NEWS
5May
MILF commander and now Member of the Parliament Abdullah Macapaar (right, more popularly known as “Commander Bravo”) confers with Secretary Isidro L. Purisima, Acting Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, during the latter’s visit at Camp Bilal in Munai, Lanao del Norte on 27 April 2023 for the ALIAS-DC project. MindaNews photo by MARIVIC OMANDAM DAVIS
Former MILF Combatants now prefer legal names than noms de guerre
- May 5, 2023
- Al Iskandar, Luwaran
- HITS: 1025
But after the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, and the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) that followed, many former combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) now have opted to use their legal names, instead of just noms de guerre and aliases.
This happened after they were included in a government program for them to acquire legal identities by applying for late registrations of live birth thru the Access to Legal Identity and Social Services for Decommissioned Combatants (ALIAS-DC) project..
On Thursday last week (May 2) in Camp Bilal, Lanao Del Sur many applicants came to the this camp to enlist in the last leg of the program.
In its report on May 2, Mindanews quoted Secretary Isidro L. Purisima, Acting Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, saying that Camp Bilal was the last of six MILF acknowledged camps in the Maguindanao and Lanao provinces visited for the ALIAS-DC project.
The project, he said, aims to resolve legal identity issues facing the ex-fighters and facilitate their applications for acquiring certificates of live birth. He said it is part of the social protection program for decommissioned MILF combatants that “aims to help them establish their legal identity, and consequently, facilitate their return to mainstream society.”
“Because of this, they will have the capacity to do legal transactions with the different agencies of the government and to avail of socio-economic assistance such as PhilHealth coverage, scholarship grants and many others,” he said.
According to MILF commander and now Member of the Parliament Abdullah Macapaar (more popularly known as “Commander Bravo”), now that his MILF comrades can acquire their certificates of live birth, they can already live “normal and productive lives as members of civil society afterward,” Mindanews quoting hims saying.
The project is being implemented by the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment Through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS) Program, and funded by the European Union, Australian Embassy in the Philippines, Japan, and The Asia Foundation.
Ten months after the project’s launching, Purisima said IDEALS was able to accommodate 35,665 civil registration applications. So far, the project has issued 1,156 birth certificates, Mindanews also said in the report.
Purisima is optimistic that with the continuing peacebuilding initiatives being provided to the MILF members, they will develop a “reformed and renewed mindset” as they fully reintegrate into mainstream society.
Jennifer Bennett, Second Secretary for Peace and Stability of the Australian Embassy in the Philippines, said that as she nears the end of her tour of duty in the country, she is “honored to be an envoy of Australia’s contribution to the peace process.”
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