Group formed to disband Bangsamoro private armies

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the President has created a task force to disband private armies in the Bangsamoro core areas and in Regions 9 to 12 in Mindanao.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said the disbandment of private armed groups, together with the gradual phasing out and decommissioning of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) weapons and combatants, are part of the bigger normalization process under the peace agreement.

In signing Memorandum Circular No. 83, Ochoa stressed the need for a unit that would focus on disbanding the armed groups in the Bangsamoro core territories and in some areas in Zamboanga, Northern Mindanao, Davao and Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos) regions.

The task group will be composed of the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government as chairman and representatives from the departments of national defense and justice, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission as members, among others.

The chairman of the government peace panel will also sit as a member while the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process will help develop a monitoring and reporting system to “determine the development and level of achievements of the activities designed for the dismantling of the PAGs.”

 The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the peace accord signed by the government with the MILF in 2014, provides for a comprehensive approach toward achieving security and peace in the proposed autonomous region.

The normalization process has not been included in the original draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law since it is a legal iteration, a mandate of the executive branch.