Gov’t to assess ex-MILF combatants who could qualify for housing aid

By Jo Villaraza

HOUSING AID. Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office-12 and Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity teams conduct validation of Moro Islamic Liberation Front decommissioned combatants in Maguindanao and Lanao del Norte qualified for government housing assistance. The profiling activity started June 9 and will end June 25. (Photo courtesy of DSWD)

In line with the continuing effort to support the peace and development agenda of the Marcos administration, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 12 (DSWD-Soccsksargen) is conducting validation and profiling of qualified former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants for the National Housing Authority (NHA) shelter assistance program.

Undersecretary for Inclusive-Sustainable Peace and Special Concerns Alan Tanjusay, who also handles the DSWD’s peace and development efforts, said validation and profiling will involve at least 350 from Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.

“The shelter assistance program is in line with the socio-economic development component of the normalization process for the MILF decommissioned combatants and their communities,” Tanjusay said in a statement on Monday.

The normalization process is part of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the government and the MILF which aims for conflict-affected communities to “return to conditions where they can achieve their desired quality of life, that includes the pursuit of sustainable livelihoods and political participation within a peaceful deliberative society.”

As part of the Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities, the DSWD augmented 30 staff from the Field Office 12’s Normalization Program Team, joined by NHA and Joint Task Force for Camps Transformation staff.

The groundbreaking and initial housing settlements will be constructed this year in Camp Abubakar in Barira, Maguindanao, and Camp Bilal in Munai, Lanao del Sur.

Similar housing projects will be built in other MILF camps.

The validation and profiling activity from June 9 to 25 is in coordination with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity.