COTABATO CITY (October 19) — With about 14,000 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants still awaiting decommissioning and key peace commitments unresolved, MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim is seeking a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to push the Bangsamoro peace process toward completion before the administration ends in June 2028.
Murad wrote to Marcos on October 1 requesting a meeting, but Malacañang had not publicly responded as of Thursday, according to available information.
The request comes as the government and the MILF continue efforts to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which paved the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). With less than two years remaining in Marcos’ term, unresolved commitments raise questions about how much of the agreement can be completed and secured before another administration takes office.
Yasmira Moner, a political scientist at Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, warned that an unfinished peace process remains vulnerable to reversal if outstanding commitments are not fulfilled and formally secured.
“A peace process that is not finished, not closed, not signed can be erased,” Moner said in a radio interview.
She said political will, particularly from Marcos, would be crucial to completing the remaining commitments. Moner also stressed the importance of Murad personally signing the final agreement, citing his standing among MILF combatants.
The final phase of MILF decommissioning, covering about 14,000 combatants and 2,450 weapons, was deferred in 2025 amid disagreements over the government’s socioeconomic commitments to former fighters. No further combatants had undergone decommissioning since July 2024, according to reports published in October 2026.
The MILF has raised concerns over the delivery of promised assistance to fighters undergoing decommissioning. The government, however, has disputed claims that it failed to provide support, citing cash assistance, health insurance, livelihood programs and other interventions.
The dispute highlights the need for both parties to establish which commitments have been fulfilled, what assistance remains outstanding and how delivery can be verified by former combatants and independent monitors.
The government and MILF resumed joint engagements in August 2026, followed by a September 25 meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where their peace implementing panels agreed to develop an updated road map for implementing the CAB. They also agreed on an integrated approach to delivering socioeconomic assistance to decommissioned combatants and the six previously acknowledged MILF camps.
However, the panels have yet to announce a firm timetable for completing the final decommissioning phase. The remaining work includes resolving disagreements over assistance, establishing how outstanding commitments will be delivered, and determining when the remaining combatants and weapons will complete the process.
The MILF waged a decades-long armed struggle for greater autonomy for Muslims in Mindanao before signing the CAB in 2014. Its implementation has since involved political transition, security arrangements and socioeconomic measures intended to help former combatants return to civilian life.
But the transition has also faced political and institutional challenges.
In 2025, Marcos replaced Murad as interim BARMM chief minister, appointing Abdulraof Macacua, a former MILF commander, to the post. In June 2026, the MILF removed Macacua as its military chief, adding another development to the evolving relationship between the organization and the regional government.
Murad, who also heads the MILF’s political party, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, marked the anniversary of the peace process on Thursday without publicly mentioning his letter to Marcos.
“We have come far,” Murad wrote on Facebook. “But much remains to be done.”
With Marcos’ term ending in June 2028, the government and the MILF face a narrowing window to resolve outstanding issues and advance decommissioning. The president’s response to Murad’s request, a time-bound implementation plan and verifiable progress in delivering assistance to former combatants will be key tests of whether both sides can turn their remaining commitments into results.
For communities that have endured decades of armed conflict, the peace process must deliver more than meetings and road maps. Former combatants need the assistance promised to them, civilians need sustained protection, and the Bangsamoro transition needs commitments that can withstand changes in political leadership.
The government and the MILF must publicly account for what they have delivered, what remains outstanding and when the remaining commitments will be fulfilled. Without a clear timetable and verifiable progress, the final phase of decommissioning—and the broader promise of the peace agreement—could remain unfinished when Marcos leaves office.
