ONE hundred six decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants benefited from the first batch of rice assistance as part of decommissioning package.
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) Executive Secretary Abdulraof Macacua said the activity is yet another forward development in the quest for successful peace endeavor, noting that rice is a fundamental need of everyone.
The national government, through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (Opapp), Barmm, Task Force for the Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) led the ceremonial turnover of rice assistance on Wednesday, February 10.
Meanwhile, Opapp Undersecretary David Diciano clarified some of the misconceptions on the normalization package.
Diciano said the P1-million package will not be handed in full cash, instead it will be subdivided in different components such as scholarship, training and other socio-economic assistance.
A total of 40,000 former MILF combatants are expected to be decommissioned until the normalization process is complete.
So far, 12,000 MILF combatants or 30 percent were already decommissioned during the second phase under the Annex of Normalization of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. (SunStar Zamboanga)