Friday, December 11, 2015

Mindanao critical areas to be secured by separatist rebs, soldiers, policemen

From the Business Mirror (Dec 12): Mindanao critical areas to be secured by separatist rebs, soldiers, policemen

SECURITY teams, composed of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas, soldiers and policemen, will soon be deployed in some areas in Mindanao for security duties.
 
This, as the government started training MILF fighters, policemen and soldiers for joint peace and order and security operations in “critical areas” in the south under what is called as the Joint Peace and Security Teams (JPSTs).
 
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Panel (Opapp) said an 11-day training program was recently concluded for a JPST, wherein its members also interacted with each other through their daily “conditioning exercises, classroom discussions and team-building activities.” The training, which was attended by 75 MILF guerrillas, 34 soldiers and 39 policemen, was jointly supervised by the government and the MILF.
 
“Because of this training, we were able to hear the side of our former enemies in the battleground and we realized that they really do not seek for more discord. They also desire for peace here in Mindanao,” Opapp said in a statement, quoting a member of the team, 2Lt. Emmanuel Ferrer, as saying.
 
“If it were possible for former enemies to achieve unity in working together toward a common goal, then peace in our country is also possible,” Ferrer added.
 
The Opapp said those who underwent the training would be deployed as members of JPSTs in critical areas, as “agreed upon by both the government and the MILF to maintain peace and order.”
 
The JPSTs are part of the transitional mechanisms that will take key roles in the security aspect of the normalization process and will primarily be concerned with transforming conflict-affected areas into peaceful and sustainable communities.
 
“We play an important role in providing security during the decommissioning of the MILF combatants back to their desired quality of life, in tracking of private armed groups, and in documenting any activities transpiring in our area of deployment,” said Insp. Edwin Tono about his soon to be deployment as JPST member.
 

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