COTABATO CITY – The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), through the Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC) and in partnership with the Mindanao State University (MSU) System, awarded on Wednesday, August 6, a total of ₱10.1 million in educational assistance to 404 decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants and their next of kin.
Each beneficiary received ₱25,000 under the Educational Assistance Program for Decommissioned Combatants (EAP-DC), part of the socioeconomic initiatives under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). The recipients are from Maguindanao, Cotabato City, and the Special Geographic Areas (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The 404 beneficiaries are part of the 900 students supported during the second semester of School Year 2024–2025. Since the program’s launch in 2022, more than 2,000 students across Mindanao have been assisted.
According to OPAPRU, the EAP-DC addresses financial barriers to higher education while creating opportunities for socioeconomic mobility. It forms part of the CAB’s Normalization Program, which aims to reintegrate former combatants into mainstream society through education, sustainable livelihood, and community empowerment.
OPAPRU Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. led the awarding ceremony held at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex, alongside top national and regional officials including OSAP Secretary Antonio Ernesto F. Lagdameo Jr., BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua, MSU System President Atty. Paisalin P. Tago, and other representatives from the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and MILF peace implementing panels.
Galvez underscored the role of education in securing long-term peace in the Bangsamoro, saying the initiative is “an investment in the future of the next generation who will carry forward the gains of peace.”
The EAP-DC is expected to continue supporting decommissioned combatants and their families in the coming academic years as part of the government’s commitment to the full implementation of the CAB.