NEWS
225 BIAF members to start training for joint GPH-MILF peacekeeping force
- Aug 1, 2019
- Alexander Iskandar, Luwaran
- HITS: 2012
Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao– Around 225 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) will kick off their basic military training Thursday to capacitate them as members of Joint Peace and Security Team (JPST), said a report by Philippine News Agency yesterday.
“This training is the gateway for former combatants to serve and join the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police in maintaining peace and order in the Bangsamoro,” Presidential Peace Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said in a statement a day before the training begins.
200 JPST (teams) shall be established to ensure the security of residents within the six government-acknowledged MILF camps during the decommissioning process which officially begins on September 7, Galvez said.
The JPSTs will be composed of members of the AFP, Philippine National Police and MILF-BIAF. These teams will serve until the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao interim government (BTA) ends its term in 2022, Galvez added.
“No less than President Rodrigo Duterte , and other cabinet officials will be attending the event to witness the most awaited decommissioning process and normalization,” he said.
The Presidential Peace Adviser underscored the crucial role of JPSTs, particularly as the main security for the decommissioning in the different assembly and processing areas (APAS), assist in settling disputes, and efforts on counter drugs and terrorism.
“These JPSTs will be tasked to maintain peace and order in areas that have been mutually identified by the GPH and the MILF,” Galvez said.
“More importantly, these teams will also support the work being carried out by the existing ceasefire mechanisms, particularly in addressing pressing issues on security and maintaining order,” he added.
The decommissioning of the MILF-BIAF members is in line with the Normalization Track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by the national government and the MILF in 2014.
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