The national government has resumed distributing educational financial aid to decommissioned Moro rebels and their dependents as part of the implementation of the peace agreement between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
MILF decommissioned combatants (DCs) and their next of kin enrolled in the government’s Educational Assistance Program (EAP) have been receiving their allowances since Oct. 1, according to the GPH-MILF Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC).
Of the 1,028 approved grantees in the program’s first batch, 303 have already received their full P50,000 grant, which covers tuition, books, allowances and other academic expenses for one academic year, or two semesters.
The EAP for former MILF combatants and their dependents was temporarily delayed – not stopped permanently – because of administrative and banking problems in releasing the funds.
In a statement Sunday, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) said the remaining 725 grantees will receive their full P50,000 grant in two equal tranches of P25,000.
The TFDCC explained that initial transfers were reverted to Mindanao State University-Marawi for reprocessing after beneficiaries’ LANDBANK PISO accounts exceeded the allowable monthly credit limit of P50,000.
MSU-Marawi is reprocessing the first P25,000 tranche for crediting to the beneficiaries’ accounts. The second tranche of P25,000 will follow once the first tranche has been cleared.
Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento, presidential peace adviser and concurrent chairperson of the GPH Peace Implementing Panel, said his office and the TFDCC are reviewing beneficiary account mechanisms to prevent similar banking bottlenecks in future distribution cycles.
Launched in 2024, the EAP has provided financial aid to support the formal education of decommissioned MILF combatants and their dependents as part of the socioeconomic component of the Normalization Track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
Under the Normalization Track, former MILF combatants and their families are being provided with various socioeconomic assistance programs to help them transition to peaceful and productive civilian life.
Sarmiento assured the remaining grantees that they will receive the assistance owed to them.