THE NEXT-OF-KIN and dependents of decommissioned combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) enrolled under the government’s Educational Assistance Program (EAP) began receiving their allowances in the last week of September, according to the GPH-MILF Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC).
Out of the 1,028 approved grantees in the program’s first batch, 303 have already received their full PHP 50,000 grant. The grant covers tuition, books, allowances, and other academic expenses for one academic year spanning two semesters.
The remaining 725 grantees will receive their PHP 50,000 grant in two equal tranches of PHP 25,000. The TFDCC explained that initial transfers were reverted to Mindanao State University (MSU)–Marawi for reprocessing after beneficiaries’ LANDBANK PISO accounts exceeded the allowable monthly credit limit of PHP 50,000.
MSU-Marawi is currently reprocessing the initial PHP 25,000 tranche for crediting to the affected accounts. The second tranche of PHP 25,000 will follow once the first has cleared. Grantees will be directly notified once the release schedule is finalized.
Concurrently, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity and the TFDCC are reviewing beneficiary account mechanisms to prevent similar banking bottlenecks in future distribution cycles.
The EAP, launched in 2024, provides financial aid to support the formal education of former rebels and decommissioned combatants, including members of the MILF, as part of the socioeconomic component of the Normalization Track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
The EAP is implemented through the GPH-MILF TFDCC, together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and partner institutions, including MSU–Marawi and MSU–General Santos.
Under the Normalization Track, decommissioned MILF combatants and their families are provided with various socioeconomic assistance to help them make the transition into peaceful and productive civilians.
Presidential Peace Adviser and concurrent GPH Peace Implementing Panel Chairperson Sec. Mel Senen S. Sarmiento assured the remaining grantees that they will receive the assistance due to them.
“The national government remains unwavering in its commitment to support the education of our decommissioned MILF combatants and their next-of-kin. We believe that this will be the key to building a better and brighter future for them and their families,” Sec. Sarmiento said.
“Rest assured that we are doing everything possible to ensure that all our EAP grantees will get the financial support they rightfully deserve. They do not have anything to worry about. There are just some technical concerns that need to be addressed,” he explained.
Sec. Sarmiento noted that the GPH and MILF Peace Implementing Panels signed the “Addendum to the Decision Points on the Socioeconomic Development Program for the Decommissioned Combatants and the Six Previously Acknowledged Camps of the MILF” on September 25, 2026.
The Addendum adopts an integrated, beneficiary-centered mode of delivery to speed up and better track socioeconomic support for decommissioned MILF combatants and their families.
“Education is one of the most lasting dividends of peace. Supporting the learning of those who chose peace, and of the next generation, is central to our commitments under the CAB,” Sec. Sarmiento said.
