Mindanao Peace Process

COTABATO CITY - Ten more members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters pledged allegiance to the government Friday.

The 10 BIFF members turned in assorted firearms before they renounced their membership with the group in the presence of Army and police officials at the headquarters of the 601^st Infantry Brigade in Barangay Kamasi in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Norte.

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – The Army’s 6^th Infantry “Kampilan” Division now has 88 new soldiers who will help in peacekeeping mission of the Armed Forces in South-Central Mindanao.

On Friday, 69 male and 19 female soldiers completed their Basic Military Training from the 6th Division Training School in Barangay Semba, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguidanao.

Maj. Gen. Roy Galido, 6th ID commander, officiated the oath of office of 88 new Army privates belonging to Class 708-2021 Bagtikan (Bagong Tinakdang Kalasag ng Bayan) class.

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has designated one of the deputies of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) to serve as acting chief until such time a new one is selected to head the command.

This came after Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario Jr. relinquished his position Tuesday, a day before he turns 56, the mandatory retirement age.

Designated as the acting commander of Westmincom is Brig. Gen. Arturo Rojas, a marine officer and the command’s deputy commander for external defense operations.

MANILA – The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) on Thursday said major milestones in the Bangsamoro peace process have already been achieved in the early months of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s administration.

In a statement, OPAPRU chief Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the Chief Executive demonstrated his resolve to move forward with the Bangsamoro peace process with the appointment of the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao - Soldiers in central Mindanao got elated with the President’s appreciation of their efforts to contain local terrorists via peaceful interventions, Army officials said Saturday.

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. met with officials the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division here on Thursday, after his brief engagement in nearby Cotabato City with members of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament that he appointed last month.

CAMP SIONGCO,  Maguindanao — "Keep up the good work." These are the words that are embedded in the speech of President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Ferdinand ‘Bong-Bong’ R. Marcos Jr., during his visit to Camp Siongco, Awang, DOS, Maguindanao on September 15, 2022.

COTABATO CITY - Peace activists and local executives in the Bangsamoro region saw as  a big boost to the peace process the meeting on Sunday, September 11, in Davao City of Moro revolutionary leaders Ahod Ebrahim and Nur Misuari.

Ebrahim, most known as “Kagui Murad,” is chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and appointed chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Misuari is founder of the Moro National Liberation Front, from where the MILF came, or splintered from the late 1970s.

COTABATO CITY --- The Moro National Liberation Front commemorated Friday the 26th anniversary of the September 2, 1996 government-MNLF truce, a product of 22 years of tedious talks.

The now 26-year accord was premised on the December 23, 1976 government-MNLF “Tripoli Agreement” touted as the “mother of all agreements” between the group and the national government.

MANILA – The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) on Friday said the death of two police officers in the ambush in Ampatuan, Maguindanao is a call to further beef up peacebuilding efforts.

"The passing of Lt. (Reynaldo) Samson and Cpl. (Salipudin) Endab should serve as a clarion call for all of us to continue strengthening our peacebuilding efforts so that no one should lose their lives to the barrel of a gun," OPAPRU chief Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a statement.

ZAMBOANGA CITY - A total of three Daulah Islamiyah members yielded to the military within the joint area of operation of the Western Mindanao Command on August 18 and 19, 2022.

One remnant of the Daulah Islamiyah-Maguid Aliboy Group identified as a.k.a. Lapong, a resident of Barangay Lapu, Polomolok, South Cotabato surrendered to the military troops at the 10th Special Forces Company headquarters located in Barangay Kablon, Tupi, same province on August 19.

He handed over one cal. 45 Colt.