Decommissioned combatants posed with OPAPP and MBHTE-TESD officials after the orientation activity conducted at Tawi-Tawi School of Arts and Trade (TTSAT) gymnasium in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi on Saturday, July 3, 2021.
TAWI-TAWI—Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) decommissioned combatants in Tawi-Tawi will soon undergo skills training as part of a program that will improve their source of revenue and livelihood.
Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), in coordination with Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education-Technical Education and Skills Development (MBHTE-TESD) in the said province, conducted on Saturday, July 3, a half-day orientation activity on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program for MILF decommissioned combatants in Bongao.
The orientation highlighted the objectives of the skills training, its importance, process, and effects to the lives of the former combatants who were already included in the second phase of decommissioning program of the MILF in March 2020 at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat in Maguindano.
OPAPP officials headed by Ms. Sanabila Sabil, together with MBHTE-TESD Tawi-Tawi Provincial Director Maryam Nuruddin, encouraged the decommissioned combatants to enroll in various Technical Education and Skills Development courses and use the acquired skills for employment opportunities.
MBHTE-TESD Tawi-Tawi is tasked to carry out the training program, corresponding to the required number of hours for each chosen course. Upon completion, the trainees will receive certificates of training as testimony of their qualification.
Schedule of the training has yet to be announced, according to Director Nuruddin.
The skills training is a short-term program regarded as an integral part of the socio-economic assistance of the government embodied in the Peace Agreement with an objective of imparting technical skills aimed to assist decommissioned MILF combatants and transform them into mainstream individuals with productive civilian lives.
This intervention also enables the former fighters to relish the gains of peace and live peaceful and meaningful lives.
In September 2019, the OPAPP and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) inked a Memorandum of Agreement on the socio-economic package for decommissioned (MILF) combatants.
It aimed to enhance their technical skills after undergoing decommissioning process and find employment opportunities to support the needs of their families. (Bangsamoro Information Office)
