Gov’t interagency body to strengthen implementation of Bangsamoro peace agreement (2025)

• View Larger Image

ISABELA CITY, BASILAN (26 February 2025) — The Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization (ICCMN) held its 13th meeting here on Wednesday, February 26, the first time the multi-agency body gathered in the island-province.

The ICCMN meeting comes a day after it successfully held a day-long Serbisyo Caravan in Lamitan City, Basilan, which benefited around 800 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and their families, as well as residents of the province.

Office of the Special Assistant to the President (OSAP) and ICCMN Co-Secretariat Head, Assistant Secretary Ria Lumapas and Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) Senior Undersecretary Isidro L. Purisima presided over the meeting.

Lumapas and Purisima represented Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo, Jr and Presidential Peace Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr., respectively, who co-chair the ICCMN.

Highlighted during the meeting were the ICCMN’s accomplishments covering the period 2022 – 2024, as well as its deliverables and targets for 2025, particularly the need to ramp up the implementation of the Normalization Program for decommissioned MILF, their families and communities.

During the discussions, ICCMN member-agencies also proposed the transformation of areas outside the six previously-acknowledged MILF camps through the implementation of socio-economic initiatives that will uplift the lives of residents in these areas.

The member-agencies were also urged to submit proposals on how they intend to roll out their respective transformation programs, projects and activities, all of which should support and complement the national government’s peace agenda.

Lumapas emphasized the need “to showcase the impact of the ICCMN initiatives [on] the lives of the combatants,” as she promised that the caravan will have another leg to show that member agencies are “All working together as one. It is unprecedented.”

“Ultimately, our goal is to institutionalize the process of [the] national government in working together with BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) ministries, and local government units for more sustainable peace,” she said.

Lumapas extended Lagdameo’s gratitude to the Provincial Government of Basilan, Lamitan City Government, ICCMN member-agencies, security sector and other agencies for their “commitment and participation.”

She urged the body to continue “cooperating and working together in making a significant impact to the decommissioned combatants, their families and community,” as this will be key in pushing forward the Marcos Jr. administration’s peace agenda in the Bangsamoro.

Basilan Governor Hadjiman Hataman – Salliman, congratulated and thanked the ICCMN for holding its first caravan of the year in Basilan amidst current peace and security challenges in the region.

Salliman said the successful conduct of the ICCMN Caravan in Basilan is a testament of the “complementation of local initiatives [with those of] the national government” specifically referring to the Local Normalization Initiative (LNI) Program piloted in Basilan province.

“But any interventions made in Basilan [should] be a complementation to the efforts of the local government,” the governor said, adding, “We had a good experience here in Basilan. It’s a beautiful transformation.”

Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., whose message was delivered by Purisima, thanked the province of Basilan and Lamitan City for being among “the national government’s reliable peace partners” in the Bangsamoro.

Galvez also commended the efforts of the ICCMN member-agencies for their outstanding work, as he welcomed the body’s new members, which include the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the National Nutrition Council.

The peace adviser urged member-agencies to continue working together in bringing “sustainable development and long-lasting peace in the province,” saying the ICCMN Report will serve as a “benchmark and source of inspiration” for succeeding peacebuilding initiatives.

“Amidst the challenges we face, there is no doubt that we are moving closer to our common goal — creating a better, brighter and more peaceful future for our Bangsamoro brothers and sisters,” Galvez said.

“As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has emphasized, time and again, no one must be left behind in the peace and development process. Each and every Filipino has an important role to play in this effort,” he concluded.###

Where would you like to share PEACE today?