COTABATO CITY (PIA) – Hundreds of decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants, together with their families, have profited from a government-initiated service caravan on August 1 and 2, 2024.
Organized by the Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization (ICCMN), the caravan also served communities around Camp Abubakar in Barangay Tugaig in Barira, Maguindanao del Norte.
Basic services delivered during the caravan included health and dental care, free haircuts, PhilHealth registration, national ID enrollment, civil registration, seedling dispersal, animal health services, and distribution of school supplies and computers, among others.
Moreover, the event also featured information, education, and communication activities on the government’s amnesty program, Armed Forces of the Philippines enlistment, registration of worker organizations and cooperatives, and other similar concerns.
The Government of the Philippines (GPH)-MILF Technical Working Group on Transitional Justice and Reconciliation (TJR) also installed an information booth in the area.
Director Wendell Orbeso, head of the MILF Peace Process Office, said that apart from bringing basic services, the caravan also served as an opportunity to update the decommissioned combatants and beneficiary-communities on the commitments as well as issues and concerns raised during previous camp visits.
“The ICCMN caravan stands as a powerful testament to the strength of our collective spirit and the profound resilience of the Bangsamoro people. It is more than just a symbol of progress; it is a beacon of hope illuminating our shared path towards a future where every person can thrive,” said Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. of the Office of Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) in a message read during the event.
“This caravan of the Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization, assisted by the BARMM and the national government agencies, is borne from the sincere concern raised during our consultations last November,” Galvez’s message added. “It is a direct response to the needs and dreams of the MILF decommissioned combatants and the communities they cherish. It embodies our promise to not only hear your concerns but to act on them with genuine care and urgency,” it said.
Salama Dirangaren Mamalakat, who had availed of national ID, PhilHealth registration, and other benefits, said that it was her first experience of a caravan in their village.
“Nagpasalamat kami sa gobyerno kasi binigyan nila kami ng pagkakataon na ganito at maraming serbisyong nangyari tulad ng PhilHealth, national ID, at marami pang mga serbisyo,” Mamalakat said.
(We are thankful because the government allowed us to avail of the caravan services including PhilHealth and National ID registrations, and many others).
We are sincerely grateful to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for coming over to this remote Barangay of Tugaig to make us feel that the government takes care and loves us, Mamalakat added.
Among the agencies that delivered services during the caravan were the ministries in the BARMM government and their counterpart agencies in the SOCCSKSARGEN Region – the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, the Department of Information and Communication Technology, and others.
Meanwhile, Director Orbeso said the Tugaig caravan was the first in a series where ICCMN and member agencies bring government services to decommissioned combatants and communities in the other previously acknowledged MILF camps.
After Camp Abubakar, the ICCMN and its partner agencies will proceed to Camp Bilal in Munai, Lanao del Norte; Camp Bushra in Butig, Lanao del Sur; Camp Omar in Datu Hoffer, Maguindanao del Sur; and Camp Badre, Maguindanao del Sur, to deliver similar services. (DED – PIA Region 12)
