MORO Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Central Committee Chairman Ahod ‘Al Haj Murad’ Ebrahim, has directed all front and base commanders of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) to stop further contacts with their counterparts in the national government in Manila related to the fourth and final phase of the decommissioning process, a directive that forbodes ill for all parties and the prospect of lasting peace in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BARMM) and nearby areas.
In a one-page directive dated August 16, Ebrahim declared: “Effective immediately, no front commanders, base commanders, designated deputy commanders, or heads of other line agencies and their representatives shall participate in any decommissioning or normalization actitivities unilaterally organized by the National Government and the Office of the Presidential Advisers on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) without prior written approval or authorization from the Chairman of the MILF,” Ebrahim said.
“Non-compliance with this order,” he added, “constitutes a serious breach of command discipline and may be grounds for administrative and disciplinary action.”
The order also referenced the July 19 resolution of the MILF Central Committee to “temporarily suspend” the implementation of the last phase of the decommissioning process.
Incidentally, August 16 was also the date when top BARMM officials headed by Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, along with OPAPRU secretary and former Armed Forces chief, Carlito Galvez and Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Secretary Antonio Lagdameo, were together in Cotabato City, to affirm their commitment to peace and reconciliation in the region.
Under RA 11054 or the ‘Bangsamoro Organic Law’ (BOL) enacted into law in 2018, the MILF, the erstwhile main armed secessionist group seeking a separate state for Philippine Muslims, finally recognized that Moro-dominated areas in Mindanao (BARMM) “is an integral, indivisible, and inseparable part of the territory of the Republic of the Philippines.”
The MILF broke away from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the late ‘70s after it entered into a peace talk with the government of President Marcos Senior brokered by Libya (‘Tripoli Agreement’).
RA 11054 also provided for the creation of a ‘Transitional Authority’ (BTA) that Ebrahim headed as ‘Acting Chief Minister’ since 2019 until he was replaced with the appointment by President Marcos of Macacua last March 9.
Macacua is also a former top commander of the MILF and governor of Maguindanao del Norte.
The demobilization of MILF/BIAF fighters and their reintegration to mainstream society are key components of the peace process. As of January 2024, Galvez claimed 26,145 MILF/BIAF fighters have been decommissioned.
“These former MILF combatants are now fighting a different battle, and that is to improve their socioeconomic well-being,” Galvez said at the time.
It is not yet clear what prompted the MILF Central Committee to stop further normalization of its relationship with the Marcos administration.
However, the MILF, back in March, had expressed its “frustration and concern” over President Marcos’ appointment of new BARMM leaders.
The frustration and concern, however, were not expressed in the resignation letter Ebrahim submitted to President Marcos Jr., last March 3.
Presently, BARMM is composed of the following: the provinces of Basilan, Tawi-tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, with Cotabato City as the regional capital.
Sulu was taken out of BARMM after the Supreme Court, in a ruling last September 9, 2024, affirmed the votes of Sulu residents rejecting the BOL and with it, their rejection of joining BARMM.