MILF's turnover of weapons an important confidence-building measure, says Palace official

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 16): MILF's turnover of weapons an important confidence-building measure, says Palace official

The turnover of weapons and the decommissioning of combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Tuesday is an important confidence-building measure that shows that both sides are committed to achieve enduring peace in Mindanao, a Palace official has said.

The decommissioning is important to attain peace in Mindanao, and it is part of the normalization annex of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said during a press briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday.

The CAB serves as the basis for the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which is still in Congress.

Secretary Coloma was reacting to some lawmakers’ comments that despite the decommissioning, the BBL will still face scrutiny in Congress.

"Mahirap namang paghiwalayin ang pagkilala na ang decommissioning na inumpisahan na sa araw na ito ay isang mahalagang confidence and trust building process," he said.

"Talaga namang ito ay maiuugnay doon sa pagsulong sa prosesong pangkapayapaan na bahagi pa rin nito ay ang pagkakaroon ng isang enabling act, ang Bangsamoro Basic Law."

Coloma also addressed public concerns on how the government would account for the weapons turned over by the MILF, saying these firearms will be the responsibility of an international monitoring body.

He explained that based on the normalization annex of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, there are concrete guidelines on the decommissioning of the weapons of the MILF.

"Nagtatag na ng International Decommissioning Body na ang tagapangulo o chairman ay ang ambassador ng Turkey, His Excellency Ambassador (Haydar) Berk, isa sa nagtalumpati kaninang umaga," he noted.

The decommissioning body, which has been tasked to verify and make inventories of the weapons to be turned over by the MILF, consists of members from Norway and Brunei Darussalam, as well as four people nominated by the government and the MILF, Coloma said, adding that there will be a verifiable process in the accounting of weapons to ensure that the normalization annex of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro is followed, with regards to the decommissioning process.

 http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=0&sid=&nid=0&rid=773172