Gov't, MILF forces continue training on peacekeeping

MAGUINDANAO – The once warring forces are now allies for one purpose – to maintain peace and order.Even while the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) remains stalled in Congress, selected personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (MILF-BIAF) graduated yesterday, December 6, from an 11-day training for the Joint Peace and Security Teams (JPST) that started on November 25 at the Old Provincial Capitol in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. [This training] shows the upscaled cooperation between the government and the MILF,” said retired Major General Leo Cresente Ferrer during the opening rites of the training.Muhammad Nassif, in his statement read during the program, said the training is part of the processes under the Normalization Annex of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the government and the MILF.Nassif is the co-chair of the Joint Normalization Committee, the body that coordinates the different normalization processes and mechanisms, while Ferrer is a member of the said body. ‘Ambassadors of peace’ Starting today the GPH and the MILF will be delegating some important tasks and responsibilities upon you. You will be ambassadors [of] peace who will carry out the mission to restore peace and order so that our people may live in harmony,” Joint Peace and Security Committee OIC Co-Chairman Toks Ebrahim stressed to the trainees.A total of 75 BIAF members, 35 AFP, and 40 PNP personnel are part of the said training and will soon be deployed as members of JPSTs in critical areas as agreed upon by both the government and the MILF. The JPSTs are part of the transitional mechanisms that will take key roles in the security aspect of the normalization process and will primarily be concerned with transforming conflict-affected areas into peaceful and sustainable communities. The JPSTs are composed of contingents from the AFP, the PNP, and the BIAF who will help maintain peace and order and the stability of the areas mutually identified by the GPH and the MILF. [They] will work to keep the security situation on the ground stable particularly in specific areas with high probability of armed conflict,” Joint Peace and Security Committee Co-Chairman, PNP General Diosdado Ramos explained. In short, [the JPST] will be the peacekeeper or security balancer on the ground,” he added.Among the responsibilities of the JPST areand tracking and documenting private armed groups and other armed groups helping reduce and control loose or undocumented weapons supporting the observance of the ceasefire agreement working on security arrangements for peace process-connected personalities and events and supporting dispute resolution initiatives on the ground. Teambuilding and situational approach The training will be different from other trainings because it will focus more on teambuilding. Paano magkakaroon ng magandang samahan ang dating magkagiyera na ngayon nagtutulungan para sa kapayapaan (How will forces previously at war work together for peace)?” Ferrer emphasized.He also said that the expected outcome of the training is to develop camaraderie and fraternity among the participants. The general added that the training will adopt a situational approach based on actual, past cases that teams will solve to demonstrate the efficiency and competence of the trainees on their functions as JPST members.Ferrer clarified that the training curriculum and instructors were mutually agreed upon by both training teams of the government and the MILF.