On Wednesday, March 15, 2017, More than a hundred MILF combatants recieved farming implements and animals from the Office of the Presidential Peace Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp) in Camp Darapanan in Cotabato City.
Jacob Palao is a 65-year-old MILF farmer who thought he would never see the end of the armed struggle. The project was implemented to help push along the peaceful negotiations between the militant group and the government and was struck and finalozed in 2014. Palao maintains that the farming assistance will be great help in normalizing their lives.
“At my age, I never expected that carrying guns in the name of the struggle would end,” said Palao. “I can now live peacefully with my family. It’s unlike in the past when I could not tell whether I would come home alive or not.”
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The total number of assistance distributed among the MILF members are as follows: 103 carabaos, 83 cattle head, goats, rice and corn seeds, rubber and fruit seedlings, and fertilizers.
Agriculture Undersecretary Ranibai Dilangalen was quick to point out that the speedier process was all part of President Duterte's commitment to making peace with the Moro forces who agreed to expand the autonomous region.
The government also stressed that what is different about this negotiation is that it benefits whole communities and not just the individual.
“We are looking at changes and these are not just giving and receiving. This is about making social change not only with the decommissioned combatants but also their communities.”
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