INDEMNIFIED. Widows of slain Moro Islamic Liberation Front combatants while fighting for the right to self-determination in the past get financial aid from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, BARMM interior minister, led the distribution of financial and livelihood aid to about 200 MILF widows in Carmen, North Cotabato on Thursday (Sept. 14, 2023). (Photo courtesy of MILG-BARMM)
CARMEN, North Cotabato – At least 200 widows of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters were honored by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) by providing them livelihood opportunities on Thursday.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, BARMM interior minister, led the distribution of PHP50,000 in financial and livelihood assistance each to widows from the Midsayap and Carmen clusters of the autonomous region’s Special Geographic Area (SGA) in the province.
The payout, totaling some PHP20 million, was held at the government center in Barangay Manarapan, Carmen, North Cotabato.
"The BARMM cannot replace the lives of our former comrades in the Bangsamoro struggle," Sinarimbo said in a statement Friday, adding that an indemnity to the MILF widows would be a good start in honoring their late husbands.
"Nonetheless, this assistance from the BARMM government with the help of the BIRD (Bangsamoro Integrated Rehabilitation and Development) Program is expected to help the livelihood of the widows," he said.
Sinarimbo emphasized the importance of meeting the immediate needs of the MILF widows while also providing long-term sustainable development programs for them.
He said the goal is to transform them through capacity building, rural infrastructure development, and livelihood opportunities.
“The purpose is to raise the standard of living of the widows,” he said.
Sinarimbo, the concurrent BARMM spokesperson, said plans are also underway to organize the widows as a cooperative to help their livelihoods grow further.
He said the ongoing construction of the public market near them will also allow the widows to establish sustainable livelihoods to support their families, paving the way for them and their communities to have a stable future.
Grateful widows
Zokria Abas, a resident of the SGA-BARMM Carmen cluster, thanked BARMM for being one of the recipients of the timely assistance.
“The BARMM government is aware of our struggles (without our husbands). This is only the beginning of the many more help we were promised,” she said in an interview.
Another widow, Bai Aniza, said she was only 37 when her husband, an MILF combatant died in a clash with the military while defending the former MILF camp Rajah Muda in Barangay Buliok, Pikit, North Cotabato in 2003.
"It’s hard to lose a husband while you have four young children. Raising the kids alone with an unstable source of income is a constant struggle,” she said.
Initially, Aniza said the aid allows her to improve her family’s income from farm work. (PNA)
