MANILA - Five cooperatives composed of decommissioned combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) with their families received farming machinery and equipment that could help them revive agricultural livelihood within their communities in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

In a statement on Thursday, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) said three cooperatives in Zamboanga Sibugay, one each from Zamboanga City and Zamboanga del Sur, will benefit to the portion of PHP70 million worth of Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) Peaceful Return Aggressive Inclusion on Social Entrepreneurship (PRAISE) Project, through government's Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization (ICCMN) Program.

The PRAISE project, created by the government and the MILF Peace Panels, is now being implemented with the guidance of the joint GPH-MILF Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC), aiming to push socio-economic development programs for decommissioned MILF combatants and their families within their communities.

The TFDCC, composed of OPAPRU, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the MILF members, carrying out social entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood initiatives for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) communities within and even in its outside the BARMM's official core territory.

Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, Secretary Carlito C. Galvez Jr., earlier said the whole-of-government approach is crucial to the "realization of the normalization programs" for Bangsamoro communities and neighboring core territories.

Galvez said the Executive Order 79 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte, created the ICCMN, the GPH, and the MILF peace mechanisms have been crucial in allowing pooled government efforts to push not only for lasting peace but progressive developments in the countryside.

He said the EO 79 has strengthened partnerships between various government institutions such as the DTI, National Irrigation Authority, Department of Health (DOH), and other government instrumentalities, to provide further economic progression in the far-flung communities that have been previously left behind due to armed conflict.

"These partnerships allow us to pool our efforts and deliver programs and services in an inclusive and timely manner," Galvez said.

"This is really important to make sure that no one is left behind in the provision of programs that are not only meant for decommissioned combatants, but also for their families and the rest of the members of their communities," he added.

Aside from Zamboanga Peninsula, other MILF communities including Munai in Lanao Del Norte; Butig in Lanao del Sur; Barira, Guindulungan, and Datu Hoffer in Maguindanao; Pikit in North Cotabato; and Davao Region, also benefitted to the implementation of the DTI-ICCMN PRAISE Program.

Among other projects include the provision of solid waste processing facilities, mobile rice mills for food production, mini halal meat shops and abattoirs, and more farm machinery to boost the agricultural sector.

The ICCMN, a multi-agency body, is mandated to implement the four main components of the Bangsamoro normalization track, which include security, socio-economic development, confidence-building measures, as well as transitional justice and reconciliation. (PNA)