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COTABATO CITY — The Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) and the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) signed on November 7 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the reintegration of former members of Local Threat Groups (LTGs) into society.
Through Project Tulong ng Gobyernong Nagmamalasakit (TUGON), this partnership aims to resolve the socio-economic challenges faced by these individuals by providing them with essential training and skills development.
The MBHTE, through the office of its Directorate General for Technical Education (DGTE), will assist in the implementation of capacity building programs, offering technical skills training to former LTG members, improving their employability and livelihood opportunities. Both ministries will work together in monitoring and evaluation to ensure the program’s success and long-term impact.
This collaboration represents a unified effort of both ministries to not only address the socio-economic needs of former LTG members but also to promote peace in the Bangsamoro region. By offering skills training and support for them, MILG and MBHTE will work together to provide former combatants with peaceful alternatives, fostering long-term stability, and contributing to the region’s broader peace building and development goals.
Emphasizing the significance of this initiative, MBHTE head Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal said that the reentry of former LTG members is crucial for achieving lasting peace in the region.
“Through education and skills development, we are not only addressing immediate economic needs but also paving the way for these individuals to contribute positively to their communities and the wider society,” he added.
Interior Minister Atty. Sha Elijah B. Dumama-Alba signed for the MILG. Witnesses included Chief Michael Laguilay and Administrator Director Jonaib Usman.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction. With the recent plebiscite at SGA, the BARMM now has eight new municipalities as residents voted “Yes”.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities (plus eight newly established under the SGA: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)