in your training. You keep that perseverance and patience in your hearts and minds,” he added.
Joint efforts as one security force
Though the participants belong to different organizations – MILF, AFP and PNP – being members of the JPST has united them as one peacekeeping force. (with reports from opapp)
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