MILF postpones decommissioning over gov't compliance issues

The Philippine government expressed disappointment over the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) postponement of the final phase of decommissioning for 14,000 combatants and 2,450 weapons.

The MILF Central Committee stated they will only decommission their remaining forces and weapons upon substantial compliance by the Government of the Philippines (GPH) in other normalization tracks, including socio-economic packages.

The MILF cited that none of the 26,145 previously decommissioned combatants have successfully transitioned to productive civilian life, aside from receiving P100,000 in transitional cash assistance.

Presidential Assistant David Diciano disputed the MILF's assertion, highlighting that over PHP4 billion in socioeconomic programs have been implemented since 2019, benefiting thousands.