Deles: MILF has 6-12 months to liquidate P5-M grant

The controversial P5-million grant the government gave to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to fund a training institution for future Bangsamoro leaders will undergo proper liquidation and auditing, presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles said Thursday. Deles said the money, handed by government negotiators to the MILF peace panel last August, was derived from the Presidential Social Fund (PSF) and will be subjected to audit as part of this fund. She said the MILF, like all organizations that receive government funds, was given six months to a year to liquidate the amount. “This government is using that fund very judiciously. It will have all the papers. Alam nila [MILF members] iyan," Deles said in an interview. She added that the government and the MILF have a clear understanding that the P5-million assistance should only be used for the Bangsamoro Leadership Management Institute (BLMI), as stipulated in an agreement signed four years ago. “Kasama iyan sa pinirmahan nila. The due diligence of any government fund turned over to someone, dapat may report iyan. Dapat may liquidation," Deles said. Text messages The P5-million grant to the MILF made headlines on Wednesday after text messages spread that falsely inflated the figure to P5 billion and accused the MILF of using it to buy arms. The text messages added fuel to the fire of outrage sparked by the death of 19 government troops in Basilan last week in a firefight with MILF members, which also left nine rebels dead. MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar has denied that his group used the amount to acquire firearms. He added that the MILF is aware of their obligation to report to their government counterparts how the money will be used to prevent any misuse of the funds. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, meanwhile, said that the P5-million grant to the BLMI was just a fulfillment of a government commitment to the MILF made by the Arroyo administration in 2007. Deles, however, reiterated that the MILF will be held liable if the group uses the money for purposes other than the BLMI. “We trusted them enough to give them this… If the MILF does not show trustworthiness here, certainly, we will hold them accountable," she said. — KBK, GMA News