MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Jan. 8
(PIA) --- About P26 million worth of agricultural equipment, planting materials
and farm animals were turned over to beneficiaries in six Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) camps on January 6, in a ceremony held in Simuay,
Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.
Secretary Proceso Alcala of the Department of Agriculture
(DA) said the turnover is part of the Camp Transformation Program launching of
the department, which aims at converting former MILF camps into “peaceful and
productive communities.”
The initiative was organized by the Camp Transformation Task
Force and the DA’s-Farmers’ Assistance Program.
Senen Bacani, former Agriculture
Secretary and member of the government peace panel in the southern peace talks,
said the initiative is part of the normalization process stipulated under the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the MILF and the Philippine
government in March 2015.
The farmer beneficiaries comprise 145 combatants of the
Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) decommissioned in June 2015.
The Annex on Normalization of the CAB indicates that
socio-economic programs will be provided and such programs will be undertaken
for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and development of the decommissioned
members of the BIAF and their communities and the transformation of the six
MILF camps identified by the peace panel.
The camp transformation program is an initial
confidence-building measure under the Bangsamoro peace process with the end in
view of turning the camps into peaceful and productive areas.
The farming equipment and implements turned over include six
heavy-duty farm tractors with complete accessories; six units cassava grater;
six units corn sheller and six units of hand tractor.
Also distributed to the beneficiaries are 1,200 bags of palay
seeds; 1,200 bags of palay fertilizers; 1,200 bags of corn seeds and 1,200 bags
of corn fertilizers.
The other planting materials include 1,300 seedlings of
rambutan, lanzones, jackfruit, coffee, achuete and guyabano. Eighteen carabaos
were also provided for a livestock dispersal project.
The five of the six MILF camps –Abubakar, Omar, Badre,
Rajamuda and Bushra – are located in the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del
Sur, two of the five component provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM). Camp Bilal, the sixth camp is located in Lanao del Norte,
which falls under Region 10, or Northern Mindanao.
More than 1,000 participants witnessed the ceremonial
turnover including MILF members and local chief executives. It was led by
Agriculture Secretary Alcala; peace panel member Bacani, DA Assistant Secretary
Edilberto de Luna, national focal person for Camp Transformation Program;
Alexander Alonto, ARMM’s Agriculture and Fisheries secretary; and Amalia
Jayag-Datukan, DA-12 regional executive director.
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