MANILA – The Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization (ICCMN) has agreed to adopt the Localized Normalization Implementation (LNI) as part of government initiatives to expedite programs and projects that will benefit Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) announced Friday.
The LNI is designed to complement and support the Normalization Program under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the landmark peace agreement signed between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and MILF in 2014.
“The LNI will encourage greater synergy among all sectors involved in the implementation of the Normalization Program. Through the LNI, project implementers will be able to tailor-fit its initiatives on the actual situation on the ground, particularly needs of the beneficiaries and come up with designs that will ensure increased efficiency and sustainability in project management,” ICCMN socioeconomic cluster head Ariel Hernandez said.
He said the LNI will focus more on the provincial setting, with a joint secretariat composed of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, OPAPRU, Provincial Governors, Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and lower mechanisms.
“We will harvest the synergy of all sectors in the provincial setting like the religious sectors, CSOs, non-government organizations, women and the youth, farmers and those in the academe, the MILF, MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) and even the former violent extremists,” Hernandez said.
“And since the LNI is locally-led and interagency-supported, local government units will take ownership of the projects under the Normalization and Transformation Programs.”
The LNI, according to the OPAPRU, was introduced during the 11th ICCMN meeting last March 19.
During the conference, ICCMN members also discussed the status of several pending issues it needs to review and resolve, which include the implementation of government-funded projects for 2024; proposed projects for 2025; and the strengthening of the whole-of-government approach by ensuring the more active participation of local government units (LGUs) in the Normalization Program.
Meanwhile, OPAPRU Presidential Assistant David Diciano, who leads the ICCMN security cluster, reported that 26,132 MILF combatants have been decommissioned, together with 4,625 MILF organization-owned weapons.
“Aside from decommissioning, we have also deployed 24 Joint Peace and Security Teams (JPST) and we have [supported the entry of] 396 former MILF and MNLF combatants into the Philippine National Police,” Diciano said.
On the transitional justice and reconciliation aspect, OPAPRU Executive director Cesar De Mesa reported that earlier this month, the Senate adopted Proclamations Nos. 405, and 406 granting amnesty to members of the MILF and MNLF who have committed crimes to advance their political beliefs.
ICCMN chairperson, Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo Jr., represented during the meeting by Undersecretary Joahna Paula Domingo, urged the body to ramp up its efforts under the Normalization Program.
ICCMN co-chair, OPAPRU Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. said their main priority is the timely completion of the decommissioning process of MILF forces and their weapons within the year.
He added that the active engagement of LGUs in the implementation of normalization projects under the LNI shall ensure that these interventions will have a greater impact and sustainability among the people.
The 11th ICCMN meeting was attended by top officials of ICCMN member-agencies and ministers of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) interim government.
The ICCMN is tasked to ensure the timely, appropriate, and efficient delivery of the Normalization Program through a whole-of-government approach, including the mobilization of resources needed to realize the objectives of the Normalization Program, and fully transform the MILF combatants and their families into peaceful and productive members of society. (PNA)
