In line with the Administration’s thrust to foster sustainable peace and development, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) are set to forge a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the implementation of the Department’s Socio-Economic Programs for Normalization on the Bangsamaro, as anchored under Executive Order No. 79, otherwise known as Implementing the Annex on Normalization under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

The MOA signing will be held today, 09 August 2019, at the Philippine Army Officers’ Clubhouse, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila.

The agreement shall formalize the P781.3 million funding support of OPAPP to DSWD for the implementation of the socio-economic interventions to help decommissioned combatants (DCs) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) settle in their communities and live normal lives. These include the Bangsamoro Transitory Family Support Package (BTFSP) with a cash grant of ₱80,000 and Livelihood Settlement Grant (LSG) amounting to ₱20,000.

The BTFSP is an immediate cash assistance adapting the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) strategy. The project is designed to address the need for food and non-food items (family kit, hygiene kit, sleeping kit, etc.) of the DCs and their families.

On the other hand, the LSG may be used as seed capital to start micro-enterprises or to purchase starter kits for the re-establishment of damaged livelihood.

 A total of 7,163 DCs from the three assembly processing areas (APAs) in Region XII and in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM) shall be assessed for appropriate interventions starting this August up to November 2019.  -30-